We cancelled our kids going abroad to see grandma this summer. Super bummed, but they’d be going through two of the world’s biggest international airports, plus a third airport at the destination. And grandma’s country does not have a great healthcare system. It just didn’t seem wise. I think husband is still going (it’s his mom) and I’m trying to prod to get grandma to come here instead.
I’m so sorry that so many of your kids travel/study plans are having to change. I hope your kids find other good things to do. Hopefully, this all gets better soon, but lots of uncertainty for all, and tragedies for greatest affected countries.
Our daughter comes home from college next week for spring break. The school has done a good job of updating parents/ canceling study abroad programs etc.
The reality is this virus will be everywhere before we know it. We got an email that an employee of the local medical center down the street from school just tested positive after returning from a trip to Italy, we then found out he had attended a business school mixer prior to diagnosis (it was off campus and they have confirmed no current student in attendance.) Not the best timing heading into spring break, as kids will return home multiple states. Our daughter had an appt at the medical center the morning the news broke- she rescheduled.
The CDC’s guidance on study abroad programs is sadly lacking. It’s hard to see how it’s helpful to advise schools to “consider” canceling upcoming international programs, without drawing any distinctions about the risk level in various destinations. Sure, good practice at the moment to cancel trips to Italy and other Level 3 countries, and to carefully consider how things are moving in other countries too. But simply saying all international programs seems a bit much. My son has a baseball spring training trip to the Dominican Republic, which currently has one confirmed case (and that a tourist from Italy, diagnosed in the DR and in isolation). Statistically, it would be riskier right now to go to Seattle or CA than to the D.R. @vegas1 is right that this is going to be everywhere before you know it.
And now another confirmed case of a medical staffer testing positive AND there were current business school students at the mixer where the first staffer attended pre diagnosis. They are being monitored- although they say no direct contact with the medical staffer. Although 4 medical students were in close contact and will be in isolation.
I will be picking my daughter up Tuesday next week for spring break and returning to CA with her. Highly likely I won’t be allowed in my office when I return.
Probably facing a 14 day self isolation.
Our company canceled all nonessential travel for the next 30 days and asked all staff to avoid any social setting with more then 50 attendees.
Wow @vegas1. I wondered what the threshold was for reasonable social settings – 50 people is your company’s number. That really puts it in perspective for me. So many social settings are more than 50 people. Even just last night our LPS high school info event had hundreds. It crossed my mind last night if it was prudent to go. (I attended under pretense of having a solid post M10 plan B.)
Anyway, this is mushrooming in unpredictable ways.
@Calliemomofgirls my company shared that threshold today. My sisters company shared the same number yesterday as well. We have a task force that meets daily to asses the situation and make decisions accordingly.
@vegas1 My husband’s company just asked everyone to work from home. (I am self-employed, and in any case, am not working for a few weeks to take care of one of my daughters who just had surgery.). But now I’m suddenly thinking about things like: is going to church risky??! Gosh this is escalating at a really fast pace. It seems pretty certain that revisits will be out of the question!
@CTMom21 I have not heard that. My daughter’s boarding school did quarantine kids returning from China after their last break - they had an apt in a nearby city and not surprisingly I think the kids actually enjoyed it. The BS has also asked for names of places visited over the Spring Break just in case. My oldest is leaving tomorrow for her college Spring Break and she is headed to an Ultimate Frisbee tournament at Myrtle Beach. President Trump will be on her campus tomorrow which is causing a whole extra layer of complication with the kids all leaving. My husband leaves for Amsterdam - a hotel convention- tomorrow and my 18 year old is in Nepal till May. I am slightly worried about all of them but none of the organizations involved have cancelled. YIkes. Now I feel like we missed the memo. I have been watching Johns Hopkin’s Coronavirus tracker like a hawk but I agree - people seem to be kind of winging their responses to the virus and I don’t feel we have a ton of clarity beyond don’t travel to level 4 countries, wipe everything down and don’t touch your face. @vegas1 why do you anticipate being asked to self-quarantine? Because your daughter was exposed and you will have picked up your daughter? Or because your daughter was at an event where another exposed person also attended? As an LLC with just 5 employees we really don’t know what we should be telling folks.
I heard last night from one BS faculty member, and another administrator who recently left a BS and heard from friends at the former school, that they were telling students to take their books home for break, just in case. I haven’t heard anything like this from DS’s school. I’m hoping that because they’re small and pretty remote and self-contained, they are able to monitor student safety health well, such as upon return. I also hope they don’t cancel the spring training trip (also in FL), though I can see schools doing that out of caution.
Mercersburg’s break began Feb 28th, and there was no mention at that time to bring home textbooks. Although my son says that most of their books are online anyway, so that’s not really an issue. With the escalation in the US over the past few days, I have begun to wonder if they will actually stick to the March 16th return date. I think it’s possible they will consider delayed opening and move to a virtual classroom for a few days or longer.
As @busymommyof4 mentioned upthread, Mercersburg has a group of students staying on campus over break who were not allowed to travel home and could not find alternative US locations to stay in over break. So we’re already in unchartered territory, it will be interesting to see how all of the boarding schools respond as this continues to unfold.
I wonder if schools are also concerned about liability. Remember what happened with Hotchkiss several years ago @ student contracting encephalitis from a tic bite in China? Tragic story - less likely of a threat IMHO compared to Corona Virus.
Yes, multiple IS and boarding schools are telling students to bring “everything” school-related home for spring break. Some shared language in the letters - they do talk to one another, you know.
My worst nightmare would be paying the exorbitant price tag for a boarding school education but having my teenage son sitting at home on the couch, taking virtual classes on line! It’s hard for me to imagine that it will come to that.
Same here @HarrietMWelsch - kiddo just informed to be prepared for online learning and receiving downloads - not text books. OK…I’m being a bit selfish -but @Soxmom I would rather have my kiddo home with me…maybe we can have our kiddos start a group chat on CC with a new thread …Think what Kiddo would have the thread titled? “Students staying home being hounded by parents”, “Bored BS Students”, “Online & On The Couch”, “Save me from my mom and send me back to school” !!
@soxmon, I agree! I love him and all, but online school would be the worst thing for him (and DS works at home and would not enjoy it either). I know all the schools are talking and will take the same or similar approaches. And yes, @Golfgr8, I am sure that health and safety of the student body and faculty are genuinely the main concern but liability is right up there, though it’s got to be a tough call given the tuition that’s been paid, etc. I would not like to be a BS (or college) administrator right now!
