Teachers and parents were right: 19 outbreaks in DC K-12 schools so far

[Anonymous]

Nineteen "outbreaks" in K-12 schools in DC. And that's with DCPS ALL VIRTUAL.

That's just charters and privates. Wow.

This situation STINKS. I want my kids at school. But I also want to support teachers and prevent COVID in DC from getting out of control. Virtual is bad but may be the best of bad options right now.

[Anonymous]

Oh no what will all the anti-WTU harpies scream about now

[Anonymous]

What is the definition of an outbreak here? My kid's private school tests weekly and has had one staff member test positive in the 6 weeks school has been hybrid. There's no evidence that this teacher was exposed at school and no evidence that he/she infected anyone else at school. Does that count as an outbreak?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nineteen "outbreaks" in K-12 schools in DC. And that's with DCPS ALL VIRTUAL.

That's just charters and privates. Wow.

This situation STINKS. I want my kids at school. But I also want to support teachers and prevent COVID in DC from getting out of control. Virtual is bad but may be the best of bad options right now.

What is the definition of "outbreak?" I understand supporting teachers and preventing spread but I feel like there is too little attention being paid to the effect on students' mental health. It is not sustainable for them to be virtual until next fall - too much long-term and irreversible mental toll. OP, are your kids not affected at all?

[Anonymous]

Does this count cases that happened before the CARES rooms even opened?

[Anonymous]

from a later tweet

Dr. Nesbitt explained today that an "outbreak" is 2 or more cases within a 14 day period. It could be 2 cases, or as many as 30.

It would be great if DC could release more data to get a sense of scale for these outbreaks.

But at least 2 cases in K-12 schools, 19 times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does this count cases that happened before the CARES rooms even opened?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the definition of an outbreak here? My kid's private school tests weekly and has had one staff member test positive in the 6 weeks school has been hybrid. There's no evidence that this teacher was exposed at school and no evidence that he/she infected anyone else at school. Does that count as an outbreak?

No. At least two cases over a 14 day period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:from a later tweet

Dr. Nesbitt explained today that an "outbreak" is 2 or more cases within a 14 day period. It could be 2 cases, or as many as 30.

It would be great if DC could release more data to get a sense of scale for these outbreaks.

But at least 2 cases in K-12 schools, 19 times.

If there is Covid in the community, there will of course be cases among people inside schools. That doesn't mean that they got infected at school, or that even if they did schools that accelerate the overall spread in a significant way, and it certainly doesn't mean that schools should remain closed, because the negative effects of that are huge and definitive.

This is what European experts are saying and I couldn't agree more.

[Anonymous]

Please. The original poster quite intentionally left out the introduction to this data table (reference: coronavirus.dc.gov/page/outbreak-data ). "Outbreak" equals 2 positive cases in a 14-day period, potentially unrelated.

[Anonymous]

It is also worth looking at the timeline of the "outbreaks."

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/coronavirus/page_content/attachments/Outbreak%20Data%20Guide%20FINAL%2012-6-20.pdf

Also note that the school category includes all staff and students involved in any activities in thebuilding in and out of the classroom, such as community services and sports.

[Anonymous]

Seriously? Close indoor dining and crap like that. Then we can talk about what we can do about schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nineteen "outbreaks" in K-12 schools in DC. And that's with DCPS ALL VIRTUAL.

That's just charters and privates. Wow.

This situation STINKS. I want my kids at school. But I also want to support teachers and prevent COVID in DC from getting out of control. Virtual is bad but may be the best of bad options right now.

Why does this data lead you to believe that open schools will lead Covid to getting out of control? That's not my takeaway at all, considering their definition of "outbreak", and the fact that none of these cases were likely transmitted inside classrooms, because as you note yourself, DCPS is all virtual.

[Anonymous]

This is a joke. This information is useless.

There are 130,000 children in DC. Tell me how many are getting in-person instruction currently and how many “outbreaks” are associated with that? And tell me what exactly these outbreaks were like. Was anyone actually sick? The vast majority of children have mild or no symptoms.

If you can’t answer the questions, then shut up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please. The original poster quite intentionally left out the introduction to this data table (reference: coronavirus.dc.gov/page/outbreak-data ). "Outbreak" equals 2 positive cases in a 14-day period, potentially unrelated.

Not only social media posts like this one, but a lot of the reporting on this issue is misleading. And I say this as a longtime and continuing consumer of the mainstream media, not a habitual critic of them.