Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:48     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:I don’t think Fairfax county schools should close now. We need at least some evidence of community spread, and plans for childcare and online learning.

People who can’t work and won’t get paid could lose their jobs, and then their homes. We need something more concrete than a handful of cases to make this decision. It’s too soon. As this week brings us more information, we can reevaluate.


That is what people in northern Italy were thinking when it first started there. Now they are shutting down the northern parts of the country. Too little, too late!
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:46     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What?! There are many kids who only eat at school. There are many families who can’t afford child care or can’t stay at home.




THIS. OP and the other PPs are clearly privileged folks that will not be impacted by school closures. Likely stay at home or work from home parents. Most of us are not so privileged. My DD's school has a 25% FARMs rate. A lot of kids get sent home with a bag of food on Friday afternoon to help them get through the weekend. This would be devastating for those children.


How many of these kids are undocumented? This is why some of us don’t want illegal immigration - because at times like this, the poverty it brings with it causes major issues
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:46     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What?! There are many kids who only eat at school. There are many families who can’t afford child care or can’t stay at home.




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.


WHAT ABOUT FAIRFAX COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT ARLINGTON COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT HOWARD COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT PG COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT LOUDON COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER COUNTIES THAT ARE NOT YOUR COUNTY?????


They will likely have plans as well. We need to worry about death before malnutrition. You don't have your priorities straight.



what malnutrition, everybody is obese including many kids.


Don’t use the word malnutrition if you don’t know what it means. One can be morbidly obese and malnourished at the same time. Calories in, especially cheap carbs that starve off hunger pangs, doesn’t mean nutrients in. I used to work in WV in public health. Lots of overweight and malnourished adults and children.


oh please what a joke. most junk food is fortified with nutrients. the whole country could skip eating for a month and a vast majority would benefit from it.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:45     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:For basically 95% of people it is a cold. Relax.

Agree.
It is less lethal than the flu. Do we close schools when there is the flu? No.


It's much more lethal than the flu.


It is 10 times more lethal than the flu.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:37     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
They need to close.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:33     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
A petition to DHHS and VP to close schools across the United States.
http://chng.it/cppsNcDxtv

Without serious, immediate, large-scale intervention the coronavirus outbreak is projected to overrun medical facilities in the US by early to late May - https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1236095180459003909.html
School closure is an accessible and minimally invasive way of reducing transmission. This will slow the spread of the virus by reducing the frequency of large gatherings which in turn will give medical facilities slightly more breathing room to deal with this pandemic.


Signed by 1300 people since yesterday.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:21     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
I don’t think Fairfax county schools should close now. We need at least some evidence of community spread, and plans for childcare and online learning.

People who can’t work and won’t get paid could lose their jobs, and then their homes. We need something more concrete than a handful of cases to make this decision. It’s too soon. As this week brings us more information, we can reevaluate.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:11     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
With about 800 confirmed cases now, Germany is currently dithering over whether to close schools. a prominent virologist Alexander Kekule is recommending the whole country take a 14 day coronavirus holiday to allow clusters (he calls them herds) to be identified and quarantined and isolated to try to slow the spread or even stop it in less affected areas.

I'm also reading the Germany has been refusing to export protective masks and clothing to Switzerland. This is an indication of the stress on the health care system. If workers don't have protective clothing, most won't work. Things are getting to the point where they need to stop exporting the masks they produce in Germany. This is after just about 2 weeks since cases started growing in the community.

https://web.de/magazine/panorama/live-blog-coronavirus-italien-sperrzone-34468484

Switzerland is outraged by the German export ban for protective masks
9:29: The German ban on exports of protective clothing for the fight against the new coronavirus has diplomatic, according to a media report tensions with Switzerland out.

As the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) informed the "NZZ am Sonntag", the Confederation had summoned the German ambassador and had also presented itself to the responsible ministries in Berlin. "In these contacts, the German authorities were urged to release the blocked programs immediately," the newspaper quotes from a response from Seco.

According to "NZZ am Sonntag", a truck from a Swiss company is currently being prevented from traveling to Switzerland by German customs authorities. The truck was loaded with 240,000 protective masks . According to the Seco, this is not an isolated case.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:09     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I wonder if elementary school teachers could do lessons via Facebook live. Or some other platform.


I’m pro-close, but the access to technology issue for low income families is going to make that hard:
What if there’s no device for the child? Or there’s one device but 3 ES kids?
Who pays the cell phone bills when the data plan is blown by six hours of online instruction in a household without wifi.

I think MCPS needs to use the tv system and run two sessions for each ES/MS grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) and each high school core course.


What about childcare and adults’ work requirements?
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:04     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know - what did China and Korea do regarding work requirements, kids’ education, etc during their lockdowns and quarantines?


Online education; Switch summer break to extend winter break. Here we have Spring Break is coming, why not have a early spring break to allow people have a self quarantine? Especially here is the fact:

Many students from both Wootton High and RFMS volunteered at the Village at Rockville after Feb. 28. We are extremely concerned that these individuals are NOT considered at risk of contracting the virus. The incubation period of this virus can be as long as 24 days or longer. Some people who have contracted the virus may not even exhibit any symptom but can still be contagious.

Also please read what experts say:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opinion/coronavirus-schools-closed.html
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 07:02     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:I wonder if elementary school teachers could do lessons via Facebook live. Or some other platform.


I’m pro-close, but the access to technology issue for low income families is going to make that hard:
What if there’s no device for the child? Or there’s one device but 3 ES kids?
Who pays the cell phone bills when the data plan is blown by six hours of online instruction in a household without wifi.

I think MCPS needs to use the tv system and run two sessions for each ES/MS grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) and each high school core course.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 06:55     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What?! There are many kids who only eat at school. There are many families who can’t afford child care or can’t stay at home.




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.


WHAT ABOUT FAIRFAX COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT ARLINGTON COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT HOWARD COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT PG COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT LOUDON COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY?

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER COUNTIES THAT ARE NOT YOUR COUNTY?????


They will likely have plans as well. We need to worry about death before malnutrition. You don't have your priorities straight.



what malnutrition, everybody is obese including many kids.


Don’t use the word malnutrition if you don’t know what it means. One can be morbidly obese and malnourished at the same time. Calories in, especially cheap carbs that starve off hunger pangs, doesn’t mean nutrients in. I used to work in WV in public health. Lots of overweight and malnourished adults and children.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 06:55     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know - what did China and Korea do regarding work requirements, kids’ education, etc during their lockdowns and quarantines?


Online education; Switch summer break to extend winter break. Here we have Spring Break is coming, why not have a early spring break to allow people have a self quarantine? Especially here is the fact:

Many students from both Wootton High and RFMS volunteered at the Village at Rockville after Feb. 28. We are extremely concerned that these individuals are NOT considered at risk of contracting the virus. The incubation period of this virus can be as long as 24 days or longer. Some people who have contracted the virus may not even exhibit any symptom but can still be contagious.

Also please read what experts say:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opinion/coronavirus-schools-closed.html
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 06:51     Subject: Here is why we should close schools now.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Closing now would be premature.


Closing now slows down the spread and protects families. This IS the time to close while most community infections are symptomatic. It’s too late once people start dying.


We are a two teacher household. We both think there is no need to close the schools. Wash your hands and keep on keeping on.


Different two teacher household and we both think a close of 3 to 4 weeks is a prudent idea.


You’d still get paid, right?


I ran this question past my union rep and she said it could be similar to a massive blizzard. We might get paid for a 15 day close, but the state could decide to not waiver it and we could end up making up days at the end and those days would be considered already paid —even if a teacher was missing two weeks of pay at a summer camp or other job they needed to make their budget work for August and September.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2020 06:50     Subject: Re:Here is why we should close schools now.
School closures and a public health measure should not be decided by school districts on their own.

It should be a decision made by public health.

Honestly we should have been making plans starting back in late January for this. We had a lot of warning this pandemic was going to likely happen.

You don't close schools so much to protect children and teachers but to protect health care workers and our health care system, especially to remain open and able to deal with non coronavirus conditions that will still continue to need attention (childbirth, injuries, stroke, appendicitis, dialysis... )