This is worrisome. Those demanding the speedy and full reopening of schools have taken for granted that children are unlikely to become infected with coronavirus.
But the latest data from Florida show that complacency is unwarranted.
Those localities where the pandemic is growing and out of control should be cautious and aware of the risk to children.
The Huffington Post reports:
Nearly one-third of children who have been tested for the coronavirus in Florida have tested positive, according to data from the state’s Department of Health that comes amid ongoing debate and uncertainty over whether schools will reopen this fall.
Of the 54,022 people under the age of 18 who have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida, 16,797 of them, or roughly 31%, have tested positive, data released Friday shows. In comparison, roughly 11% of everyone in the state who has been tested for the virus — roughly 2.8 million people — has tested positive.
Nearly half of the state’s positive cases among children were in the counties of Broward, Dade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach.
Amid this growth, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has continued to push for schools to reopen this fall, with him on Tuesday telling mayors in south Florida — the state’s hardest-hit area for cases — that doing so is low-risk.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Public health, logic and science will not deter Trump and his lap dog, Gov. DeSantis. The rationale for opening up the state is totally political. Florida just opened up Disney World. There is a different set of rules at the theme park. People must wear masks and have an appointment. It is also operating at reduced capacity. As of today Florida has an overall 18.3% positive test rate, the second highest in the nation.
The politicians are determined to open the schools. Typical of Florida decisions about how to do it and what districts do when there is an outbreak are left up to the local school district. Most of the districts in my area are offering students two or three different options including in person, virtual, remote and hybrid. The hybrid option involves a staggered in school schedule which will not be helpful to parents that have to work.https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/testing/testing-positivity
Coronavirus In Kids: School Reopening Is Safe As Children ‘Don’t Get’ COVID-19, Ex-White House Doctor Says
07/16/20 AT 10:46 PM
Dr. Ronny Jackson, a retired United States Navy rear admiral that served as physician to the President from 2013 to 2018, calls for schools nationwide to reopen in the fall despite the U.S. being gripped by a massive surge in COVID-19 cases. He said parents shouldn’t worry about their children contracting COVID-19.
In an interview on Fox News Radio, Dr. Jackson also said even if kids do contract the virus that causes COVID-19, “they don’t get sick from it.” He concludes parents shouldn’t worry about their kids going back to school in the fall.
“The reality is people that say they’re worried about the kids,” according to Dr. Jackson. “We know you don’t need to be worried about the kids. For the most part, kids don’t get this. And if they do get it, they don’t get sick from it. That’s one of the things we know at this point.”
As for kids transmitting the virus to their parents, grandparents and older people, Dr. Jackson said families have got to be careful. But he again noted families “shouldn’t be worried about the kids when they go to school. They’re not, they’re not the concern here.”…
An emergency physician, Jackson opposes face mask mandates meant to halt the spread of COVID-19.
“I think that wearing a mask is a personal choice, and I don’t particularly want my government telling me that I have to wear a mask,” he claims….
Jackson is running as a Republican to represent Texas’s 13th congressional district in the U.S. House in the November 2020 elections. As physician to President Donald Trump, Dr. Jackson became infamous for his assessment of Trump’s health in a letter written January 2018…
https://www.ibtimes.com/coronavirus-kids-school-reopening-safe-children-dont-get-covid-19-ex-white-house-3012685
Warning: the doctor is running for Congress in Texas’ 13th (lucky #?) C.D., & is considered a favorite to win in November.
Yeah, esp. when they disqualify all those mail-in ballots.
Not to downplay anything, but there are some factors that should be taken into consideration. Mainly that the sample of people who get tested is not random – people have reasons for getting tested or getting their children tested. Symptoms and possible exposure are big reasons for both kids and adults, but other reasons apply only or mainly to adults, such as getting tested to return to work or getting tested in order to help out a friend or family member who needs care. So it stands to reason that a significant portion of those who get tested test positive, but more so for children than adults. I wonder what the results would be if we selected a random sample and forced people to get tested regardless of need or desire.
Also, as has been mentioned before, testing positive is not the same as having symptoms and children remain much, much less likely to develop symptoms. The biggest worry with children is the potential of asymptomatic carriers to transmit the disease to others, and the research on children’s contribution to that is very mixed, with quite a bit of research suggesting children play minimal role in the spread of the disease.
Note, I’m still not opining on whether or when schools should open. As I said a few days ago, with cases spiking, caution is certainly warranted right now and we shouldn’t rush to open. I’m just saying to evaluate issues like these from all sides.
Good morning Diane and everyone,
I just saw on the news that in Missouri, 80 children were infected at a summer camp. The camp took all precautionary measures – masks, distancing, keeping kids in their own separate pods, cleaning, staying outside, etc. According to the mother who was interviewed, her daughter said that kids were respecting the rules and her daughter related to her the intricate measures being taken during mealtimes. So, what are we to make of this? Of course, we don’t know to what extent kids and staff really were obeying the rules. But this mother was confident enough to send her child to summer camp knowing the precautions that would be taken.
I posted this one before but the case is very similar. If children can catch COVID-19 at summer camp…well, we know what will happen when schools open.
………………..
36 students who attended the same athletics camp in Chicago test positive for COVID-19
July 15, 2020, 3:36 AM
As the country struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic, disturbing stories of mass infections stemming from summer camps continue to make headlines, leading many to wonder if reports of widespread coronavirus infection are going to become the norm when schools reopen. 36 students have tested positive at Lake Zurich High School, all of whom participated in the school’s athletic camps last week.
ABC News Chicago reports that the athletic camp students in Lake Zurich, Illinois who tested positive may have actually contracted the virus at social events before the camps even started. The students who tested positive are now isolating and all athletic camps at the school have been suspended until further notice. Additionally, the number of infected students is expected to rise as local health officials are still waiting on test results from the weekend, where an additional 350 students at Lake Zurich High School were tested as well…
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/36-high-school-students-sports-083655665.html
Yes, Carol, this happened at Glenbrook South High School (in Glenview–former home of Pear$on–a northern suburb in IL) a few weeks later.
&–to Dr. Ronny–these camps are OUTSIDE.
Also, who knows how many adults in the lives of those kids he was talking about were infected & hospitalized, & how many who died?
Very important. A microcosm illustrating what we shall see this fall nationwide.
more and more evidence that it only takes one to bring the virus to all
Great post, Bob! What a hypocrite!
Check this out.
Chinese state media releases animated propaganda video mocking US coronavirus response:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-01/china-state-media-propaganda-video-mock-us-coronavirus/12204836
So true, Yvonne. The US federal response has been a nightmare.
The DIN of concocted notoriety
“It’s always been the same, same old story…
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen…
All the times that I cried
Keeping all the things I knew inside
It’s hard, but it’s harder to ignore it
If they were right, I’d agree
But it’s them you know not me
Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away …”
Steven Demetre Georgiou
AWAY, from the din of concocted notoriety…
In addition to these mind-boggling reports about the rates of COVID-19 among school-age children there is little attention to the seasonal flu for which vaccinations are usually required. The “flu season” runs from about October to March and many symptoms resemble those currently associated with COVID-19.
Vaccinations for seasonal flu combined with the prospect of vaccinations for COVID-19 are likely to scare parents and caregivers. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season.htm
See also some of the reasons that parents/caregivers give for refusing vaccinations.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4869767/
I would like to see more discussion of the overlapping risks to school-age children, school staff, and parents of the seasonal flu and these new reports of the rates of COVID-19 among school-age children.
OK. Can we now stop the breathtakingly irresponsible and heedless talk about “safely reopening schools” and talk about the other options?
Absolutely not a surprise, as the screening includes both current-infection swabs and antibody tests conducted up to July 10th. The reports say nothing about the cases being new.
Schools in California were hammered by three successive waves of “flu”, starting at the end of January and ending in early March. Children were purposefully not been tested, but Florida’s data only confirms what I’ve said all along…a high percentage of kids already caught the disease and weathered it just fine.
Contrary to what posters are saying, this indicates that students can go back to school with very little fuss…
Steve–& you know for certain (have evidence) that these kids did NOT transmit it to others in their family, or even people outside the family?
Here is my experience (frightening, & could have been worse): I was in New Orleans the first week of March. Mardi Gras had been in late February. (I think the week before.) As everyone can imagine, huge crowds lined the streets for the parade–no social distancing, because, who knew? (Thanks again, WHit.) I’m friends w/a business owner & I was in her store, talking to her (& it’s a small shop). She’d told me that all the neighboring businesses & her friends were getting sick/calling in sick, & that they were trying to help each other stay open by sharing well personnel, esp. the restaurants. She, herself, had been hospitalized (dang, I was lucky that time, as there’s NO room to social distance in that store &, anyway, I was talking to her across the counter), but was (mis) diagnosed w/something else, as no one knew about covid–there weren’t tests, anyway. Weeks & weeks after I came home, I emailed her: it turns out she was, yet again, hospitalized, this time tested, & was positive (because it was mid-Match). Also, there was a front page article in The New York Times Magazine about the oldest Black Social Club–Zulu–that had, like every other one–held their parade. At the time the article was printed, I believe at least 20 members had tested positive, and 6 had died.
G-d knows how many people were positive during Mardi Gras, & how many passed it on to others (this, of course, is a HUGE event, attracting tourists from all over the world), esp. those from other states & countries. Also, the parades start two weeks before Fat Tuesday, so there are numerous parades.
Contrary to what you say, Steve, there may be “very little fuss,” but there will, most certainly, be a LOT of muss. Did you not read what carolmalaysia wrote above? Are you a scientist or a nurse or an MD or a teacher/educator/school nurse?
(Teachers & school nurses KNOW how fast illness is spread in schools).
Finally–about the older teachers being infected: I hate to tell you, but
my colleagues & I never became ill more quickly than in the first year we taught. Kids have traditionally been (affectionately called, of course) “booger spreaders,” & we were told that we needed to teach for a while & build up immunity. So–there’s that.
Perhaps all the schools that dare open could be staffed by bright-eyed
T.F.A. recruits, & we can create a “petri dish…you know, control situation,” as Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman seriously suggested to an incredulous Anderson Cooper, because she wanted to get the casinos open (although she wouldn’t visit one herself!).
Nevada’s one of the states with a large # of new cases. Governor Sisolak has already ordered the bars closed &, surely, there will be more to come…
Great idea. Writer Joney had it right in a thread the other day: we’ll just send all kids under 15 back to school, & staff the schools w/personnel of the same age…