Covid rise - when to withdraw from day care?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

That’s what I was about to ask- obviously the child who has taken a test needs to quarantine until they get a test result (family members too). But why would a class quarantine without a confirmed positive case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

I think it depends on what state you are in and if it is the family daycare versus center. It also depends on what health specialist you happen to have on the phone. I am a family daycare (MD) and the potentially exposed family is supposed to quarantine awaiting results. As I said, depending on who you get on the phone, they can close the daycare down until the results come in or they just tell you to exclude the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

That’s what I was about to ask- obviously the child who has taken a test needs to quarantine until they get a test result (family members too). But why would a class quarantine without a confirmed positive case?

I wonder if it matters if a child/teacher becomes symptomatic during care. If my child had been in a group with a symptomatic person who is awaiting test results it seems to me it would be reasonable to keep her home and get a test in the meantime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dont ever withdraw him and live your life! In Europe schools are starting open during the lockdowns in accordance with World Health Organisation recommendations. It is rare for young children to spreads the disease and worth sending them. Enjoy!

I'm a teacher in Western Europe and I've missed four weeks of school so far this year due to two occasions when I had to quarantine because one of my students tested positive for Covid. It does happen, and where I live, it happens frequently. Almost every school in our city has had multiple teacher and student Covid cases since September, and many of these have closed for 1-2 week stints when students in multiple grades tested positive at once. You people are crazy if you think kids don't get Covid. I go to work because there is no other option, but I am badly frightened. I wish I had the option to revert to distance learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dont ever withdraw him and live your life! In Europe schools are starting open during the lockdowns in accordance with World Health Organisation recommendations. It is rare for young children to spreads the disease and worth sending them. Enjoy!

I'm a teacher in Western Europe and I've missed four weeks of school so far this year due to two occasions when I had to quarantine because one of my students tested positive for Covid. It does happen, and where I live, it happens frequently. Almost every school in our city has had multiple teacher and student Covid cases since September, and many of these have closed for 1-2 week stints when students in multiple grades tested positive at once. You people are crazy if you think kids don't get Covid. I go to work because there is no other option, but I am badly frightened. I wish I had the option to revert to distance learning.

Has anyone in this thread actually claimed kids don't get COVID?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

That’s what I was about to ask- obviously the child who has taken a test needs to quarantine until they get a test result (family members too). But why would a class quarantine without a confirmed positive case?

Yeah it's weird to close while you are awaiting results, unless they were experiencing couch, fever, and shortness of breath. Like it was obviously covid. But if we closed every time we were waiting for results, we would never be open. My daughters friends mom works at NIH and it tested every week....because she can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who thinks every person their child interacts with at daycare can or should be completely quarantined from anyone outside the daycare is just being ridiculous. You really think child care teachers' families are all office workers working remotely? You don't think any health care workers need child care? GMAFB.

Agreed. My 3 yo goes 4 days per week and we have an infant at home too. Masks and small groups really do work. I have no plans to pull her. Of course, there’s always a chance of a shutdown but such is life.

And I’m in MA. Kids here can attend with a cold as long as they do t have a fever or GI in combination. So my daycare isn’t taking the extreme route, just following state guidelines. We’ve had no trouble and we are starting month 4.

[Anonymous]

BIL in Chicago has had his kids (4 and 1.5 yo) back in daycare for about 4 months and daycare has been closed for 6 weeks of that time from 3 different COVID cases, two of which resulted in “outbreaks” at the center - I think 7 people -kids and staff - for one of them and I can’t remember what how many for the other. The third instance there was just the one positive. They do temp checks, teachers and ages 3 and up wear masks. It happens. BIL & SIL don’t have flexible employers, so daycare is their best option, but they’re not thrilled about paying 100% cost for almost 50% closure rate, unpredictability, and risk.

Our kids are about the same age and we’re making it work at home somehow, but it has been rough. Rough. But our daycare, which we love, has a lot of families who are not able to work from home, and our youngest is too young to wear a mask. We decided not to take the risk. I hear things are going well there and I’m happy for them. But we’re going to try to get through until the spring before sending kids back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

That’s what I was about to ask- obviously the child who has taken a test needs to quarantine until they get a test result (family members too). But why would a class quarantine without a confirmed positive case?

Yeah it's weird to close while you are awaiting results, unless they were experiencing couch, fever, and shortness of breath. Like it was obviously covid. But if we closed every time we were waiting for results, we would never be open. My daughters friends mom works at NIH and it tested every week....because she can.

Our center (in MD) also doesn't close while awaiting results, although I suppose if they had a child or staff member with very specific symptoms (loss of sense of smell/taste, cough, fever) they might. But for a kid with a runny nose awaiting test results? No. They follow MSDE health department guidelines and communicate promptly any changes in policy based on those.

We're pretty strict otherwise because we can be: WFH, only other indoor place is groceries once/week, didn't see local family for Thanksgiving. I'd be... not happy if other parents at our center were regularly going out to eat or to the gym or other risky places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have three kids, one in preschool/daycare, and the older two in a distance learning hub in their school building. All three will keep going to these places until they’re forced to shut down. DH and I don’t go anywhere aside from occasional trips to the grocery store, we both work FT, and our kids need childcare.

Daycares don’t drive COVID transmission. Neither do small groups of older kids, wearing masks, and spaced apart appropriately.

I'm sure they don't drive in large numbers, but I know two people who got covid from their kids in day care earlier this year, so I would like to see local numbers. I'm not alarmist, I'm a parent who needs my day care open, but I want to have a clear and informed view of risk in December, not July.

You know that many daycares were open for children of essential workers throughout the pandemic, right? If daycares were a major driver of transmission, even in areas with high positivity rates, we’d know it by now. Cases here and there, sure. We have neighbors who all got COVID from their youngest being in daycare (they were all fine, thankfully).

If you want no exposure to your kid, keep them home. But please don’t imply that daycares are some hidden source of major COVID spread. They’re not.

Where did you get that from PP? The data should be available. What's wrong with asking for that?

First of all, no, there won't be data from December because it's December 1. So "risk in December" has to be extrapolated. Second, PP is implying that because of the current spike, the numbers in daycares must be higher than in July. Maybe a little higher, but what I was pointing out is that daycares have been open this whole time in places with much higher community spread than we have (or have ever had) and there aren't data to suggest they're driving those outbreaks. People in this area forget how different it is in the rest of the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just wanted to say that if you are sending your child to daycare (and no judgment from me if you are -- I get it), you need to behave as though there could be an outbreak at your daycare any day.

I say this because I know a family that contracted Covid from their daycare right before Thanksgiving and almost certainly gave it to their family on Thanksgiving before realizing they had it. Their daycare followed every safety protocol you can imagine -- masks, temp checks, no one allowed in with any symptoms at all, etc. But a teacher tested positive the day before Thanksgiving and by the time people were contacted, multiple families already had symptoms and now there are more than 10 positives, plus more people who have symptoms but have not yet tested positive.

I don't know if daycares are a major source of spread in general. But if Covid gets into a daycare, there is every possibility that it will spread. Who knows -- maybe the teacher who got it was a super spreader, or maybe she got it from an asymptomatic child who was a super spreader. Maybe there is some lapse in their safety measures that hasn't occurred to anyone yet. Who knows? But the point is, if your kid is in daycare (or private school), your family is exposed to many other families and you need to behave accordingly. Act as you would if you were working in an ER or going to work in a grocery store every day. Don't visit elderly relatives, don't take other risks.

Just be smart about it.

Right. I know of a daycare where a class is currently shut down while awaiting test results for one family with Covid symptoms- which has now taken over a week with still no results! So I guess the bright spot is that if it does come back positive they'll already be over halfway through a 14-day quarantine, but it puts a lot of families in a bind because one family was careless. With the testing so slow right now, the results are almost meaningless.

Wow, you’re judgmental.
On another note...our daycare doesn’t quarantine a class until AFTER a positive is confirmed (i.e., not while awaiting results). Supposedly, they follow the advice of the health department (VA). Is this not standard practice?
We have had 4 confirmed cases in 7 months...all teachers, no kids.

That’s what I was about to ask- obviously the child who has taken a test needs to quarantine until they get a test result (family members too). But why would a class quarantine without a confirmed positive case?

Yeah it's weird to close while you are awaiting results, unless they were experiencing couch, fever, and shortness of breath. Like it was obviously covid. But if we closed every time we were waiting for results, we would never be open. My daughters friends mom works at NIH and it tested every week....because she can.

Our center (in MD) also doesn't close while awaiting results, although I suppose if they had a child or staff member with very specific symptoms (loss of sense of smell/taste, cough, fever) they might. But for a kid with a runny nose awaiting test results? No. They follow MSDE health department guidelines and communicate promptly any changes in policy based on those.

We're pretty strict otherwise because we can be: WFH, only other indoor place is groceries once/week, didn't see local family for Thanksgiving. I'd be... not happy if other parents at our center were regularly going out to eat or to the gym or other risky places.

I thoroughly expect and accept that other families at the center are not as strict as we are (similar to you except DH has to work in person). It just is what it is and part of the risk we take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have three kids, one in preschool/daycare, and the older two in a distance learning hub in their school building. All three will keep going to these places until they’re forced to shut down. DH and I don’t go anywhere aside from occasional trips to the grocery store, we both work FT, and our kids need childcare.

Daycares don’t drive COVID transmission. Neither do small groups of older kids, wearing masks, and spaced apart appropriately.

I'm sure they don't drive in large numbers, but I know two people who got covid from their kids in day care earlier this year, so I would like to see local numbers. I'm not alarmist, I'm a parent who needs my day care open, but I want to have a clear and informed view of risk in December, not July.

You know that many daycares were open for children of essential workers throughout the pandemic, right? If daycares were a major driver of transmission, even in areas with high positivity rates, we’d know it by now. Cases here and there, sure. We have neighbors who all got COVID from their youngest being in daycare (they were all fine, thankfully).

If you want no exposure to your kid, keep them home. But please don’t imply that daycares are some hidden source of major COVID spread. They’re not.

Where did you get that from PP? The data should be available. What's wrong with asking for that?

First of all, no, there won't be data from December because it's December 1. So "risk in December" has to be extrapolated. Second, PP is implying that because of the current spike, the numbers in daycares must be higher than in July. Maybe a little higher, but what I was pointing out is that daycares have been open this whole time in places with much higher community spread than we have (or have ever had) and there aren't data to suggest they're driving those outbreaks. People in this area forget how different it is in the rest of the country.

I'm the PP interested in "risk in December." Yes, I realize there are not statistics for the future. But the future is what i need to plan for, and I can't do that very well if the only data I can find on day cares and COVID in my state stops in August. Day cares weren't even allowed to open at capacity until October here. Obviously, October and November data would be more useful than April or July.

And who said the numbers must be higher? I didn't because I can't find this information. It would be just as much of a guess to say that based on July numbers, spread in day cares is minor now.

Yes, there are other states, but many are not comparable in a lot of other ways. I'm also not sure where data on this is being collected or reported because all of the synthesis studies I've found also deal with the spring and summer, and I don't have time to look for where 49 other states report on this. If you have a good comparison for MD, I'm all ears!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have three kids, one in preschool/daycare, and the older two in a distance learning hub in their school building. All three will keep going to these places until they’re forced to shut down. DH and I don’t go anywhere aside from occasional trips to the grocery store, we both work FT, and our kids need childcare.

Daycares don’t drive COVID transmission. Neither do small groups of older kids, wearing masks, and spaced apart appropriately.

I'm sure they don't drive in large numbers, but I know two people who got covid from their kids in day care earlier this year, so I would like to see local numbers. I'm not alarmist, I'm a parent who needs my day care open, but I want to have a clear and informed view of risk in December, not July.

You know that many daycares were open for children of essential workers throughout the pandemic, right? If daycares were a major driver of transmission, even in areas with high positivity rates, we’d know it by now. Cases here and there, sure. We have neighbors who all got COVID from their youngest being in daycare (they were all fine, thankfully).

If you want no exposure to your kid, keep them home. But please don’t imply that daycares are some hidden source of major COVID spread. They’re not.

Where did you get that from PP? The data should be available. What's wrong with asking for that?

First of all, no, there won't be data from December because it's December 1. So "risk in December" has to be extrapolated. Second, PP is implying that because of the current spike, the numbers in daycares must be higher than in July. Maybe a little higher, but what I was pointing out is that daycares have been open this whole time in places with much higher community spread than we have (or have ever had) and there aren't data to suggest they're driving those outbreaks. People in this area forget how different it is in the rest of the country.

I'm the PP interested in "risk in December." Yes, I realize there are not statistics for the future. But the future is what i need to plan for, and I can't do that very well if the only data I can find on day cares and COVID in my state stops in August. Day cares weren't even allowed to open at capacity until October here. Obviously, October and November data would be more useful than April or July.

And who said the numbers must be higher? I didn't because I can't find this information. It would be just as much of a guess to say that based on July numbers, spread in day cares is minor now.

Yes, there are other states, but many are not comparable in a lot of other ways. I'm also not sure where data on this is being collected or reported because all of the synthesis studies I've found also deal with the spring and summer, and I don't have time to look for where 49 other states report on this. If you have a good comparison for MD, I'm all ears!

I've lost track here, but are you looking for this information to help you decide whether to pull your kid for the month of December? If you're uncomfortable at all, just pull them. Unfortunately I don't think you are going to find the data-driven answer you are looking for, at least not in time to take action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have three kids, one in preschool/daycare, and the older two in a distance learning hub in their school building. All three will keep going to these places until they’re forced to shut down. DH and I don’t go anywhere aside from occasional trips to the grocery store, we both work FT, and our kids need childcare.

Daycares don’t drive COVID transmission. Neither do small groups of older kids, wearing masks, and spaced apart appropriately.

I'm sure they don't drive in large numbers, but I know two people who got covid from their kids in day care earlier this year, so I would like to see local numbers. I'm not alarmist, I'm a parent who needs my day care open, but I want to have a clear and informed view of risk in December, not July.

You know that many daycares were open for children of essential workers throughout the pandemic, right? If daycares were a major driver of transmission, even in areas with high positivity rates, we’d know it by now. Cases here and there, sure. We have neighbors who all got COVID from their youngest being in daycare (they were all fine, thankfully).

If you want no exposure to your kid, keep them home. But please don’t imply that daycares are some hidden source of major COVID spread. They’re not.

Where did you get that from PP? The data should be available. What's wrong with asking for that?

First of all, no, there won't be data from December because it's December 1. So "risk in December" has to be extrapolated. Second, PP is implying that because of the current spike, the numbers in daycares must be higher than in July. Maybe a little higher, but what I was pointing out is that daycares have been open this whole time in places with much higher community spread than we have (or have ever had) and there aren't data to suggest they're driving those outbreaks. People in this area forget how different it is in the rest of the country.

I'm the PP interested in "risk in December." Yes, I realize there are not statistics for the future. But the future is what i need to plan for, and I can't do that very well if the only data I can find on day cares and COVID in my state stops in August. Day cares weren't even allowed to open at capacity until October here. Obviously, October and November data would be more useful than April or July.

And who said the numbers must be higher? I didn't because I can't find this information. It would be just as much of a guess to say that based on July numbers, spread in day cares is minor now.

Yes, there are other states, but many are not comparable in a lot of other ways. I'm also not sure where data on this is being collected or reported because all of the synthesis studies I've found also deal with the spring and summer, and I don't have time to look for where 49 other states report on this. If you have a good comparison for MD, I'm all ears!

I've lost track here, but are you looking for this information to help you decide whether to pull your kid for the month of December? If you're uncomfortable at all, just pull them. Unfortunately I don't think you are going to find the data-driven answer you are looking for, at least not in time to take action.

Yes, agreed. I was looking for it to help me figure out how safe day care is during this surge. I wound up withdrawing my kid this week. Not sure if we will send him back next week, when hopefully we may know if there were direct impacts of Thanksgiving on our daycare, or keep him out until things look better (which will be a while). It's very hard to make these choices based on anecdotes. I am much less anxious with him home though.