The Chief Executive Demagogue would like the states to reopen schools.
This despite the fact that there has been a rash of cases with children getting Kawasaki disease in 15 states. Some scientists feel that this may be linked to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
This despite the fact that Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged caution before making any decisions on reopening schools. Even the CDC Director, Robert Redfield, said testing and contract tracing should be more pronounced so local and state leaders could make informed decisions about reopening.
This despite the fact that none of the 50 states have met the general CDC guidelines for reopening. That includes no widespread testing or contact tracing.
The possibility of making widespread hotspots in school districts with students, teachers, staff being exposed to the Coronavirus, and spreading it throughout the local neighborhood is a risk no one should take.
Schools should reopen only when:
- There are a firm testing and tracking system in place.
- School districts have adopted proper social distance, health, and safety measures that are customized to the needs of a specific school and all of the attending stakeholders.
- There is a greater understanding of whether or not the outbreak of Kawasaki Disease is a profound threat to children should they return to school en masse.
Educators and School Boards should listen to the experts. Listen to Fauci. Listen to Redfield.
Do not listen to the false prophets of science denial and wishful thinking.
Apparently, Donald Trump would sacrifice children if he thought it would help him win reelection.
Shun him and anyone else who would put a child in needless peril.
Only open schools again when it is safe to do so. Reopening may vary from community to community, state to state, region to region but safety, not politics should be the only criteria on determining when it is appropriate to do so.
While it is totally understandable to be concerned about the amount of learning time children may lose, educators can adjust school calendars and days over the needed time necessary (perhaps the next couple of years) to make up for that loss.
Learning time can not be made up if the child dies.
“Comment” submitted to NYT article:
This is a nice discussion. But no one, as far as I can tell, has brought up the elephant in the room. Is Trump moving to rapidly open up everything because he thinks that Covid-19 will kill more Democratic voters than Republican voters?
I think the reason no one has yet asked this question is that we don’t want to think that any US president could be that evil. And hopefully, it’s just another wild conspiracy theory.
But it seems that Trump is moving to undermine the viability of the Post Office. And the purpose seems obvious–preclude the possibility of a massive vote by mail policy in the Fall election.
Some will say that he’s just trying to get back at Jeff Bezos by raising Amazon’s shipping costs.
But Rahm Emanuel just said on “The View” (TV show) that Trump’s Post Office gambit is likely a “twofer” in its purpose. In other words, Trump would like either or both outcomes to be accomplished. And if that’s true Trump likely also thinks that his feud with Jeff Bezos is a good enough cloaking device for his larger intentions.
But again one has to consider another factor. Allowing financial insolvency (by Sep 2020) to disable the Post Office will create massive problems in rural businesses that support Trump. Or is this Post Office ploy just his way of signaling to Republicans to disrupt any vote-by-mail-for-all in key states?
It’s just damn hard to tell what is real anymore in American politics.
But it is likely that Covid-19 is killing more Democratic voters!
Children are carriers, sending them to school would spread the virus to their homes and families.
Opening schools before we have a vaccine will kill people. The end.
Trump and the GOP are a death cult.
Before you send your children into the petri dish of a school:
Axios reports, “Doctors in Italian hospital report “30-fold” jump in kids with inflammatory symptoms,” https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-children-italy-hospital-d58a9578-b7e4-4d9a-80ce-e3c66713490c.html
A hospital in the epicenter of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak has seen a 30-fold increase of children with severe inflammatory symptoms most often associated with Kawasaki-like disease, according to a study published Wednesday in the medical journal The Lancet. (LINK: “An outbreak of severe Kawasaki-like disease at the Italian epicentre of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic: an observational cohort study,” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31103-X/fulltext)
Why it matters: This is one of the first completed studies to examine the rise of an inflammatory illness that is affecting children — some of whom have tested positive for the coronavirus or its antibodies.
What they found: 7 boys and 3 girls, all aged 5 to 7 years old, were diagnosed with Kawasaki from February 18 to April 20. They were admitted to the hospital, on average, after six days of prolonged fever.
Eight of the children who were admitted to the hospital since February tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
Symptoms for patients up to 21 years old, experiencing what doctors are calling “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome,” include:
Persistent fever and inflammation
Abnormal, sudden or rapid heart rhythm
Rash
Diarrhea and vomiting
Weak pulse and rapid breathing
Dizziness or loss of consciousness
The big picture: There have been at least 50 cases of the inflammatory symptoms throughout Europe, the New York Times reports, including in Switzerland, France, Britain and Spain. New York has reported 102 cases and three deaths as of Wednesday.
The bottom line: Doctors behind the study expect a “similar outbreak of Kawasaki-like disease” in countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks.