The reason young children do not spread COVID-19 widely

[MineralMan]

is that most young children (under 5) don't have much contact with adults outside of their own family. That doesn't mean that they can't spread the virus, though.

[soothsayer]

1. This. Parents have (mostly) been protecting their young kids

They don’t go to bars and such.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes. And once the schools shut down, even older

children had minimal contact with groups of adults. That's why I think reopening schools will be a very, very bad idea. Kids will become infected and bring the infection home and spread it, whether the children become seriously ill or not.

There's your second wave, and it could be absolutely devastating.

[JT45242]

2. And were the first to shelter in place

Schools closed quickly.

My kids haven't been out of the yard more than a handful of times since March

[MineralMan]

5. Exactly.

Plus, parents have been staying at home with their children, further slowing the spread of the virus. Once all that changes, I'm afraid we're in for very bad outcomes, frankly.

[unblock]

3. Office workers should have 8 meetings a day with over a dozen people each!

No? Then why are we even thinking about making kids do that?

[MineralMan]

6. Exactly. The belief that children do not contract the virus or spread it

is woefully incorrect, and we will pay dearly for reopening the school petri dishes.

[unblock]

8. every parent knows damn well, we all get sick a few weeks into each school year

it's just a cold or gi problem, and we moan a bit, but ultimately laugh it off.

why on earth would we expect somehow the same thing wouldn't happen with a highly contagious lethal disease during a pandemic?

[MineralMan]

9. Yes. Schools are fertile ground for respiratory and GI viruses.

We may well be looking at a major COVID-19 outbreak this Fall.

[unblock]

11. Personally, I'm expecting a lot of schools to close in October.

Amid a lot of people saying, "well that didn't work out well!"


Maybe the holdout districts will wait until right after the election.....

[MineralMan]

12. No question in my mind about that.

The problem is that many schools in many places will be open long enough to cause a serious outbreak in the community.

The virus didn't "go away in the Summer." Not at all. It is not the flu virus. None of us have immunity, and that certainly includes children. I'm afraid the opening of schools will strengthen the pandemic in a dramatic way, and within a month or two.

[mcar]

7. That's right, especially now

Most kids have been home for 6 months - no pre-school, limited day care, no visiting grandma, or going to the playground.

We don't really know how or if they can spread the virus and have limited information on the effect on kids.

[MineralMan]

10. Well, if they open schools on a widespread basis, we'll be learning more

about that pretty soon, I'm afraid. I can't see any biological reason that children can't contract and spread the COVID-19 virus. So, I think they probably will, and en masse.

[mcar]

15. SO starts back on Monday

for a 2 day training, then he's home till Aug 11. Students come back Aug 20.

We're spending part of today ordering face shields (we have plenty of masks) and looking at HEPA air purifiers for his classroom.

On Monday, there's a full staff meeting at his school (he's a HS math teacher). It's via Zoom. But on Aug 20, there will be 20+ students in his classroom.

This is madness.

[MineralMan]

16. Yes, it is madness. I hope that

more places do what my city of St. Paul, MN is doing. All classes for the Fall semester will be held online. Other cities in Minnesota are making decisions right now about what to do. Many will decide to send kids back to classrooms, it appears. But St. Paul is holding out and sticking with online school.

[mcar]

22. I'm hoping against hope that leaders will come to their sense

but this is Florida, after all, so I won't hold my breath.

[mercuryblues]

23. This is the one I have

https://www.envion.com/en/tpp630

Product description
The Therapure TPP630 has 4-Stage Purification: (1) a cleanable Pre-Filter that helps capture large particles like hair and lint. (2) a uniquely engineered cleanable HEPA-Type filter helps remove particles from the air, (3) a UV germicidal light helps reduce germs and bacteria, and (4) a photocatalyst filter helps reduce VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are found in paint and carpet fumes. Therapure air purifiers help remove allergens and pollutants including dust mites, pollen, cigarette smoke, mold spores, odors, pet hair and dander for more comfortable and healthy living.

[uponit7771]

21. THIS !!!! There's no where for kids to go !! We're going to put the kids in the car and drive them

... around cause they're so bored

[Cracklin Charlie]

13. A two year old gave it to me.

Sneezed right in my face...twice.

She got it from her five year old sister, who got it from her preschool. Of course children spread viruses.

Funny how back in March, it was so unsafe for kids that we closed the schools. Yet now, with virus raging, they claim it’s perfectly safe for kids to return to the classroom, and trump claims that children can’t catch the virus.

What goes on here?

[crickets]

14. You're right. Children are excellent germ vectors.

They just haven't been out and about catching and spreading the virus in any great numbers up to now. It's so frustrating watching the plan to open the floodgates on purpose by sending them back to school.

[MineralMan]

17. It's a strictly political move.

It will backfire, I predict, and irreparably damage the Republican Party. However, that is not enough of a good thing to make reopening schools a good idea.

Red states and school districts are taking the lead in reopening in-classroom education. Even in Minnesota, St. Paul is continuing with online schooling, but many rural and suburban cities are opting for in-classroom education. Looking at the political map, those suburban and rural communities vote Republican.

Sadly, the children will reap the dangers that opening classrooms again creates.

[crickets]

19. Yes, it's political. That's why it's happening.

What concerns me almost as much as the potential loss of young lives or the loss of their parents and other family members is the crushing guilt some children may face as they grow up and come to understand that they were the vector that brought death into their homes. I also can't imagine children having to deal with the deaths of classmates and teachers at such young ages. All of these things will happen on a scale far beyond what would normally be expected, and it's an awful emotional burden they don't deserve.

[smirkymonkey]

18. Whenever I do get sick, it is always after visiting my siblings at the holidays and I catch

whatever their children have. Almost always. This past Thanksgiving was awful. I had a cold with a chest infection that just would not go away. I was coughing so badly I was choking on it.

I could barely breathe for a month or more. I had to spend every night with Vicks vapor rub and hot compresses on my chest just to ease the distress and I kept getting sent home from work because of my barking cough. On the weekends, I was just flat out in bed with hot tea and honey, and could barely eat.

Kids are little disease vectors. They might get over it quickly, but they spread it easily. I have a feeling I may have to skip the holidays this year just to avoid contact with my nieces and nephews. This year it could be fatal.

[uponit7771]

20. THIS !!!! My kids have no were to go other than their grand mothers and cousins !!