Coronavirus and Schools

[KeeperOfTheIceRN]

Looking for opinions here!

I personally (and professionally, I suppose) have taken a very relaxed approach to the current situation. That's not to say that I haven't been reading a few articles about it here and there, but, I also haven't felt the need to shut my family and myself away in our house to avoid contact with the general public either.

I bring this up today because yesterday I not only had a teacher approach me asking me what our plan was should we need to close but the school district my charter is in also posted something to their facebook page stating they had a procedure ready to go should it come to that. It just struck me as odd that, up until yesterday afternoon, concern for this virus had not been introduced to my immediate world.

I'm curious to know:

1)what your personal thoughts are on this virus and

2) if your school has implemented any kind of potential procedure/policy should it come to an immediate concern for communities in the US.

[CanIcallmymom, BSN, RN]

3 hours ago, ruby_jane said:

As with anything epidemiological, cases in the initial area are underreported at first (as will be deaths) because there was no official way to test. There may be some backtracking and recalculating based on symptomology in the future.

I am "I survived the AIDS epidemic" years old. I worked as an epidemiology specialist in an urban Texas county for two years in the early 90s. I guess that shapes my attitude about any virus. At this point, I'll panic when I get some data but otherwise what I'm worried about is shortages. Mr. Ruby Jane works in a large urban clinic and they're already rescheduling non-urgent procedures because guess where all the supplies come from? China. Disrupt the supply lines and we become extremely helpless.

I got a needlestick in 1990, I was exposed to H1N1 in 2009, and I was definitely exposed to TB in 2012. Magically, I have neither HIV, Hep C, or TB. Was I lucky? Perhaps. I did get the H1N1. Because I am older and mean and have been exposed to a variety of things it's possible my body had seen H1N1 before. Or not. I do have asthma; that's not making me rest easier with any flu season but I've learned when I need to seek supportive care.

If I had the choice of recovering from Ebola, smallpox, Marburg, or COVID19... I'll take COVID any day. Because it's mostly supportive therapy that people need.

I'm not panicked, but it definitely has my ears perked up. I too am mostly concerned with shortages. There are already shortages on simple masks, and I can not get any more. I was getting a head start on ordering supplies for next school year since I will be out for a few months when I noticed this. My school will have to make do with what I have unless we can get some more from a local hospital, I suppose.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

This is the scariest part in anything that happens to China. The world has allowed them to produce everything, and their social structure allows it to be economical. We need to start manufacturing things again.

[OyWithThePoodles, RN]

Did something happen the night before last where everyone became so concerned overnight? We had three phone calls yesterday.

[BrisketRN, BSN, RN]

6 minutes ago, OyWithThePoodles said:

Did something happen the night before last where everyone became so concerned overnight? We had three phone calls yesterday.

On 2/25 Dr. Nancy Messonnier director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases made the comment "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness." Then the CDC tweeted "Now is the time for US businesses, hospitals, and communities to begin preparing for the possible spread of #COVID19. CDC continues to work with business, education & healthcare sectors, encouraging employers to be prepared." This was picked up by many news stations and several articles were written by major news corporations saying that coronavirus is coming and schools will need be closed.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

17 minutes ago, OyWithThePoodles said:

Did something happen the night before last where everyone became so concerned overnight? We had three phone calls yesterday.

The president held a press conference last night and the night before. Two days ago, someone from the CDC stated all families should prepare.

[OyWithThePoodles, RN]

2 hours ago, BrisketRN said:

On 2/25 Dr. Nancy Messonnier director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases made the comment "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness." Then the CDC tweeted "Now is the time for US businesses, hospitals, and communities to begin preparing for the possible spread of #COVID19. CDC continues to work with business, education & healthcare sectors, encouraging employers to be prepared." This was picked up by many news stations and several articles were written by major news corporations saying that coronavirus is coming and schools will need be closed.

2 hours ago, lifelearningrn said:

The president held a press conference last night and the night before. Two days ago, someone from the CDC stated all families should prepare.

Thanks, guys. I usually watch the news at night but I'm currently enthralled with rewatching GoT. It hasn't hit our state so I was completely taken aback when getting phone calls about how we are prepared to handle it.

[42pines]

3 hours ago, OyWithThePoodles said:

Did something happen the night before last where everyone became so concerned overnight? We had three phone calls yesterday.

This virus is driving me batty. *sigh*

I read this thread, started to respond, and after a four-page response which did not get any farther than “Covid-19 should not be compared to seasonal influenza.” I just got tired of writing and decided I’ll just answer the incident question of, shall, we say, “increased concern.”

The likely cause was that yesterday CDC announced that a person tested positive for Covid-19 in Solano County, California who had know known source of exposure. Therefore, there is concern that this creates what is known as “community spread.”

It’s one thing when a person got it from another, who got it from another, because you can track down people who are at risk, isolate them and break the chain of infection. When it transmits from an unknown source and infects a person—that’s a whole different ball game.

Additionally, people are becoming aware of Covid-19. South Korea went from 30 cases on February 13^th to 1,595 cases today. Italy went from 4 cases on February 20^th to 470 cases today, think about that! Also within a week cases have popped up in Croatia, Austria, Greece, Lebanon, Georgia, Algeria, Estonia and Romania.

The media really, really wants to quote the CFR (case fatality rate) at 2-3% but it is not. The current “death rate” (case fatality rate (CFR) is a “look-back” rate) worldwide is 8.45% or ~85 deaths out of 1,000 cases whose outcome are known.

Frankly I think the world is suffering from a case of Swine flu “boy who cried wolf” syndrome, and in reality, the wolves are in the distance, howling.

(2009 Swine flu was "the world will end" but it didn't, it died out with a mere, 100-400,000 deaths).

[42pines]

Since this thread was largely related to schools this seems appropriate:

Japan closing schools for a month over coronavirus concerns

Thursday, February 27, 2020 10:51AM

https://abc7.com/health/japan-closing-schools-for-a-month-over-coronavirus-concerns-/5971024/

“Japan will follow China's plan to shut down schools to help stop the spread of the disease.

TOKYO -- Japan will close schools nationwide to help control the spread of the new virus, the government announced Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was asking all elementary, middle and high schools to remain shut until Spring holidays begin in late March.

The measure affects 12.8 million students at 34,847 schools nationwide, the education ministry said.”

Japan has 189 confirmed Covid-19 cases today. You will read that Japan has 894 cases but 705 of those cases are confined to the Diamond Princess Cruise ship. Therefore, mainland Japan has 189 cases.

Japan has “sustained community spread,” meaning there are cases where the origin of the infection is unknown.

Should American towns/cities experience confirmed community spread I predict that schools will close.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

On 2/27/2020 at 3:01 PM, 42pines said:

It’s one thing when a person got it from another, who got it from another, because you can track down people who are at risk, isolate them and break the chain of infection. When it transmits from an unknown source and infects a person—that’s a whole different ball game.

I will bet that by next weekend we have an answer to "no known source of infection." It's just dilligent epi work and unfortunately with federal hiring freezes the CDC is not as staffed as they should be, leaving locals to run the epi work. Which may not, or may, be a good thing. I don't know.

[42pines]

Confirmed community spread will be like a "new chapter." Let's hope that connections are made and all in the chain are identified.

[BrisketRN, BSN, RN]

Very useful information. Thanks @42pines!

[KalipsoRed21, BSN, RN]

It reminds me of the swine flu “out break”. I’m not that worried about it. It’s dangerous...like the flu. I would hope though that it does bring attention to facilities and such that the mentality of “be a trooper, come to work with a cold.” That is kind of pressed upon us is stupid. Hire more people!

I was REALLY concerned when the Ebola virus had a tiny out break here. That scared me just because the precautions needed were not effectively in place.