@Cardinal Fang
Your comment that students don’t care if they are infected or if they infect others - I don’t think that is reflective of the majority of college kids at all.
Chem, hopefully you learned in APUSH that Congress passes laws, and that means both parties would have to agree to any federal liability shield. (not likely as one party is supportive of the legal industry, but they may get bipartisan support to protect colleges alone, just not industry) Of course, each state has its own liability laws…
And finally, in the real world juries tend to feel bad for plaintiffs who have experienced something unfortunate and juries love to be able to help offset their pain and suffering somehow (by punishing someone/something for that unfortunate circumstance even if the law doesn’t necessarily indicate liability). And in a class action, the penalty could be 3x…
Small nit: liability claims would be made by Plaintiffs, not Prosecutors
In some cases governors did order the schools to move to distance learning and close the classrooms. Schools were left to direct the students to go home if possible although it was impossible for everyone to do so.
@bluebayou Are you familiar with executive orders? Also, the college could offset that in a lawsuit by showing a student who was in a rough home situation who benefited a lot from the college reopening.
One hopes so, although there are certainly those who have made that sentiment crystal clear.
@sylvan8798 Even if they did that in spring, I am highly doubtful they would be doing it again in fall. In the second wave, I believe people of both sides will be done with it.
@seal16 Did you expect there to be no school in the fall? Of course Harvard is having a fall semester. That’s not news. It could be anything from all online to all on campus and anything in between.
@homerdog Harvard and Stanford said one option they were considering was postponing the start of the academic year to January 2021. Harvard just confirmed that they decided against it.
So do you think students /families will have to sign wavers to help avoid this issue?
I am not sure how this will shake out.
However, with 5.4mm tests to date and 200k per day now, plus the addition of all the CVS, rite aid and other retailers, the testing is starting to scale.
no country in the world is testing anywhere near our levels and in a month it could be widespread. Hopefully.
Will it be enough for us? Not sure but there’s hope.
Also, if everyone wants to submit to a mandatory tracking app on their phone, that’s way more surveillance than the patriot act ever envisioned.
Ok by me.
But we are not the same country philosophically as some other nations who pulled it off.
Also the measures used in the country of origin would appall Americans. Forcible removals and shuttered doors with neighborhood watch committees that you have to register with and give up your phone upon return from the markets etc.
If school returns in fall, we will need to hope our children follow the rules. Mine would imho.
On another note, my office building is adding an infrared scan that you have to pass through to quickly determine any elevated body temp. If it registers a potential high level, somehow, you have to go in another room for a temp check. If elevated above a certain temp you will not be permitted to enter.
Maybe these will be at the door of all academic buildings, courts etc.
@roycroftmom --if prisons and hospitals were making plans without even mentioning the effect on the people who work there, that’s a problem too. And if we’re going to compare, where do i line up for my PPE?
The problem with fever detection is that someone may be contagious with SARS-CoV-2 for many days without a fever or other symptoms.
You can only rule out who can you rule out. That still helps the overall situation. None of this is going to be perfect. We ask all patients to take their temp before coming in then we still take it again once they arrive. But nothings going to be perfect
I think some K-12 teachers and college profs will be taking medical leaves of absences. Each person (students too) will have to assess their risks.
The country can no longer shut down to protect the most vulnerable. The show must go on so to speak. Quite frankly mental and economic health of many need it to go on. It is true, the cure can not be worse than the problem.
H got sick with C19, then I got sick. He had a fever for a few days. I never had a fever.
It sounds like a good idea (fever screening). Can we have a rapid saliva test please?
Chem, the Prez cannot issue an EO and over-ride state liability laws. Just can’t do it.
And that kid gets COVID, and dies. Not much of a defense, sorry.
That’s just silly. If lives are at stake, of course schools will shut down again.
There will be as much of the unknown with the second wave. Because history shows they’re often worse.
Given the poor response and lack of agreement so far, along with the underlying features of the US society and economy, the most likely result going forward is the worst of both worlds: a large death toll from the virus and a depressed economy.
@katliamom I disagree. Lives are at stake if they send students home too. Sending them home doesn’t automatically prevent all the students from becoming sick. I believe there won’t be another nationwide shutdown regardless of the consequences; I believe colleges will make the kids stay on-campus and make them sign something at the beginning of the semester agreeing to that. And with due respect to all parents on this thread, you weren’t there at the colleges to understand the emotional impact when they shut down, just like I couldn’t understand the emotional impact of 9/11 because I wasn’t there. And with regard to parents being “upset” if they couldn’t pick up their kids; their kids are adults, and parents are not attending the colleges, the kids are. They are adults and have the mental capacity to make their own decisions regarding this.
I just don’t believe there will be another shutdown, and I believe colleges would opt to keep students housed there during another quarantine rather than send them home. I’m sure the state could technically tell them they couldn’t keep teaching, but they couldn’t force them to evict students from the residence halls; there are still students living in the residence halls at most colleges. I believe they could shift to online for the remainder of the semester if necessary, but I doubt it.