They will close schools and ask everyone who can self quarantine to do so to give authorities a chance to get ahead of this. To ensure that hospitals don't end up being overwhelmed by the elderly, ill and .02 percent of kids who will get serious complications. I predict schools are closed for three weeks, including spring break.

Anonymous wrote:They won't. They will wait until things get worse, THEN close.

Not if parents will voice their concerns, yes if nobody say anything.

Agreed. Here are my two posts from the MCPS forum on the subject:



Time to close MCPS.

We need to close this week of March 9th (for a duration as yet undetermined) to slow down the epidemic in our area in order to treat all patients as best we can.

We cannot afford to wait until testing comes back positive for hundreds of students. By that time, they will have greatly accelerated the viral spread and contaminated thousands of people. While most won’t take up a hospital bed, hospitals will be overwhelmed - they’re operating at capacity right now because of flu - and at-risk patients will die preventable deaths because they won’t be looked after properly.

Governments and business also need to operate at reduced capacity and encourage telework as much as possible.


- and -


It's a question of hospital capacity.

The total number of COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization + the expected number of patients needing hospitalization from other causes should be smaller than or equal to the total number of beds, in any given area, at any given time.

We cannot stop the epidemic. We can slow its spread by closures, quarantines and systematic social distancing so that all patients can have the best level of care. Otherwise patients will die from lack of medical supervision (personnel will be stretched thin, exhausted and overwhelmed), and lack of medical equipment and resources. Not just COVID-19 patients, but ALL patients in hospitals. Patients sick from cancer, flu, pneumonia, the labor and delivery ward, the ones with broken bones from car accidents, etc... Viruses spread like wildfire in hospital settings.

Yes, we are buying time. Time that will save lives. It could be your own.

Anonymous wrote:If they can’t test then we should close schools until they can.

And shut down flights, etc.

No one wants to have their kids at home, but think of the teachers. Many are in the older age brackets. Myself included. Many kids don’t show symptoms but are highly contagious. It’s not enough to wait and see how many get sick.

Anonymous wrote:Disagree. It should be an absolute last resort. Too many vulnerable families rely on services through school. And closing schools means nothing without a larger, full scale shut down of the work force.

Make testing available everywhere. That should be the top priority. Instead, flights are landing from Italy and S Korea and they are not testing ANYONE. So yes, the US is botching this big time. Our cases are low now, but it’s already everywhere. Closing schools does nothing without the ability to TEST PEOPLE.

MCPS ALREADY PROMISED CONTINUATION OF FOOD SUPPORT FOR THOSE!!!

This had to be solved just like it is in summer when the school is out. This is the rich t approach. Help those in need without risking the entire population and the community by keeping schools open at this time.

If they can’t test then we should close schools until they can.

Anonymous wrote:Disagree. It should be an absolute last resort. Too many vulnerable families rely on services through school. And closing schools means nothing without a larger, full scale shut down of the work force.

Make testing available everywhere. That should be the top priority. Instead, flights are landing from Italy and S Korea and they are not testing ANYONE. So yes, the US is botching this big time. Our cases are low now, but it’s already everywhere. Closing schools does nothing without the ability to TEST PEOPLE.

What do you mean by “absolutely last resort”?

Mortality rate for the age group between 9 and 19 years old is

0.2%

That is two children for every 1000 sick.

Just MCPS has 160K students. Lots of them with health issues like asthma.

Disagree. It should be an absolute last resort. Too many vulnerable families rely on services through school. And closing schools means nothing without a larger, full scale shut down of the work force.

Make testing available everywhere. That should be the top priority. Instead, flights are landing from Italy and S Korea and they are not testing ANYONE. So yes, the US is botching this big time. Our cases are low now, but it’s already everywhere. Closing schools does nothing without the ability to TEST PEOPLE.

They won't. They will wait until things get worse, THEN close.

How long would they remain closed?

Please share your thoughts.

Agree

For the kids safety, parents and community alike

Regardless of low mortality and mild manifestation of coronavirus in children, there are many children with underlying condition that will be in the high risk group.

Also considering demographics reality most of middle and high schoolers have parents and grandparents in 60+ group that is now in CDC stay home for preventive measures recommendation group.
These parents and grandparents live together with kids often in one household, many has lots of other risk factors at this age. Continued possible exposure of kids at schools put their caregivers at extreme risk for contraction and complications and possible death.
Kids can bring it home.

New CDC guidance says older adults should 'stay at home as much as possible' due to coronavirus
Early data suggests older people are twice as likely to have serious illness from the novel coronavirus, according to the CDC.

This ought to be top of mind for people over 60, and those with underlying health problems, such as heart or lung disease, diabetes, or compromised immune systems," Schaffner added. "The single most important thing you can do to avoid the virus is reduce your face to face contact with people."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html