Dorchester closing schools again due to rising cases of COVID in the county

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/coronavirus-surge-closes-schools-on-eastern-shore/2020/10/23/65c24e24-1531-11eb-ad6f-36c93e6e94fb_story.html?fbclid=IwAR2FolVzaRFSxm-9qAyoEVeTbzyZX00Ou_MJgF7uQbC2BdgDTz3dKppfuJk

After ~1 month of a phased in return, Dorchester schools are closing out of caution due to rising cases. The cases aren’t directly tied to the schools, but rolling back phase level is part of control of spread of COVID.

[Anonymous]

Glad they're doing the responsible thing however unpopular

[Anonymous]

Poultry processing plants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poultry processing plants

Seriously? We have plenty of people working higher risk jobs in other areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poultry processing plants

No. There is no particular pattern to these new cases.

“The scary part is how quickly it flipped, and it seemed to be growing exponentially,” Bromwell said. “It just appears that it’s hitting rural America.”

The sharp increase has not been traced to a particular event or outbreak in any part of the county and has affected people across age levels, Harrell said. The county includes the city of Cambridge, amid an expanse of farmland and waterways.

“We’ve not really figured out why,” he said. “I wish we had the magic answer, but we don’t have it yet.”

[Anonymous]

Yes, PP. I kept looking for an explanation but apparently according to the Health Officer, there is not a single explanation.

This is an example of how things should work, with the district reverting to virtual following a rise in the cases and positivity in the community.

Frankly, right now, three jurisdictions in Maryland have positivity rates over 5% (Dorchester, Allegheny, and Garrett), which even under the Governor's metrics, means that school should not having students attend in person. Allegheny and Garrett are two counties that had very low positivity and case numbers, but are seeing a surge. I have no idea why, because State leaders don't bother to comment on any bad news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, PP. I kept looking for an explanation but apparently according to the Health Officer, there is not a single explanation.

This is an example of how things should work, with the district reverting to virtual following a rise in the cases and positivity in the community.

Frankly, right now, three jurisdictions in Maryland have positivity rates over 5% (Dorchester, Allegheny, and Garrett), which even under the Governor's metrics, means that school should not having students attend in person. Allegheny and Garrett are two counties that had very low positivity and case numbers, but are seeing a surge. I have no idea why, because State leaders don't bother to comment on any bad news.

Probably colder weather. Aren't those counties in the mountains?

What about West Virginia -- are they also experiencing a similar surge?

[Anonymous]

Dorchester is Eastern Shore. Allegheny and Garrett are Western Maryland.

I find it interesting that cases are slowing rising all across Maryland, without a specific change in openings, but with a change in weather. There was a study from the spring where someone analyzed 40 urban cities worldwide to compare COVID case transmission rates and average temperature and humidity levels. There seemed to be a higher transmission levels with cooler temperatures and lower humidities. We may be experiencing that now. It's not just that more people are indoors, but that the virus is viable for infection longer at mid range temperatures/humidities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dorchester is Eastern Shore. Allegheny and Garrett are Western Maryland.

I find it interesting that cases are slowing rising all across Maryland, without a specific change in openings, but with a change in weather. There was a study from the spring where someone analyzed 40 urban cities worldwide to compare COVID case transmission rates and average temperature and humidity levels. There seemed to be a higher transmission levels with cooler temperatures and lower humidities. We may be experiencing that now. It's not just that more people are indoors, but that the virus is viable for infection longer at mid range temperatures/humidities.

I recall reading somewhere that it does transmit better in the air (maybe it lingers longer?) at lower temperatures, so that plus people more likely to be indoors would explain the rise. We're seeing rises in nearly every state in the US, so it's consistent.

Also Dorchester's rate seems to be going down (but still high). The population there is only 32k (about half of Bethesda), so just one or two families testing positive can really raise their numbers.

[Anonymous]

I stayed in the Chesapeake Hyatt last weekend (in Dorchester Co.) The staff was all masked and so were most guests. They had good options to order pick up food to avoid contact. But they were allowing a LOT of unmasked guests to just sit in their main dining area/lobby unmasked, and there also was a big wedding that seemed to have a lot of unmasked people and may have had an indoor reception (not sure).

It seemed pretty safe for me because I could avoid the unmasked people, but they clearly are not minimizing risk to their staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stayed in the Chesapeake Hyatt last weekend (in Dorchester Co.) The staff was all masked and so were most guests. They had good options to order pick up food to avoid contact. But they were allowing a LOT of unmasked guests to just sit in their main dining area/lobby unmasked, and there also was a big wedding that seemed to have a lot of unmasked people and may have had an indoor reception (not sure).

It seemed pretty safe for me because I could avoid the unmasked people, but they clearly are not minimizing risk to their staff.

This is everywhere,