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On August 20 2021 02:29 JimmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2021 02:26 farvacola wrote: There’s a man in a truck on the sidewalk near the Library of Congress claiming he has a bomb. Yikes, I sure hope it is just a claim. Stay safe! edit: at least that he announced it will give people time to get safe. I continue to be very thankful that I work a job that allows me to work remotely, though my building is fairly far away from the Library of Congress.
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I know Republicans trying to ban mask mandates for schools has been getting the headlines lately, but should schools (especially with unvaccinated K-6 kids) even be opening (let alone full capacity) with cases surging toward 2020 highs?
That seems grossly irresponsible to me?
EDIT: For context, pretty much the entire country is well outside safe ranges (grey is "No data").
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/ZbvgIPe.jpg)
The CDC classifies a community as having "substantial transmission" if there are 50 to 99 weekly cases per 100,000 residents or if the positivity rate is between 8.0 and 9.9% in the last seven days.
CDC also advises on its website that "everyday activities should be limited to reduce spread and protect the health care system."
A county has "high transmission" if it has 100 or more weekly cases per 100,000 residents or a 10% or greater test positivity rate in the last seven days. In that case, communities should implement universal masking indoors and consider additional "significant measures ... to limit contact between persons," according to CDC's website.
www.npr.org
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On August 20 2021 03:21 PhoenixVoid wrote:The alleged truck bomb guy was in a livestream and said: -He has thousands of coins around his explosive device that he claims is for shrapnel -Claims the bomb will be triggered by a certain decibel and it was built by retired military bomb builders. -Said this is a "southern invasion". -Says the bomb is set off by sound decibel. He claims there are four more in DC. “If this goes off the other four go off. And they might be parked in the middle of a million people”. -Demands Biden step down or else he goes boom. SourceWhat a maniac terrorist.
Apparently he's a MAGA / Trump supporter too. https://news.yahoo.com/capitol-news-live-police-investigate-142739945.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
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On August 20 2021 04:53 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2021 03:21 PhoenixVoid wrote:The alleged truck bomb guy was in a livestream and said: -He has thousands of coins around his explosive device that he claims is for shrapnel -Claims the bomb will be triggered by a certain decibel and it was built by retired military bomb builders. -Said this is a "southern invasion". -Says the bomb is set off by sound decibel. He claims there are four more in DC. “If this goes off the other four go off. And they might be parked in the middle of a million people”. -Demands Biden step down or else he goes boom. SourceWhat a maniac terrorist. Apparently he's a MAGA / Trump supporter too. https://news.yahoo.com/capitol-news-live-police-investigate-142739945.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
It's obvious it was all just a bluff. He's a moron, nothing else.
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On August 20 2021 03:57 GreenHorizons wrote:I know Republicans trying to ban mask mandates for schools has been getting the headlines lately, but should schools (especially with unvaccinated K-6 kids) even be opening (let alone full capacity) with cases surging toward 2020 highs? That seems grossly irresponsible to me? EDIT: For context, pretty much the entire country is well outside safe ranges (grey is "No data"). ![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/ZbvgIPe.jpg) Show nested quote +The CDC classifies a community as having "substantial transmission" if there are 50 to 99 weekly cases per 100,000 residents or if the positivity rate is between 8.0 and 9.9% in the last seven days.
CDC also advises on its website that "everyday activities should be limited to reduce spread and protect the health care system."
A county has "high transmission" if it has 100 or more weekly cases per 100,000 residents or a 10% or greater test positivity rate in the last seven days. In that case, communities should implement universal masking indoors and consider additional "significant measures ... to limit contact between persons," according to CDC's website. www.npr.org
I would rather they not, to be honest, especially since the delta variant is more dangerous for children than the original covid strain. I don't know many teachers who enjoyed remote teaching, or students who enjoyed remote learning, but I think we ought to still use the better-safe-than-sorry approach for another year, that way we can reopen safely (all children will surely be eligible for vaccines by then, public schools should mandate covid vaccines for all students, etc.).
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On August 20 2021 05:04 JimmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2021 05:01 wdoubleN wrote:On August 20 2021 04:53 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On August 20 2021 03:21 PhoenixVoid wrote:The alleged truck bomb guy was in a livestream and said: -He has thousands of coins around his explosive device that he claims is for shrapnel -Claims the bomb will be triggered by a certain decibel and it was built by retired military bomb builders. -Said this is a "southern invasion". -Says the bomb is set off by sound decibel. He claims there are four more in DC. “If this goes off the other four go off. And they might be parked in the middle of a million people”. -Demands Biden step down or else he goes boom. SourceWhat a maniac terrorist. Apparently he's a MAGA / Trump supporter too. https://news.yahoo.com/capitol-news-live-police-investigate-142739945.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall It's obvious it was all just a bluff. He's a moron, nothing else. Which is what everyone thought, but you still go through the motions because if you are wrong a shit ton of people die.
It should be a death penalty case. This is domestic terrorism.
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Northern Ireland24946 Posts
As a father myself, who enjoyed homeschooling for a while with the wain, and at the time was pro closing schools. Now I don’t know really. It would be a hell of a long time to have disruption to normal social development.
Purely educationally he’s lucky in between his stepdad working from home, and me studying from home last year, he could get a lot of one on one help. I know parents in borderline unmanageable situations, working and trying to home school 4 autistic kids in one case.
In a wider sense, can you sell another period of remote learning to people? Even if it is the sensible decision, which it could very well be.
I’m just not sure you can get the will to do that again when say, things like nightclubs are returning to normal capacity and many people still pointedly refuse to wear masks for a bus journey or a grocery shop.
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Norway28630 Posts
I think schools should be just about the last thing to shut down. If bars are open and schools are closed, then imo that is a travesty.
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On August 20 2021 05:30 WombaT wrote: As a father myself, who enjoyed homeschooling for a while with the wain, and at the time was pro closing schools. Now I don’t know really. It would be a hell of a long time to have disruption to normal social development.
Purely educationally he’s lucky in between his stepdad working from home, and me studying from home last year, he could get a lot of one on one help. I know parents in borderline unmanageable situations, working and trying to home school 4 autistic kids in one case.
In a wider sense, can you sell another period of remote learning to people? Even if it is the sensible decision, which it could very well be.
I’m just not sure you can get the will to do that again when say, things like nightclubs are returning to normal capacity and many people still pointedly refuse to wear masks for a bus journey or a grocery shop.
Homeschooling / Remote learning is definitely tough for a lot of families. Every middle school and high school in the United States can get their students vaccinated (with parental consent), which would relieve a lot of that burden, and it would be a great step in the right direction. Unfortunately, schools seem to be hesitant to mandate the vaccine.
On August 20 2021 05:34 Liquid`Drone wrote: I think schools should be just about the last thing to shut down. If bars are open and schools are closed, then imo that is a travesty.
I think as long as everyone is vaccinated (whether inside a bar or inside a high school), I can get behind reopening both. Schools and bars can both become super crowded though (no social distancing), and presumably bars won't have people wearing masks since they're drinking, so there's still some risk.
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On August 20 2021 05:34 Liquid`Drone wrote: I think schools should be just about the last thing to shut down. If bars are open and schools are closed, then imo that is a travesty. The responsible thing would be to close both not open the (often overcrowded and poorly ventilated) schools though right?
This is also why I've said the reopening push to full capacity and removal of mask mandates was a critical bipartisan, national, and local mistake that should have been rectified weeks ago.
Just seems asinine to me to be arguing about whether a 6 y.o. should be wearing a mask in a overcrowded classroom amid a national surge. "No! They shouldn't be in the damn classroom!". That the bars shouldn't be open (especially at full capacity) seems equally obvious, but the schools being open despite the absurdity is specifically so the bars (and other businesses) can have their workers and stay open at high capacities.
EDIT: On the "have a different system/rules for vaccinated people" I get the desire, but we tried that with the masks and it failed horribly.
I should add the kids should most definitely be in schools (and the schools should be safer than they are) but the government (both parties and at every level) and antivaxxers have combined to make that dangerous and irresponsible to do right now.
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In Sweden everything seems normal. It's weird but there is no covid here. At least people act like it. First year students getting drunk indoors at 2pm shouting and laughing without any distance or protection. The numbers aren't the worst last time I checked. Not much more percentage wise than Germany with the strict measures. (Checked the % difference again and it's about 30%, my bad for remembering the wrong numbers)
And I've heard today that the deaths in care homes are because the foreigners caring are from different cultures than the Nordic and don't take washing hands so strictly. Interesting take, I must say.
All in all, schools closing, uni closing / long distance learning sucks so so so much for the kids, I second drones statement that it's shameful we open pubs and shopping centres while schools are closed. No imminent voting power, no agency, no lobby. Weird that parents are thrown under the bus so easily in conjunction with the pupils.
Sorry I thought I was in the covid thread
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Norway28630 Posts
On August 20 2021 05:49 GreenHorizons wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2021 05:34 Liquid`Drone wrote: I think schools should be just about the last thing to shut down. If bars are open and schools are closed, then imo that is a travesty. The responsible thing would be to close both not open the (often overcrowded and poorly ventilated) schools though right? This is also why I've said the reopening push to full capacity and removal of mask mandates was a critical bipartisan, national, and local mistake that should have been rectified weeks ago. Just seems asinine to me to be arguing about whether a 6 y.o. should be wearing a mask in a overcrowded classroom amid a national surge. "No! They shouldn't be in the damn classroom!". That the bars shouldn't be open (especially at full capacity) seems equally obvious, but the schools being open despite the absurdity is specifically so the bars (and other businesses) can have their workers and stay open at high capacities. EDIT: On the "have a different system/rules for vaccinated people" I get the desire, but we tried that with the masks and it failed horribly. EDIT2: I should add the kids should most definitely be in schools (and the schools should be safer than they are) but the government (both parties and at every level) and antivaxxers have combined to make that dangerous and irresponsible to do right now.
I just saw a Norwegian study which said that out of 22000 children younger than 18 who were confirmed to have caught covid, only 107 were hospitalized. 1 dead - but that child had a 'serious preexisting condition'. I understand that delta is more dangerous, I understand that american children are probably more likely to suffer from comorbidities than Norwegian children are, but it would have to be more dangerous by a whole lot for me to consider the threat to children posed by covid worse than what closing down schools is. Online teaching is not even close to matching the real life experience - especially for the children who need school the most - and prolonged periods of online school is seriously detrimental to children's learning.
American teachers can and should be double vaccinated by now. Their choice if they aren't. Figure out a solution for children with preexisting conditions and for teachers that can't get vaccinated. Maybe temporary shutdowns for high schools in the most affected areas (but in that case, everything else should be shut down too).
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i think your point might still stand but the decision isn’t, and shouldn’t be, weighed against the threat of covid to children. sure they will be fine, and you’re right online schooling is detrimental to more than just their education. but they will continue to spread to others instead. they’re tiny super spreaders. it’s much harder to curtail the spread if kids are transmitting it right? adults are dumb enough and hard enough to train.
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On August 20 2021 06:25 brian wrote: i think your point might still stand but the decision isn’t, and shouldn’t be, weighed against the threat of covid to children. sure they will be fine, and you’re right online schooling is detrimental to more than just their education. but they will continue to spread to others instead. they’re tiny super spreaders. it’s much harder to curtail the spread if kids are transmitting it right? adults are dumb enough and hard enough to train. It’s also ethically questionable to mandate that teachers teach in person when their colleagues have the choice to refuse a vaccine and students may not be vaccinated as well. It becomes much less of a minefield if vaccines are mandatory imo
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On August 20 2021 06:25 brian wrote: i think your point might still stand but the decision isn’t, and shouldn’t be, weighed against the threat of covid to children. sure they will be fine, and you’re right online schooling is detrimental to more than just their education. but they will continue to spread to others instead. they’re tiny super spreaders. it’s much harder to curtail the spread if kids are transmitting it right? adults are dumb enough and hard enough to train.
Yeah. "fine" might be a stretch though. It's killed hundreds and hospitalized thousands of children (a traumatic experience for children no doubt).
Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, calls the spike in cases among children “very worrisome.”
He noted that over 400 U.S. children have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. “And right now we have almost 2,000 kids in the hospital, many of them in ICU, some of them under the age of 4,” Collins told Fox News on Sunday. apnews.com
But another thought was about how it would impact the larger ongoing wave.
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On August 20 2021 06:33 farvacola wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2021 06:25 brian wrote: i think your point might still stand but the decision isn’t, and shouldn’t be, weighed against the threat of covid to children. sure they will be fine, and you’re right online schooling is detrimental to more than just their education. but they will continue to spread to others instead. they’re tiny super spreaders. it’s much harder to curtail the spread if kids are transmitting it right? adults are dumb enough and hard enough to train. It’s also ethically questionable to mandate that teachers teach in person when their colleagues have the choice to refuse a vaccine and students may not be vaccinated as well. It becomes much less of a minefield if vaccines are mandatory imo
Absolutely. It's a huge work hazard that can be avoided with either mandatory vaccinations or a switch to remote learning, and given how frustrating remote learning can be for all parties involved, it makes a really strong argument for mandatory vaccinations (plus, that whole separate argument about how mandatory vaccinations can help solve our current health crisis, lol).
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