COVID-19 Thread

[homer]

Isn't there a ton of empty office space right now? Wonder if they could use that as a place for kids to learn virtually and then get some social interaction as well?

[LouisEly]

Yes, I'm not an advocate for a large amount of screen time for young children anyway. Once you get into high school, sure. Jr High, maybe. Grade School children should be in person though.

Thinking outside the box here (I'm sure there's 100 reasons why it won't work, but...):

1) Have high school kids learn virtually, use the high schools as additional space for junior high and grade school kids to "spread out" so they are in contact with fewer kids at their school.

2) Switch the virtual days to Saturday and Sunday when the parents are (typically) home from work. Few people go on vacation during the school year, so why not have the off days be Monday/Tuesday? Have Sunday morning off for religious services, school Sunday afternoon.

 

Isn't there a ton of empty office space right now? Wonder if they could use that as a place for kids to learn virtually and then get some social interaction as well?

From what I gather, not really, as many companies have brought back "essential" employees (Directors and above) to the office, typically at 25% or less of building capacity.

 

But there is a ton of empty hotel conference room space. Not an option for rural kids, but for city/suburban kids could be a way to spread out and be in contact with fewer kids at their school. Get a big conference room, desks every six feet, project the lessons on a screen and have teachers in booths behind plexiglass for individual 1:1 sessions throughout the day.

[stoutdude04]

I like the idea if using the high school for younger grades. Not a bad idea. The issue there is that many of those children dont live in that 'area' and getting to school would be tough.

[CheezWizHed]

The office space thing probably wouldn't work since many time office space isn't near residential areas. Plus there are issues with company confidential information. You can't even go into my companies office without proving you are a US citizen and with a constant internal company escort due to export compliance rules.

 

But a friend of mine that works downtown Minneapolis on the 30-40 something-th floor of a high-rise said that rats were beginning to take over their office...

[Baldkin]

If you're having kids "Spread out" by doubling the number of classrooms, where are you going to get double the number of teachers?

[FVBrewerFan]

Don't most elementary schools still have gyms, and/or lunch rooms? Seems like they could distance relatively easily. That said, if they're distanced, that's almost worse than virtual learning depending on the grade.

[homer]

Most big offices have large conference rooms. Mine has an entire floor of nothing but conference rooms that seat anywhere from 40 - 300 people. Already has high speed internet. I don't think it works in a rural area but in most metro areas you have a downtown which is central and close to the city residents and you have office parks which are close to suburban families.

 

I was thinking of this more for kids that don't have internet or their parents need to work but the school district won't allow in-person instruction. Obviously you'd have to figure out how to staff these little computer farms.

[MrTPlush]

Just send them to school or don’t. Anything else is just trying to be cute with no clear benefit. Social distancing kids is just getting ridiculous. Seems most adults don’t know how to do any of these safety measures so expecting kids to do it is wishful thinking. Not to mention them needing to social distance to such extremes makes even being in person pretty darn pointless.

 

Take temperatures if you must, probably shouldn’t have all the kids go through a lunch line, and possibly some other measures...that’s about as far as it seems sensible to me. They still will be closely interact, still need recess, and are going to be kids.

 

I’m not sure one can avoid the inevitable of schools having to shut down again sooner rather than later.

[jerichoholicninja]

If you're having kids "Spread out" by doubling the number of classrooms, where are you going to get double the number of teachers?

 

Our neighbor was telling us about her school's plan earlier tonight. Classes won't be any larger than 10 students with one teacher per class. Teacher's won't have aides and all the teacher's aides will have their own "classes" by themselves. She is a TA and she said she's not quitting but she's already looking for another job because she does not want to do that.

 

This is really just one giant cluster. Either go on as normal with some minor modifications or just close them down.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This is really just one giant cluster. Either go on as normal with some minor modifications or just close them down.

 

This could be said about a lot of things. I was at the zoo last weekend. The little train is only being used every other cart, and wiped down between rides. The railing in the waiting area that everyone rubs and lines up in packed like sardines? Nothing. There is too much theater to make people feel "safe" which will backfire inevitably when schools have cases.

[stoutdude04]

Don't most elementary schools still have gyms, and/or lunch rooms? Seems like they could distance relatively easily. That said, if they're distanced, that's almost worse than virtual learning depending on the grade.

 

Used for PE and lunch... in all truth though, a lot of those rooms are multipurpose rooms anyway and are used for more than that. The school that I'm at for years used the gym as the lunch room. Our current school has PE every minute of the day. The lunchroom is used as a multipurpose room used throughout the day for a variety of things.

[DHonks]

2 weeks ago our district announced they wanted us all working remotely for the first month....from our classrooms. After a huge blowback from teachers and the Association, the district relented and will allow us to work from wherever we choose. Families have the choice of fully online (which we've done for at least 15 years) self-paced, or in virtual classrooms with attendance, daily work, etc. We're still not fully sure what the latter will look like. In normal years I advise students to avoid the online option, as it's more tedious and leads to procrastination (and--often--athletic ineligibility). But this year I think the hoops of virtual in-person classes and attendance will be a mess, and I've urged some to take online. It will be an interesting year. As of now, we report in 2 weeks...at least it'll be virtual. Hopefully by September or October we'll be able to be in-person. I worry too much about my co-workers. 180 students a day, 40 in a class, and 2400+ people on campus...that's just too many given these times.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

What was the rationale for forcing teachers in to do virtual learning?

[nate82]

Florida COVID numbers are about as accurate as China's they are cooking the books on the number of positive numbers.

 

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/fox-35-investigates-florida-department-of-health-says-some-labs-have-not-reported-negative-covid-19-results

[homer]

Florida COVID numbers are about as accurate as China's they are cooking the books on the number of positive numbers.

 

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/fox-35-investigates-florida-department-of-health-says-some-labs-have-not-reported-negative-covid-19-results

 

Florida also fired the woman that ran their Covid dashboard for not publishing fake data. And until they know how widespread it is it may not move the needle much.

 

"State officials acknowledged the problem on Tuesday, but did not provide specifics such as how many labs were reporting incomplete data. They said the problem was centered on small, private labs."

 

So moral of story is that Florida sucks.

[tmwiese55]

I want to say that wasn't some con, it was a legit screw up or glitch somehow and they acknowledged it and are trying to fix. Errors are going to happen. But of course it won't stop people from continuing to claim its all bs. The sooner people realize the ones who are telling them this is all bs and they are being lied to are actually the ones BSing them, the better.

[homer]

It doesn't change the case count. It would change the %positive rate. Still a problem of course.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Our district hasn't announced anything about school. I'm wondering in those that have, have they announced the plan for when a positive case comes through at school?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Walmart just announced that they are going to require that masks be worn to shop in any of their stores starting July 20. That's pretty big. You should start seeing a huge influx of mask requirements now. Walmart is the biggest of the retail fish.

[Jimbo]

Isn't there a ton of empty office space right now? Wonder if they could use that as a place for kids to learn virtually and then get some social interaction as well?

 

Insurance concerns.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Insurance keeps coming up in these conversations and I'm not understanding the validity of those concerns. You can't sue someone for contracting flu, a cold, or any other kind of virus. It's an assumed risk of just being alive. I'm not seeing how anyone could sue anyone over getting COVID19. To make anything of that nature stick, the party being sued pretty much always has to be knowingly be putting people at risk. In other words you have a positive test, know it, and get on a plane. Just getting a person sick isn't enough.

 

If you were to visit Disney World right now, for example, you'd have no case to make against them if you got sick.

[homer]

Insurance keeps coming up in these conversations and I'm not understanding the validity of those concerns. You can't sue someone for contracting flu, a cold, or any other kind of virus. It's an assumed risk of just being alive. I'm not seeing how anyone could sue anyone over getting COVID19. To make anything of that nature stick, the party being sued pretty much always has to be knowingly be putting people at risk. In other words you have a positive test, know it, and get on a plane. Just getting a person sick isn't enough.

 

If you were to visit Disney World right now, for example, you'd have no case to make against them if you got sick.

 

Jimbo might be talking about liability. So if a kid runs through a glass door at your office sort of thing.

[PeaveyFury]

Insurance keeps coming up in these conversations and I'm not understanding the validity of those concerns. You can't sue someone for contracting flu, a cold, or any other kind of virus. It's an assumed risk of just being alive. I'm not seeing how anyone could sue anyone over getting COVID19. To make anything of that nature stick, the party being sued pretty much always has to be knowingly be putting people at risk. In other words you have a positive test, know it, and get on a plane. Just getting a person sick isn't enough.

 

If you were to visit Disney World right now, for example, you'd have no case to make against them if you got sick.

 

The Disney World example isn't an apt analogy, as you'd be voluntarily choosing to go there.

 

Many companies, and likely a lot of school districts, are concerned about requiring employees to choose between their own safety and losing their job, especially if those employees have a condition that makes them high risk. There's a very valid possibility that an employer could be held liable if an employee is 'forced' into a high-risk situation as a condition of employment and becomes gravely ill or dies.

 

And yeah, homer is right about the liability issue of the property owner being responsible for what happens there.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I wasn't thinking at all about the property liability issue, and I know the Disney analogy isn't great because it's a vacation, I'm just having a hard time seeing something like the teacher scenario stick given how prevalent the virus is. It's reasonable to expect risk of corona for anyone going basically anywhere. So if the teacher is allowed to stay home there's still a chance of them contracting it in any number of places. I do understand the potential increased risk at school and the "forced" nature of work, I'm just having a tough time envisioning courts allowing those kinds of suits given the circumstances.

 

And would said teacher even be able to prove beyond doubt they contracted it at school?

[FVBrewerFan]

Absolutely the insurance risk is there. As an employee you can file a Workers Comp claim, depending on the state. If you are a business owner, you could be sued and file a General Liability claim. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is ins companies know they'll lose in court a good portion of the time no matter what, so they will try to settle any claims.

 

The Disney example is a good one, actually. If someone contracts Covid, they can sue Disney and they will settle. Especially if you have photos of people without masks, not social distancing, etc. you can make the case they weren't proactively keeping the park safe.

 

Teacher? Wouldn't have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, just has to be credible enough to get a settlement.