Schools in Sweden have been open at the primary level pretty much throughout, but more for children whose parents are in the medical field and do not have childcare. This is from my Swedish friend who has family throughout so I do not have a link. I do know she speaks to her relatives via FT a minimum of weekly.
The U.S. could learn a lesson or two from Europe on how to contain the unemployment problem and better (more efficiently) distribute emergency relief funds. Most of the funding – vast majority – goes to employers to retain workers. And, most employers are happy to do so, given that they’ve invested resources in the workers they have.
I also think the U.S. could learn a lesson or two from Europe on where to prioritize safe reopening: SCHOOLS. Frankly, I’m puzzled in this country by the focus with respect to reopening on hair salons, restaurants, gyms, and tattoo shops. Shouldn’t the focus be on getting children (least vulnerable to this particular virus) back into school. I also think that the Department of Education at the federal level, as well as state levels, should be planning a systematic course of action for high schools and colleges. It’s FAR more important, in my view, that we get that sector of our country rolling again – where risk mitigation is feasible – than relatively high risk small businesses (certainly those that do their business indoors).
A couple of thoughts that went through my head while I was reading. I do always enjoy your posts.. First, I do not think many of our larger employers have shown a lot of interest in passing money down to their employees. Smaller, yes, but I absolutely do not believe a cent should go to larger companies. They already have the ability. Second, with the new turn of events in regard to whatever this is – that I am trying not to pay much attention to – that is now impacting kids, I think schools should hold off until that is figured out. I am thinking the children may not be as ignored by this virus as we originally thought.
Overall………you are absolutely correct that we can and should learn a lot from European countries. Sadly, it does not seem to be part of our DNA.
You are so right. If I had school age children, I would NOT
let them back to school until there is a vaccine. I wouldn’t care
what Humpty Trumpty says or the Governor for that matter. This illness is serious for children as well and it seems to hit them 4-6 weeks after recovering. This is horrific
and is causing deaths among the children.
My girls won’t. And the teachers and all staff are also at risk
Vicki thank you for posting the times you did yesterday on the fly over. The plane just flew by me.
Vicki and JP Dave, thank you for your posts. We have a slight, but respectful disagreement.
I was aware of Sweden’s policy, which indeed has kept primary schools open.
While I do acknowledge there are risks with sending children back to school, I think the risks are relatively small. By the way, I’m not talking about sending children back to school right now. We’re several weeks behind Europe on the epi-curve, so that’s not warranted. But, I think we should do everything we can to restart primary schools in late August. And, while following the data and implementing strict measures we should also do everything we can to restart high schools and colleges some time in the fall.
Thursday is for some reason the WORST day for coronavirus in the U.S. It all comes down to our truly awful, fragmented data gathering and reporting. It’s haphazard at best, and downright inaccurate at worst. There’s no way numbers of tests and deaths would invariably be highest on a Thursday. Yet, somehow that’s basically what’s been happening. Today’s no different, at least from the preliminary data. Let’s hope we stay under 25k new cases and 2,000 deaths.
If I had Fauci’s contact information I would tell him to please ensure we have a central repository moving forward, and a time each day (same for everyone!) that all must report. Not in batches from this county and that, or in some cases states (Arkansas is number one violater) that don’t report any data certain days! No, all states should do what Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland (among others) do: Report more or less at the same time every day in one go.
I may not have been clear. Come fall, there may well be procedures in place that mitigate covid exposure for kids and teachers. Are you comfortable then with what we do not know about the Kawasaki/toxic shock just showing up in kids. That prompted my concern. It spans from very young to late teens. Personally, and along with my thoughts when covid first appeared, I would prefer to wait and see where this new complication goes. Our experts have no clue that I am aware of.
Adding I love the idea of a central repository. I’m surprised Fauci doesn’t have some form of contact. That is a shame.
Fauci isn’t here as you know but maybe the deputy director?
There is a small group somewhere way over on one side that basically thinks we should shut down and nobody should do anything except sit in an enclosed room at home for the next few years (yes I’m being slightly sarcastic but you get the idea). They believe the #’s are rigged to be too low, and some of them believe one set of conspiracy theories., none of which are true. They believe what fits their agenda, or what they want to be the truth.
There is the group who think this was never a big deal, the #’s are rigged to be too high, that they are being forced to give up all their freedoms. Some of them believe in another set of conspiracy theories, none of which are true. They also believe what fits their agenda, or what they want to be the truth, except that it is opposite to group one.
And then there are the people in the middle, not trying to be experts in a field they have limited or no knowledge in, but try to learn by seeking factual information, keeping an open mind and using common sense. These folks comply with the temporary laws set forth by the leaders because they believe in making the changes and sacrifices necessary now to achieve the best possible outcome, knowing it won’t be a perfect outcome. They don’t feel like their rights are being stepped on. They realize they are being asked to abide by guidelines to do the best we know to do, based on the knowledge of experts in the medical and infections disease field, and they do it to the best of their ability, even though sometimes it sucks to have to do it. They know there is an end to this, and they don’t need to be dramatic little immature brats throwing tantrums because they don’t get everything their way – just the way they want it. These folks don’t really have a political agenda. They may love or loathe, worship or despise the leaders that stand before them, but they don’t let that get in the way of their logical and common sense methods of thinking about the situation and their resultant actions. They understand view points from both of the other camps, and the various situations that can make people see this one way or another. But when it comes down to it, they know that all they can do is their best to follow the rules, be kind, be courteous, and stop throwing other people down that may not share the same view they have. I proudly belong to this 3rd group. Optimistically I would like to think that the majority of the population does, and it probably does. But sometimes a trip through social media or mainstream media will have you doubting this, and believing our majority belongs to one of the other 2 camps. I sure hope not. This is a big test for us, and it’s not an easy one. I hope we are able to pass it, because how we do on this test is going to have a big impact on how we do on future ones.
My work place has now had over 20 positive cases and lost 6 people to this virus, not including a former coworker who just passed away from it a couple days ago. So far, I’m negative. I am going to be tested again in just a few days. In the mean time, I continue to visit my mom mainly from her kitchen window, and I continue to go about doing all of the safe practices I was asked to do, at work, at home, and in public. It’s not hard. Really, it’s not. If I was like a lot of people, I’d be pissed that I can’t go to my favorite beach, or that probably 90% of my annual fireworks tour is not going to take place. But I’m not pissed. I’m disappointed, yes. But all of these things will be back. The people who died from this won’t be back.
Stay safe & healthy friends.
I like that third group. I agree the majority belong to it.
I do think unease could be mitigated if we had leaders such as our governor and many of the New England governors. I watch baker every day. In part I watch to find out what the next steps are. In part I watch because his measured approach and calm demeanor give me confidence. He is truly what every leader should be, and ift doesn’t matter one bit whether a person agrees with his politics. He simply has qualities I’d look for in any leader. I felt the same about Bush Jr during and after September 11.
My deepest condolences to you, TK, for the losses you have had 🙁
Hang in there buddy . Sorry for those folks who have passed my condolences
Your workplace environment clearly is not safe during these times. Sorry for the losses of your coworkers.
Oh crap. So sorry to hear about those losses at work.
It really hits home how much this virus is closing in on all of us.
Our office provides services to the elderly in a large portion of Boston.
We have lost 41 elders to this virus so far. It’s horrific.
So far, only 2 staff members have tested positive and we have not lost
anyone.
I just heard on the tv news that there have been reports from dog owners that their dogs have become unusually aggressive towards them since the C-19 shutdowns.
Seems to be more reports of sick raccoons but is it rabies?
The segment really didn’t give much of an explanation.
A little less than 1700 new cases, for a little more than 14,000 tests.
About 11.5 – 12% positivity rate
11.8
Would like to see that number UNDER 10 and continuing to drop.
Absolutely.
I wonder if it would be better, to get to phase 1, if it were 14 straight days of lower positivity rates.
I say that, only because, as time goes by, in theory, we should be testing more.
You can get more positive results and it could take a long time to get 14 days in a row with less cases, but, if you were testing say 5,000 people per day and suddenly, that jumps to 20,000 people a day, then the positive results can be somewhat misleading when looking for a trend.
Vicki, thank you again for your posts, including the Atlantic article and contact information. I called Dr. Fauci and to my surprise Dr. Birx picked up the phone. “Dr. Deborah Birx speaking, if you’re calling about any Clorox or bleach agent you ingested, please dial poison control. Otherwise, how can I help you?” I asked her why an esteemed public health official with an outstanding career would be so accommodating to President Trump. She then said she was sorry but she had to try on several new scarves for an upcoming presser. She passed the phone to Tony, who told me the central repository was a “fantastic idea” but not implementable with the likes of Trump and Pence in charge. He told me this comment was “off record,” but I figured I’d let WHW know.
Real as my granddaughters would say? I’m thinking not but sadly, it is believable
Not real, but believable, I guess.
Exactly my thought.
TK, I’m sorry to hear about the losses you’ve experienced at work.
It’s all so difficult to process.
Let me preface what I’m about to write by saying I do not consider our president a stupid man. He’s ignorant in many ways, boorish, intolerant, and a few other adjectives I’ll omit, but he has a brain and I think he’s politically very savvy. But, he clearly suffers from an illogical mind at times, and one that’s really confused by numbers of any kind. He just said the following:
TRUMP: “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing we would have very few cases.”
In his mind, if we didn’t test anyone the virus would “magically disappear.” Remember when he said “one day, it will magically disappear.”
He is definitely not stupid. He is brilliantly manipulative. And if that doesn’t scare the hell out of folks, then I am very worried.
Governor Baker said he would have news about 2020 graduations and school openings in the fall on Monday.
Hopefully Phase “1” begins.
In Denmark, primary schools have been reopened since mid April. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-52649919/coronavirus-inside-a-reopened-primary-school-in-the-time-of-covid-19?
Schools in Sweden have been open at the primary level pretty much throughout, but more for children whose parents are in the medical field and do not have childcare. This is from my Swedish friend who has family throughout so I do not have a link. I do know she speaks to her relatives via FT a minimum of weekly.
The U.S. could learn a lesson or two from Europe on how to contain the unemployment problem and better (more efficiently) distribute emergency relief funds. Most of the funding – vast majority – goes to employers to retain workers. And, most employers are happy to do so, given that they’ve invested resources in the workers they have.
I also think the U.S. could learn a lesson or two from Europe on where to prioritize safe reopening: SCHOOLS. Frankly, I’m puzzled in this country by the focus with respect to reopening on hair salons, restaurants, gyms, and tattoo shops. Shouldn’t the focus be on getting children (least vulnerable to this particular virus) back into school. I also think that the Department of Education at the federal level, as well as state levels, should be planning a systematic course of action for high schools and colleges. It’s FAR more important, in my view, that we get that sector of our country rolling again – where risk mitigation is feasible – than relatively high risk small businesses (certainly those that do their business indoors).
A couple of thoughts that went through my head while I was reading. I do always enjoy your posts.. First, I do not think many of our larger employers have shown a lot of interest in passing money down to their employees. Smaller, yes, but I absolutely do not believe a cent should go to larger companies. They already have the ability. Second, with the new turn of events in regard to whatever this is – that I am trying not to pay much attention to – that is now impacting kids, I think schools should hold off until that is figured out. I am thinking the children may not be as ignored by this virus as we originally thought.
Overall………you are absolutely correct that we can and should learn a lot from European countries. Sadly, it does not seem to be part of our DNA.
You are so right. If I had school age children, I would NOT
let them back to school until there is a vaccine. I wouldn’t care
what Humpty Trumpty says or the Governor for that matter. This illness is serious for children as well and it seems to hit them 4-6 weeks after recovering. This is horrific
and is causing deaths among the children.
My girls won’t. And the teachers and all staff are also at risk
Vicki thank you for posting the times you did yesterday on the fly over. The plane just flew by me.
Oh how exciting!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV990fAGeOk
Very interesting article shared by my cousins son
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/what-if-both-trump-and-pence-get-covid-19/611632/
Vicki and JP Dave, thank you for your posts. We have a slight, but respectful disagreement.
I was aware of Sweden’s policy, which indeed has kept primary schools open.
While I do acknowledge there are risks with sending children back to school, I think the risks are relatively small. By the way, I’m not talking about sending children back to school right now. We’re several weeks behind Europe on the epi-curve, so that’s not warranted. But, I think we should do everything we can to restart primary schools in late August. And, while following the data and implementing strict measures we should also do everything we can to restart high schools and colleges some time in the fall.
Thursday is for some reason the WORST day for coronavirus in the U.S. It all comes down to our truly awful, fragmented data gathering and reporting. It’s haphazard at best, and downright inaccurate at worst. There’s no way numbers of tests and deaths would invariably be highest on a Thursday. Yet, somehow that’s basically what’s been happening. Today’s no different, at least from the preliminary data. Let’s hope we stay under 25k new cases and 2,000 deaths.
If I had Fauci’s contact information I would tell him to please ensure we have a central repository moving forward, and a time each day (same for everyone!) that all must report. Not in batches from this county and that, or in some cases states (Arkansas is number one violater) that don’t report any data certain days! No, all states should do what Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland (among others) do: Report more or less at the same time every day in one go.
I may not have been clear. Come fall, there may well be procedures in place that mitigate covid exposure for kids and teachers. Are you comfortable then with what we do not know about the Kawasaki/toxic shock just showing up in kids. That prompted my concern. It spans from very young to late teens. Personally, and along with my thoughts when covid first appeared, I would prefer to wait and see where this new complication goes. Our experts have no clue that I am aware of.
Adding I love the idea of a central repository. I’m surprised Fauci doesn’t have some form of contact. That is a shame.
Fauci isn’t here as you know but maybe the deputy director?
https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/director-contacts
I’d write also if you think it would help.
https://scitechdaily.com/vitamin-d-determines-severity-in-covid-19-researchers-urge-government-to-change-advice/
Get your Vit D!
I had read C as well. Thanks Chris.
So there are 3 main camps in all this.
There is a small group somewhere way over on one side that basically thinks we should shut down and nobody should do anything except sit in an enclosed room at home for the next few years (yes I’m being slightly sarcastic but you get the idea). They believe the #’s are rigged to be too low, and some of them believe one set of conspiracy theories., none of which are true. They believe what fits their agenda, or what they want to be the truth.
There is the group who think this was never a big deal, the #’s are rigged to be too high, that they are being forced to give up all their freedoms. Some of them believe in another set of conspiracy theories, none of which are true. They also believe what fits their agenda, or what they want to be the truth, except that it is opposite to group one.
And then there are the people in the middle, not trying to be experts in a field they have limited or no knowledge in, but try to learn by seeking factual information, keeping an open mind and using common sense. These folks comply with the temporary laws set forth by the leaders because they believe in making the changes and sacrifices necessary now to achieve the best possible outcome, knowing it won’t be a perfect outcome. They don’t feel like their rights are being stepped on. They realize they are being asked to abide by guidelines to do the best we know to do, based on the knowledge of experts in the medical and infections disease field, and they do it to the best of their ability, even though sometimes it sucks to have to do it. They know there is an end to this, and they don’t need to be dramatic little immature brats throwing tantrums because they don’t get everything their way – just the way they want it. These folks don’t really have a political agenda. They may love or loathe, worship or despise the leaders that stand before them, but they don’t let that get in the way of their logical and common sense methods of thinking about the situation and their resultant actions. They understand view points from both of the other camps, and the various situations that can make people see this one way or another. But when it comes down to it, they know that all they can do is their best to follow the rules, be kind, be courteous, and stop throwing other people down that may not share the same view they have. I proudly belong to this 3rd group. Optimistically I would like to think that the majority of the population does, and it probably does. But sometimes a trip through social media or mainstream media will have you doubting this, and believing our majority belongs to one of the other 2 camps. I sure hope not. This is a big test for us, and it’s not an easy one. I hope we are able to pass it, because how we do on this test is going to have a big impact on how we do on future ones.
My work place has now had over 20 positive cases and lost 6 people to this virus, not including a former coworker who just passed away from it a couple days ago. So far, I’m negative. I am going to be tested again in just a few days. In the mean time, I continue to visit my mom mainly from her kitchen window, and I continue to go about doing all of the safe practices I was asked to do, at work, at home, and in public. It’s not hard. Really, it’s not. If I was like a lot of people, I’d be pissed that I can’t go to my favorite beach, or that probably 90% of my annual fireworks tour is not going to take place. But I’m not pissed. I’m disappointed, yes. But all of these things will be back. The people who died from this won’t be back.
Stay safe & healthy friends.
I like that third group. I agree the majority belong to it.
I do think unease could be mitigated if we had leaders such as our governor and many of the New England governors. I watch baker every day. In part I watch to find out what the next steps are. In part I watch because his measured approach and calm demeanor give me confidence. He is truly what every leader should be, and ift doesn’t matter one bit whether a person agrees with his politics. He simply has qualities I’d look for in any leader. I felt the same about Bush Jr during and after September 11.
My deepest condolences to you, TK, for the losses you have had 🙁
Hang in there buddy . Sorry for those folks who have passed my condolences
Your workplace environment clearly is not safe during these times. Sorry for the losses of your coworkers.
Oh crap. So sorry to hear about those losses at work.
It really hits home how much this virus is closing in on all of us.
Our office provides services to the elderly in a large portion of Boston.
We have lost 41 elders to this virus so far. It’s horrific.
So far, only 2 staff members have tested positive and we have not lost
anyone.
Please stay safe and keep your Mom safe.
Interesting numbers
https://www.uxbridge-ma.gov/sites/uxbridgema/files/uploads/weeklyupdate_may14_final.pdf
I just heard on the tv news that there have been reports from dog owners that their dogs have become unusually aggressive towards them since the C-19 shutdowns.
Seems to be more reports of sick raccoons but is it rabies?
The segment really didn’t give much of an explanation.
A little less than 1700 new cases, for a little more than 14,000 tests.
About 11.5 – 12% positivity rate
11.8
Would like to see that number UNDER 10 and continuing to drop.
Absolutely.
I wonder if it would be better, to get to phase 1, if it were 14 straight days of lower positivity rates.
I say that, only because, as time goes by, in theory, we should be testing more.
You can get more positive results and it could take a long time to get 14 days in a row with less cases, but, if you were testing say 5,000 people per day and suddenly, that jumps to 20,000 people a day, then the positive results can be somewhat misleading when looking for a trend.
Vicki, thank you again for your posts, including the Atlantic article and contact information. I called Dr. Fauci and to my surprise Dr. Birx picked up the phone. “Dr. Deborah Birx speaking, if you’re calling about any Clorox or bleach agent you ingested, please dial poison control. Otherwise, how can I help you?” I asked her why an esteemed public health official with an outstanding career would be so accommodating to President Trump. She then said she was sorry but she had to try on several new scarves for an upcoming presser. She passed the phone to Tony, who told me the central repository was a “fantastic idea” but not implementable with the likes of Trump and Pence in charge. He told me this comment was “off record,” but I figured I’d let WHW know.
Real as my granddaughters would say? I’m thinking not but sadly, it is believable
Not real, but believable, I guess.
Exactly my thought.
TK, I’m sorry to hear about the losses you’ve experienced at work.
It’s all so difficult to process.
Let me preface what I’m about to write by saying I do not consider our president a stupid man. He’s ignorant in many ways, boorish, intolerant, and a few other adjectives I’ll omit, but he has a brain and I think he’s politically very savvy. But, he clearly suffers from an illogical mind at times, and one that’s really confused by numbers of any kind. He just said the following:
TRUMP: “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing we would have very few cases.”
In his mind, if we didn’t test anyone the virus would “magically disappear.” Remember when he said “one day, it will magically disappear.”
He is definitely not stupid. He is brilliantly manipulative. And if that doesn’t scare the hell out of folks, then I am very worried.
German restaurants are reopening and they’re making patrons wear pool noodles: https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1261072809150857216/photo/1
Brilliant. One of my girls mentioned this yesterday…..the other thought they meant real noodles. I will share this photo.
C-19 for 5-15 is up…