S/O Coronavirus School Closing considered in your area?

[NYCgrrl]

Emergency meeting scheduled for DGD's school next Monday. Her school already has a remote schooling plan in place as a legacy of 9/11 and it's been used in the school's history for weather events so that's a mixed blessing. This is not a big deal for us as we are both retired but I do wonder how other parents and caretakers will be able to handle the possible situation if they work outside of the house? Any news on your front?

 

[mom2rtk]

Do you live in an area with active cases?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Have heard zero from our school district on this. I live in Michigan (zero reported cases here, AFAIK).

 

[NYCgrrl]

Do you live in an area with active cases?

None that I'm aware of so far although several have been tested. I suspect it's just a matter of time before an actual case occurs and am thankful local government and institutions are planning in advance. We live in NYC which is a large entry port to the country as well as have residents from most all countries of the world.

 

[barkley]

Emergency meeting scheduled for DGD's school next Monday. Her school already has a remote schooling plan in place as a legacy of 9/11 and it's been used in the school's history for weather events so that's a mixed blessing. This is not a big deal for us as we are both retired but I do wonder how other parents and caretakers will be able to handle the possible situation if they work outside of the house? Any news on your front?

the issue with childcare has been on my mind as well (not that i have to deal with it personally) because there's been talk on the news of setting up remote learning from home but that doesn't help working parents whose kids are in need of supervision. we had some horrific instances with weather that prevented area kids from using facilities for periods of time over the past few years, in those cases the schools were able to set up temporary childcare settings to cover the school hours (even before remote learning could be established due to utility issues). with this virus the idea is for people to be kept physically apart from one another so i don't know how that would work. i suspect there will be some in real financial hurt if the schools have to shut down b/c fmla won't cover a non ill family member whose normal school location is closed. the trickle down will be the businesses that these parents own/work for/the consumers that rely on them/the economic impact.

 

[Meriweather]

Not that I know of.....no active cases.
Our school districts have spring break in another week, so they probably won't even consider anything before that

 

[aprilchem]

I work for a higher education institution, and although we've been told to start thinking about ways we could remotely teach students in the very unlikely event of a brief shutdown, there's definitely been no "emergency meeting" scheduled (or even considered). That seems like fear-mongering to me at this point for folks in the US.

 

[morgan98]

the issue with childcare has been on my mind as well (not that i have to deal with it personally) because there's been talk on the news of setting up remote learning from home but that doesn't help working parents whose kids are in need of supervision. we had some horrific instances with weather that prevented area kids from using facilities for periods of time over the past few years, in those cases the schools were able to set up temporary childcare settings to cover the school hours (even before remote learning could be established due to utility issues). with this virus the idea is for people to be kept physically apart from one another so i don't know how that would work. i suspect there will be some in real financial hurt if the schools have to shut down b/c fmla won't cover a non ill family member whose normal school location is closed. the trickle down will be the businesses that these parents own/work for/the consumers that rely on them/the economic impact.

This post outlines exactly why we don't need to over react or shut everything down over fear or one or two cases.

The financial impact of this may very likely be felt for years even though while the death rate does appear to be higher than the flu, this is not quite the plague.

 

[HopperFan]

Emergency meeting scheduled for DGD's school next Monday. Her school already has a remote schooling plan in place as a legacy of 9/11 and it's been used in the school's history for weather events so that's a mixed blessing. This is not a big deal for us as we are both retired but I do wonder how other parents and caretakers will be able to handle the possible situation if they work outside of the house? Any news on your front?

I assume you are in one of the boroughs or close. I would hope any high population areas have plans in place for this sort of thing. I have to say in our area there has been an occasional school closing for a high concentration of illnesses but I would bet there is no plan for a district wide. Most schools should have ability to post lessons etc online for kids BUT not sure there is any interactive way. Perhaps they should be working with teachers on joining education networks like colleges have so they can do some sort of online interactive classes.

If I were a working parent (my kids are out of school) I would be networking right now on getting my child covered just in case, and depending on my job negotiating working remotely. Better safe than scrambling at the last minute and being left with nothing.

EVERY area should be putting plans in place for teaching and every family needs a family plan in place for care. I think the bigger fear is not getting the virus as much as the process of preventing the process, which impacts our daily lives.

EDITED # Friday PM. There are 64 confirmed cases in the US with only 7 considered totally recovered. There are likely MANY MANY more that have presented as Coronavirus but have not taken the test to confirm. The government is not allowing testing unless you fall in a very narrow description. Hopefully patients in hospitals presenting but untested are being aggressively treated by doctors and isolated from other patients.

Since it has a long incubation period and healthy people may carry but not present ... there is a good chance it is being carried around the US without falling into the narrow controls. Time will tell where this thing goes, but the number of countries now reporting has gone up quite a bit in the last couple days.

This post outlines exactly why we don't need to over react or shut everything down over fear or one or two cases.

The financial impact of this may very likely be felt for years even though while the death rate does appear to be higher than the flu, this is not quite the plague.

Agree with not panicking but there is nothing wrong with planning. Even if we end up having a larger than expected number of cases, I think that won't be in near future but will be down the road. That's why it's important to do what we can to head it off. It is traveling fast in China because they live in highly dense communities, once it hits less dense areas it will still travel just less quickly.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Our son's college just sent an email updating us about their contingency plans regarding COVID-19, although it sounds like most of what they are focusing on is in regards to students or faculty that are traveling to or were recently in China.

I haven't seen any news regarding local school districts. I don't know why there would be.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I haven't heard anything from ours yet. We're in the South and about an hour away from any "major" cities.

edited to add: the university I work for sent an email out yesterday saying they are looking into how to handle the virus if it becomes a concern here, but nothing set as of yet.

 

[cabanafrau]

I do know that some districts in MI have started to take a look at general preparedness protocols internally, but as far as I have heard none are making public statements so far. I do know universities have been doing some planning for a few weeks, initially more in regard to special arrangements for some international students who will no longer be traveling to some overseas destinations for spring break as originally planned. One university has now cancelled study abroad for the spring semester as of today. I think we're about to hear a lot about universities' plans for things like this before anything like school district closures is considered a possibility.

I've heard from a few friends and coworkers regarding corporate travel postponements also.

 

[superme80]

We homeschool. The only way my kids are getting out of school is if they ACTUALLY get sick! More and more cases are popping up in California, so I am trying to not freak out a bit.

 

[Wendy31]

We’re in the south.

So far, no cases have been reported in our area, but one couple from our city who was on one of the cruise ships is currently in quarantine in Texas.

I homeschool our youngest, & he attends weekly co-op classes. Our co-op follows the local public school closings. While there may have been some meetings about it already, nothing has been reported to the general public.

One local private school which is also a boarding school for many international students has said that they are keeping their dorms open over spring break so that the international students can stay here & not go home & possibly be exposed to the illness.

Colleges & universities around us have cancelled their various school-sponsored overseas trips for the near future.

Our 2 oldest commute to college, & nothing has been said yet about any contingency plans for shut-downs.

 

[ellbellthomps]

I'm right outside of NYC, and I haven't heard anything yet.
The only thing is that there was some sort of announcement stating that if for some reason there would be a quarantine, they would have a lock in for 14 days.
Seems kinda dumb to me, but I'm nothing near a medical professional or someone who would make such emergency decisions, so who knows.

 

[wvjules]

I don't have kids in school but my employer (a large international partnership) sent out an email about travel restrictions, how they are working with the CDC, created a pandemic task force, and stay home if sick. And "Preparing to implement additional actions including, but not limited to, additional travel restrictions, social distancing policies, remote working, closing offices, etc., as warranted by facts and expert analysis"

I checked the county school's website and there is a corona virus section. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/coronavirus/

They are basically monitoring the situation and information will be shared when available.

 

[holden]

We live just outside of Philadelphia. There are no known cases anywhere around here.

Last week our public school district sent out an email stating that there were no cases of the virus in our district. I thought is was very strange. There's no cases anywhere around us, so why would they need to clarify that?

 

[NYCgrrl]

I assume you are in one of the boroughs or close. I would hope any high population areas have plans in place for this sort of thing. I have to say in our area there has been an occasional school closing for a high concentration of illnesses but I would bet there is no plan for a district wide. Most schools should have ability to post lessons etc online for kids BUT not sure there is any interactive way. Perhaps they should be working with teachers on joining education networks like colleges have so they can do some sort of online interactive classes.

If I were a working parent (my kids are out of school) I would be networking right now on getting my child covered just in case, and depending on my job negotiating working remotely. Better safe than scrambling at the last minute and being left with nothing.

EVERY area should be putting plans in place for teaching and every family needs a family plan in place for care. I think the bigger fear is not getting the virus as much as the process of preventing the process, which impacts our daily lives.

There are 60 confirmed cases in the US with only 6 considered totally recovered. There are likely MANY MANY more that have presented as Coronavirus but have not taken the test to confirm. The government is not allowing testing unless you fall in a very narrow description. Hopefully patients in hospitals presenting but untested are being aggressively treated by doctors and isolated from other patients.

Since it has a long incubation period and healthy people may carry but not present ... there is a good chance it is being carried around the US without falling into the narrow controls. Time will tell where this thing goes, but the number of countries now reporting has gone up quite a bit in the last couple days.



Agree with not panicking but there is nothing wrong with planning. Even if we end up having a larger than expected number of cases, I think that won't be in near future but will be down the road. That's why it's important to do what we can to head it off. It is traveling fast in China because they live in highly dense communities, once it hits less dense areas it will still travel just less quickly.

DGD's school is private and within the 5 boroughs. I agree there is no reason to panic and being prepared is an excellent idea. I would hate for something to happen and there was no backup plan.

 

[Farro]

Nothing closing here in Chicago. In fact Mayor Lightfoot (love her) discussed how the city is preparing, but also cautioned the public not to stigmatize individuals or businesses based on ethnicity.

“Our residents should continue and enjoy the city, its neighborhoods, particularly Chinatown, and its amenities as they normally do,” she said. “Fear cannot guide us in this moment. Thoughtfulness and preparations are the rule of the day.”

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Last week our public school district sent out an email stating that there were no cases of the virus in our district. I thought is was very strange. There's no cases anywhere around us, so why would they need to clarify that?

Facebook rumors, probably.