Yay!

Oh, no. I'm so sorry. I can't even picture how awful that would be.

I think so.

Here's a new report about cases in children, from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association: https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/AAP and CHA - Children and COVID-19 State Data Report 7.30.20 FINAL.pdf

This drives me crazy too. I don't think 6 feet of distancing without masks is sufficient indoors, especially for long periods of time. I also think people have a hard time picturing 6 feet of distance - I sure do! DH actually got out a measuring tape and we stood 6 feet apart... it's far! When I go for walks with friends, we stay apart, but sometimes we definitely wander into the 4-5 foot range before spreading out again. I'm very curious to see if the 3 foot distancing in schools, with masks, prevents spread. If it does, I'll be so happy!

Ahhhh!!!

First it was ticks, now moths, and now all of that plus a pandemic! It would be just awful to go on vacation and then have it ruined by the brown tail moth rash. I'm so sorry for your friend!!

Thanks. It sucks all around. On the rash front, maybe brown tails! I've never had that particular rash before, and always been afraid of it!

Thank you for the hugs 🙂 I could use them! I can't think of anything that's recently changed, but I did get overheated last week and I thought maybe sweating from that did it. Hmm. I will get some antihistamines, good idea. It's probably good to have Benadryl in the house just in case.

Aaargh, I have an itchy rash! It started on Tuesday. The back of my neck felt like it was covered in tiny little goosebumps. No itch. The next day, it was slightly itchy, and now my neck isn't too itchy and the bumps are mostly gone, but how right along my hairline is super itchy, and the edges of my ears! I've tried apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, and Selsun Blue shampoo. The Selsun seems to help temporarily. I can't get a good picture of the rash because it doesn't show up well in the camera for some reason. DH says it looks like pale pink spots. The edges of my ears just look inflamed. Waaah, cry. I could do a telemedicine appt if I have to. What a bad week. I resigned my teaching position because I don't think the school's safety protocols are good enough. Maybe it's stress, or a fungal flare up from stress?

Thanks! I just requested the full text of the article.

I'm very sorry about your father. 😞

I'm wondering about this. I wish we had more information. Is there any research out there about how much time it takes to transmit, if both parties are wearing a mask? Like in my school where the restrictions have been reduced to 3 feet, but with masks. 🤔 With a mask, does it take 30 minutes within 6 feet to transmit? An hour? Or maybe we don't know that yet.

I've been asking my union rep, the state union, emailing the newspapers, etc. to get the word out about testing - or not testing. Someone from the state union replied to my message and said there's no plan for testing in schools here, but she's forwarding my email on to other people who can work on "feasibility." It was nice that she emailed me back. I'm curious to see if the papers get back to me.

Thanks... just having you and everyone respond to this thread cheered me up a bit.

Oh, for sure. A regular class would need an enormous tent. Luckily I teach special ed and I can have 1-2 kids at a time. Now that kids will be in "pods," I can't have kids from different rooms or grades together anymore.

Yeah, we're rural and there aren't that many kids. I think we could fit a couple 10x10, or even bigger, tents outside.

I didn't even think of the custodial staff... that makes perfect sense, though, because they are working together all day, touching the same stuff, etc.

Thank you for saying this again, it makes me feel a bit less like the one crazy person in the room. I'm totally up for being the squeaky wheel, but sometimes I doubt my own perceptions.

I completely empathize with you, and this is not just a little unknown, it's a big one!!

Yes! I was just looking at pop-up tents on Wayfair. For $150 I can get a pretty big outdoor tent. For a bit more, the school could build a few semi-permanent outdoor spaces.

I just feel... down today. I work at a little school in a rural-ish area... no cases in the county for a few weeks... but I still don't feel safe. Admin is decreasing the 6 foot spacing to 3 feet in some rooms, because the recommendations are "guidelines" to follow "when feasible." (UGH WHY IS THAT LANGUAGE IN THERE. IT'S JUST ASKING FOR FUDGING.) They're putting fans in the windows, oh joy. According to a staff survey, half the staff don't want to wear masks or do any distancing, so are they really going to keep a mask on in the bathroom, in the copy room, etc? The room I'm supposed to be in is like 8x8, so even with just one kid, I'm breathing in their air. Then I'm torn because like others have pointed out, lots of people have been working through this entire pandemic, which means I can get food, get my car fixed, get my mail. Why am I so special that I can complain? But when I think of DH getting COVID from me, it breaks my heart. He always gets every weird, uncommon symptom of every illness, so I assume he'd be one of the ones to get really sick with this. Maybe my principal would let me work remotely, or do a hybrid schedule, because I'm the special ed teacher. I can see kids 1-1 and remote is pretty okay. But what will my colleagues think? They're going to be right in the classroom risking illness, and then I'm home? At the same time, just because they're willing to risk it, with poorly ventilated rooms, not enough distancing, etc. doesn't mean that I should accept it. My best friend at school has a serious autoimmune condition and has been in and out of the hospital already this year. There's a teacher going through cancer treatments. It feels like we're just putting our heads in the sand and hoping like heck that no cases will come our way. I could raise a stink. I could make it clear that I think the school is not physically set up well enough for safety. (Which it isn't.) I could file a grievance with the union. As John Lewis said, make good trouble. Is this the time? Ugh. I'm so conflicted.

What happens inside the school? Does the whole class go home for 14 days? "Close contact" is defined as 15 minutes or more, in a distance of less than 6 feet. In a classroom, the time would be much greater than 15 minutes, even if the distance was kinda close to 6 feet most of the time. If the class doesn't go home... who teaches them? Our district has some subs who are willing to come in, but half of the sub pool has said they aren't willing to sub this year. If a teacher is not very sick, or has to quarantine because of exposure but isn't actually sick, I could see them sending in sub plans, or even Zooming in, if there could be an ed tech in the room. But if a teacher is very sick, how are sub plans going to work? Teachers can't have two weeks of plans ready to go at any given second. Two weeks of review maybe? I'm struggling to see how this will work.

I've thought about this too....a lot... because I am lonely. My mom lives alone and she is lonely. My hesitation with going out more is that the effects of the virus are so unpredictable. Sometimes 100 year olds survive it, and sometimes perfectly healthy 40 year olds die from it. That's what keeps me at home.

Oh no. How awful. I would be so upset in that situation. I'm so sorry it's happening to you! I can't believe teachers aren't on the reopening planning committees. I'm on two committees, and asked to join two more and was welcomed. My school has many of the same issues as yours... poor ventilation... lots of people without internet... I find it very scary not to be informed about what's going on with that sort of thing.