@twogirls I think 180 were EXPOSED, not necessarily infected.
Two girls, yes they are saying that those 180 people at the Mothers Day service were exposed, but they haven’t reported any infections yet. Hopefully none, but I understand they may not have been socially distancing at all, so it will be interesting to hear the follow up and see if any people were infected.
Say what you want about the governors in the tri-state area (lots of opinions around) but I believe that right now they are doing an excellent job outlining a plan of action to get things up and running again. When they say schools can reopen safely, I will trust that decision…whether it happens in September…or later. You can’t argue with science and data.
I agree that sending students home in the event of outbreak is dangerous. But how could a school like Purdue isolate its large student population in such an event?
Purdue is already floating the idea of not tearing down some older dorms that were scheduled for demo, and contracting with local hotels for quarantine spaces. There will be a ban on outside visitors to campus so hotels will not be seeing revenue fir things like parent weekend and such.
The covid response committee has been working since since the moment students left campus in March to come up with a plan to minimize risks to their vulnerable populations while getting students back to campus.
I think this is really useful. It’s actually worse: in the model, they are only talking about transmission in classes. Can you imagine what the R will be like when you add dorms, parties, and bars?
The virus is still out there. We have to guard against wishful thinking here…
On a related point, I know of many professors who want to go back to campus to teach, and not for any economic incentive. Rather, it’s actually a lot easier and rewarding to teach face to face, and to meet with students.
But I just don’t see how social distancing can be maintained. Outside of lecture theatres there are tons of students. They all go through the same door at the start of lecture. There are a ton of students at the cafeteria, and at the sports center. This is all as it should be.
And you might argue - o.k., those professor at risk should teach from home. But what about the janitors? How do they clean remotely? Or the people serving the food? Or the local community surrounding the college?
And then you might argue - if hospitals can stay open, why not colleges? Well, first, they have PPE. This isn’t an insurmountable barrier for a college, but it is something that would be needed in fair quantities, every day. Second, hospitals don’t do most of their work in classrooms, but rather on wards with some spacing between people. Third, there really isn’t an online alternative to many treatments provided by a hospital. (All this said, Atul Gawande has an excellent perspective on how hospitals are the model for reopening workplaces: https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/amid-the-coronavirus-crisis-a-regimen-for-reentry).
And then you might say, well, we have to learn to live with the virus. Perhaps, but I’d counter that it would be best to learn to live with very low levels of circulating virus (and be prepared to squelch outbreaks as they happen). To me, it seems like the desire to get back to normal has jumped ahead of the necessary public health conditions essential for safe re-opening. It remains to be seen how this will play out for different areas of the country in the fall.
Can someone tell me what the schools that are opening in the fall are planning with dorms? Will there still be shared rooms?
How are they going to handle the bath facilities?
What about shared houses on campus?
This to me is the hardest aspect to deal with.
From a letter to students and parents from the Dean of Students at the University of Pittsburgh:
“I hope this message finds you well. I am aware that uncertainty about the fall semester is a source of anxiety or frustration for some students. One of the most pressing questions for many of you right now is “Will we return to campus in the fall?” Our goal is to return to campus, and our current planning aims to make this possible in ways that are safe for you and consistent with public health requirements. I look forward to sharing the details of this approach—under development right now—as soon as they are ready.”
They haven’t placed their bets. They’ve only told us what the current bet plan is.
There is a lot of talk about adoption and compliance, and Costso is the perfect example of how it can work. At the top of the organization they decided everyone on the store would social distance and wear a mask. There are people at the door to turn away anyone without a mask and random employees are not just empowered but are required to engage with people who are not social distancing.
Colleges can do this if they commit, and I think they are motivated to do it.
I expect those that return to campus accept the likelihood that there will be cases and they will be exposed to others with COVID. In some places, isn’t it highly likely they have already been exposed? If 25% of NYC residents have antibodies, there is a very good chance many other residents interacted with them at some point. I expect some time in the next few months, I will be exposed at some point in my daily life.
@Leigh22. 2 to a dorm or on campus apartment. Limited people on the bathrooms or any smaller spaces. Etc. Every school has a different layout and needs. Think you will see more upperclassmen off campus so maybe only freshman or those with needs in university housing. Just a guess on my part.
I live in the tri-state …There are no excellent jobs and no ‘outlining’ going on. The widely held belief is these are the keystone cops of state government. Horrible.
Yes. This op-ed from the university president was a political opposition op-ed piece with zero scientific or medical support. Shameful it is being passed for news.
@tuckethannock People are not going to buy any political BS on this thread. I personally find your posts off-track, condescending, manipulative and long winded.
They canceled the programs all together? Wow, I know at least five kids on the lacrosse team there. 
@Leigh22 No one knows what will happen with dorms. Everything here is pure speculation, colored by people’s beliefs and personal experiences… No school has announced this level of detail yet.
@GMgiant I suggest if someone’s posts really bug you to put them on ignore.
Otherwise, a discussion involves different points of view, supported by facts. Saying “I don’t like your posts” doesn’t advance any argument and to my reading personaizes things. Best to discuss the issue, not the person.
Because I would like to keep this thread open!
@GMgiant I respectfully disagree.
NY’s curve is going down. The governor of NJ is getting very high marks for the job he is doing. They are working together, along with the gov of CT.
My school closed for everybody on March 13. The NYC DOE closed Its doors for students on March 13, and for teachers on March 19- teachers went in for a four day training (16-19). Students picked up their supplies on March 20, and remote learning began on March 23. I believe that the process in NYC should have begun earlier, but at the same time that decision is not an easy one. Closing the schools in NYC is a tremendous undertaking…with multiple layers of issues that most of us can’t begin to imagine.
Are these states perfect? No. Once this disaster is over we will all have time to analyze decisions that were made. That being said, I trust what is happening now within our state.
I can’t say the same for what is happening at the federal level. There is no plan and no role model. And as the parent of a science geek, I know to trust the science.
@twogirls Where are the high marks for the governor of your state - NY? The nursing home debacle would likely disqualify him from your tr-state good government praise. Also, a friend who is a teacher in NYC has some stinging criticism of the NYC Mayor. It’s nice that you trust what is happening now within your state given the recent history. Don’t count on the balance of the country viewing NY govt. so positively.
@NJdad07090 wrote:
You got that right. With a few highly publicized exceptions, this has been like the dance of the seven veils. I don’t blame them; each one wants to play to its strengths and neutralize its weaknesses and will need time to do so. And for that reason, I found it interesting that the Governor of Connecticut, during an interview this morning, announced that any decision regarding the re-opening of “residential colleges” would be put off until August, months after a staged, state-wide re-opening which begins tomorrow.
And, whenever you think of Connecticut, think Yale. What’s going on here? Yale is another university that is built to fulfill very precise designer specifications. That has been its main selling point for generations. You go there; you’re assigned to one of 12 well-appointed, eighteenth century architectural renditions, and there you spend the remainder of your years.
But, where do you put an isolation ward when you’ve already spent close to a billion dollars to expand the student body by a measly 180 beds? It’s in the middle of an urban downtown; most neighborhood housing is already occupied by grad students. There is Yale-New Haven Hospital, but that’s going to take a lot of negotiating with state and local officials.
So, it’s no wonder Yale has been relatively silent throughout this.