CDC Not Amending Its Proposed School Reopening Guidelines, But Will Hand Out Additional Documents
Meanwhile, the press continues attempts to derail the Trump administration’s reopening of schools by promoting pandemic panic.
100% of the participants I questioned today in my in-person poll agree with the following statement: I am so over COVID.
Clearly, Americans across the country are becoming more aware that the Wuhan coronavirus is substantially less lethal than initially feared. A recent study by researchers at Wake Forest found that between 12-14% of people tested in North Carolina have antibodies for the coronavirus, which indicates that they have been exposed to the virus and showed little or no symptoms.
The majority of the study participants are in the Triad area.
The findings suggest that COVID-19 is less deadly than originally thought and that the death rate for the disease could be in the range of 0.1%.
But the study also shows that there is significant community spread and that efforts so far to curtail COVID-19 are faltering.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said John Sanders, the chief of infectious diseases at Wake Forest Baptist. “We are clearly seeing a rapid increase in the number of people that we have antibody evidence who have been infected.”
But he said “the vast majority of these people have very few or no symptoms.”
“We can look at it and say the death rate is lower than we have estimated,” Sanders said. “The severity of symptoms is lower than we estimated and the vast majority of people who were infected are going to do fine.”
Furthermore, the death rate has declined by 86% from its peak in April and is clearly on the decline. In fact, the drop is so steep that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate that COVID-19 will cease to qualify as an epidemic under agency definitions rules.
Based on the new findings, and it is clear the country has “flattened the curve,” the Trump administration is having the CDC tweak school reopen rules to remove impractical and needless requirements.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is revising its guidance on reopening schools after President Donald Trump tweeted his disagreement with them, Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday.
“The president said today we just don’t want the guidance to be too tough,” Pence said at a news conference at the U.S. Department of Education. “That’s the reason why, next week, CDC is going to be issuing a new set of tools, five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.”
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said the agency will not amend its guidelines but will provide additional documents to help the communities:
“Our guidelines are our guidelines, but we are going to provide additional reference documents to aid basically communities in trying to open K-through-12s,” Redfield said. “It’s not a revision of the guidelines; it’s just to provide additional information to help schools be able to use the guidance we put forward.”
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“Right now, we’re continuing to work with the local jurisdictions to how they want to take the portfolio of guidance that we’ve given to make them practical for their schools to reopen,” he said.
In fact, a look at the European models of school reopening indicates that cases of coronavirus continued to decline after schools resume classes.
Early data from European countries suggest the risk to the wider community is small. At least when local infection rates are low, opening schools with some precautions does not seem to cause a significant jump in infections elsewhere.
It’s hard to be sure, because in most places, schools reopened in concert with other aspects of public life. But in Denmark, nationwide case numbers continued to decline after day care centers and elementary schools opened on 15 April, and middle and high schools followed in May. In the Netherlands, new cases stayed flat and then dropped after elementary schools opened part-time on 11 May and high schools opened on 2 June. In Finland, Belgium, and Austria, too, officials say they found no evidence of increased spread of the novel coronavirus after schools reopened.
However, the American press still wants to gin-up pandemic panic. For example, The New York Times smeared the nation of Sweden, which kept is economy mostly open and relied on personal responsibility for mitigation.
More than three months later, the coronavirus is blamed for 5,420 deaths in Sweden, according to the World Health Organization. That might not sound especially horrendous compared with the more than 129,000 Americans who have died. But Sweden is a country of only 10 million people. Per million people, Sweden has suffered 40 percent more deaths than the United States, 12 times more than Norway, seven times more than Finland and six times more than Denmark.
Here are the global death rates for based on all KNOWN cases within each country as of July 1, 2020, (remember the Wake Forest study indicating many people defeat the virus successfully without ever feeling ill):
Between the actual science and my poll, the data is in: The “consensus science” is settled, and the press needs to stop pushing pandemic porn.
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Normalizing “pandemic panic” or spreading social contagion.
Percentages are missleading when so many are infected. Please show your data e.g for Florida where absolute number of deaths increases steadily day by day.
The K-12 system is dominated and controlled to an almost exclusive degree by public sector unions and their allies in the school superintendent office and state education department. This is a very clear example of regulatory capture.
The fact is that only a very infinitesimal number of K-12 kids will have adverse effects. Almost none of these kinds are capable of transmitting the covid.
These are the facts. So if we apply the logic of differentiating that was used to ban 2 hour worship service while leaving liquor stores and box stores open then the schools should open.
Obviously there are teachers who have elevated risk factors and they can be utilized to run on line courses. These teachers can serve the students whose parents decide to keep at home.
The rest of the school population has no obvious reasons not to open. As for the head of one of the national teachers unions telling the rest of us ‘ to adjust our lives to the desired schedule of teachers unions’ go pound sand.
This power grab by the teachers unions is another bridge too far by the power hungry unions, elites and anarchist movement.
This lack of objective reality inherent in their arguments should be highlighted and used as the lever to disband public sector unions.
These public employees work for the taxpayers. We don’t owe them a job. It’s past time they were reminded of that. They can either have basic civil service protection or union protection not both.
In any case if their members refuse to work then fire them. Lots and lots of folks have academic degrees including MA/MS that are perfectly capable of instruction.
Actually, the main reason why school systems do not want to reopen is not the unions. Union opposition can be bought off as it always is. The main threat is from liability litigation. School systems and other government bodies simply do not want to spend billions of dollars on frivolous liability suits. One teacher gets sick and it will be the school system’s fault. One child gets sick and it will be the school system’s fault. And, given the unsupported hype that COVID is a highly fatal disease, school systems would be awash in liability claims. Not to mention the political ramifications of COVID infections among students and staff.
Certain interests created a monster out of COVID to terrify the populace. It is now very difficult for them to recast it a simply a bellicose kitten.
Maybe a bunch of lawsuits against them would be a great thing.
Really? and who is going to pay those judgements? That’s right the taxpayer. You and I. Also, what is the best way to avoid liability judgements? Keep the schools closed. See? No school. No way that students and teachers can contract the virus in a school environment. you think that will not happen? Liability claims caused the mass removal of playground equipment. So, why not schools? Yeah, frivolous lawsuits are always such a good idea.
But the savings from ending that monopoly will far exceed.
This is War.
In the case of most elementary online learning equals no learning. It is only moderately better in middle school. High school online learning is possible but has huge barriers for anyone who has ADD, or any who simply learn better in face to face settings. It can be done, but I do not for a moment think that the information both taught and actively learned is equal to face to face instruction.
Proving liability would be a VERY difficult thing. They would have to prove they were infected at the school and not someplace else. Good luck with that.
The schools could also have parents and teachers sign a liability waiver to return to school. Those who refuse can be shuttled into Virtual Teaching/Learning programs.
This is not hard.
Teacher’s unions should want back into the classroom, if they were smart, and I am not saying they are. Going to a virtual learning environment will have profound long-term effects on their profession which will likely lower pay and benefits. Example: A teacher living in West Virginia could teach classes in Manhattan for A LOT less they would pay for a local teacher.
If they were smart, they would protect their jobs by demonstrating classroom instruction is vital without viable substitute arrangements.
Bingo. The school I where I work doesn’t have a whole lot of money floating around to pay for litigation. Almost all of the “dumb rules” we have is to avoid it. We go broke even if we win. It sucks that that’s it is, but you gotta deal with reality rather than just expect the problem to go away. It’s so bad some schools in the area closed for that partial eclipse because they didn’t wanna get sued.
Mac45,
If the lawsuits are frivolous, as you describe them, then they will be dismissed.
When the teacher and the parents of the student are offered the option of ‘ on line instruction’ v in person they are assuming the risk of they choose in person attendance.
If a kid at a bus stop gets hit by a drunk driver while waiting on the school bus that ain’t the school boards issue. Same in this case. If the adult makes the decision for their child or the adult teacher makes their own choice on in person attendance that’s the end of it.
Maybe someone practicing in this area of school liability and infectious diseases can provide more clarity. IMO, I don’t see a contrast with covid v TB v Mumps etc.
Disease is a fact of life. When the data clearly show that school age kids are not going to have adverse effects if they contract covid absent a miniscule number nor are kids capable of transmitting covid there is no reason not to open schools.
Obviously the schools need to apply prevention and mitigation measures but it is very doable.
Either the guidelines about distance, cleaning and masks are effective, in which case we open up, or they are not in which case we all hunker down in our home.
One or the other is true. Not both.
“If the lawsuits are frivolous, as you describe them, then they will be dismissed.’
Not necessarily. Many frivolous lawsuit result in awards or are settle out of court to avoid some bleeding heart jury coming back with a “compassionate’ judgement. This is especially true where death and/or children are concerned. Even if the cases are eventually dismissed, this still runs up large legal costs for the defendants. Not to mention the negative political fallout from deaths due to COVID.
While there is little difference between COVID, Mumps, TB, or seasonal flus, there is a perception that COVID is a horribly fatal disease. It is a killer. At least according to those hyping it for political purposes. And, just as the parents and family members of drug addicts and criminals, who die at the hands of police, are suddenly out there singing their praises, even after throwing the deceased out of their lives years ago, the same thing will happen from parents who fought to get the schools reopened if their child contracts COVID and dies.
I’m not saying that the schools should not reopen. What I am saying is that some people, in the schools, will contract COVID. Some of them will probably dies as a result. And, that means that some liability suits will be filed and some will result in awards or settlements. It is natural that schools and other institutions would seek to avoid that.
“Even if the cases are eventually dismissed, this still runs up large legal costs for the defendants.”
An attorney who judges a case has a low probability of success will not take a case on contingency, forcing Plaintiff to pay fees. Most private Plaintiffs cannot pay these fees. The law suites will not happen.
You pointed out many reasons probability of win is very low, especially if schools offer an online solution or require a waiver for liability. I have not seen a teaching contract, but I bet, with all the viruses floating around schools already, there are already contractual liability waivers or laws in place that deny catching a virus at school a movable instance.
Lots and lots of families are going to home schooling.
Saw this mag at local stores and a couple of days latter the mags were all sold.
https://www.theoldschoolhouse.com
“The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Explore the benefits of homeschooling and gain support with help from The Old Schoolhouse®, the trade magazine and a top resource in home education”
Methinks families have also discovered just how much money they can save running only one car, fixing all meals at home, etc….,
North Carolina Had So Many Requests For Homeschooling The Government Website Crashed…
https://www.weaselzippers.us/451857-north-carolina-had-so-many-requests-for-homeschooling-the-government-website-crashed/
So, exactly WHY should we believe or care what the CDC says about anything?
The CDC never officially classified COVID as an epidemic. The most likely reason is because they knew that the cause of death on death certificates were being fudged in favor of a high number of deaths due to COVID. So, ignore any claims that it was an epidemic.
Also, the CDC has been all over the map with their guidelines for COVID. And, because the severity of the disease has been hyped for political reasons, they can not politically justify backing off of their original guidance. They are caught in a net of their devising.
So, it is better to simply ignore the CDC. They are unreliable at best. Will schools reopen? Maybe, maybe not. We will just have to wait and see. People have still not realized to what extent the COVID hoax has damaged this country and the world.
The Communists, Democrats, and Globalists haven’t even begin to realize how totally destroyed they are by their Wuhan Hoax.
Ivy League Cancels All Fall Sports On Pandemic Fears Through 2020
Another coronavirus-related bombshell this week: after Harvard “announced its Fall semester is going to online instruction only, with only 40% of students invited back to live on campus, the Ivy League on Wednesday announced the suspension of all Fall sports…..”
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/ivy-league-cancels-all-fall-sports-pandemic-fears-through-2020
Most faculty and admin staff do not want to go back.
Well…when you can get your money for nothing……
Government schools are garbage, why are we even fighting this fight? Home-school forever! It’s easier than you think, and think of all the k-12 indoctrination your kids will miss out on.
Not all of us send our kids to public school. Our class sizes are 20 to 1 ratio student/teacher. His teachers know considerably more about their subjects than I do. My son learns best in a face to face setting within a group of students. The difference between the 3/4 of the school year to the 1/4 home last year was immense. He no longer had his fun discussions about the origins of algebra and algebraic expressions with his teacher. Those discussions contributed to the fire in him to understand the subject and explore it. Some subjects, choir notably, were able to get very close to their in person experience via virtual choirs, but the ones he was studying in Honors and AP format (Algebra II, World History, Chemistry), well none came close in a virtual format. His school teaches in the “classical education” format and subjects are approached in ways that are not done in “public education”.
So, no, it isn’t easier than you think. Not for me. For some, yes, perhaps.
Why didn’t the teachers pursue that still?
You have a nuclear family; dad, mom, 2.5 kids. Both parents have to work, as they do in many households. Or worst, you have a single parent household, where the parent has to work. If such is the case, how does one home-school their children? Private schools cost money. Tutors cost money. And, often a significant amount of money. So, again, how does one home-school their children if the parents have to work? Now, one of my children was home-schooled. But, this only possible because we could get along on one salary. For a large number of people public school is the only option
Ok we have many saying we can’t open schools due to x, y and z.
No problem. Don’t open the public schools. Everyone gets a gap year. However that has a price….
1. The infrastructure of public schools is paid for by bonds. Those bonds are federally tax free because they support education. No educational experience being supported equals no favorable tax free status.
2. With no students we don’t need teachers on payroll. No teachers means no need for office support, nurses, cafeteria workers or administration. All furloughed.
3. Property taxes are paid to support educational activities. No educational activities means no need for property tax.
So how does this work? Easy. Payroll cost is eliminated. Those now unfettered funds go say 70/30 to parents and to infrastructure maintenance.
Utility costs virtually eliminated, as are costs for fuel, bus drivers, crossing guards, coaching salaries, team sport travel etc. Those funds flow back to the parents.
Now the parents have these funds along with the federal funds released to them so that they can utilize them to educate their children as they choose.
School choice has arrived.
Won’t work. Most states require that a school age child attend a specific number of days of structured instruction per year. Even home-schools have to generate lesson plan which takes into consideration hours spent on certain topics on a daily or weekly basis and testing has to be done. Attendance records have to be maintained and testing done. So, schools can not simply decide not to offer instruction. The way schools get around that requirement is to offer distance learning. This has its own problems, scholastically. Also, you have the problem of where to place the school age children while the parents work, if they are not in a school.
The COVID hoax has generated a big problem which reverberates throughout society. Will schools open in the fall? In some places, not in others. How will school closures affect personal finance and the economy? What long term ramifications will it create? When you are dealing with societal structures which are intertwined that they all affect each other, one thing can create widespread problems or benefits in many other areas.
Mac45,
Ok now apply the objections you raise to April, May and June of 2020 when schools closed down. I will be happy to wait for your research.
Yes many States mandate school attendance for x amount of instructional days per year till age 16. That does not mean only public schools qualify.
Bottom line here is powerful teacher unions are in some cases attempting to dictate what conditions they will accept.
Not going to fly. Soldiers must be able to deploy in order to perform. Teachers must be able to be in the classroom. If they refuse then fire them.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/07/us-education-spending-finland-south-korea
Guardian US teacher takeover
The US spends more on education than other countries. Why is it falling behind?
Spending per student exceeds the OECD average but the likes of Finland and South Korea get better results. What are they doing right and what can the US learn from them?
States spend from about $9000 to over $25,000 per student each year.
https://www.infodocket.com/2019/05/21/reference-new-data-u-s-school-spending-per-pupil-increased-for-fifth-consecutive-year-u-s-census-bureau-reports/
https://www.teaching-certification.com/teaching/education-spending-by-state.html
Oh good, more documents!
When people ask me what I would like more of in my life, I always answer: More documents.
I’m in Georgia. Things are more or less open.
It’s not a thing in my world. I don’t personally know anyone that’s gotten it. Except maybe me, right after Christmas, but I haven’t taken any test.
It’s just not a thing. All this hype — I don’t know how they keep it going, except the dems keep pushing it.
State legislatures- or even the national one in Washington- can take care of the liabilty problem.
Resolved- No business or government entity may be held responsible in any way for sickness from virus or bacteria. Exception to this- food poisoning, legionella pneumophila, both of which can be prevented by proper maintenance and operation.
I can’t thing off the top of my head of any other easy to justify exceptions. Schools to my knowledge have never been held responsible for mono.
Every February we have a large spike in seasonal flu cases. Lots of kids get the seasonal flu, and some of them die. They spread it to their teachers, and some of them of them infect Grandma who dies. This is simple. Since both the seasonal flu and covid-19 are respiratory diseases spread pretty much the same way, just have schools implement whatever protocols they use to combat the seasonal flu every winter. Or is there another reason besides worrying about the kids’ health, their teachers’ health, and keeping Grandma alive in play here?