How Does This End?

My question is about my child. He is a healthy 8 year old only child. If schools reopened TODAY with no mitigation methods in place at all, I’d put him on the first bus. Not because I’m heartless and don’t care about elderly teachers, etc. But he has had almost zero contact with any other children since March 16. Zoom doesn’t count. A child simply can not develop normally at home, alone, looking at a screen, and occasionally taking a hiking trip or playing a board game with his parents. But the proposals for schools are dystopian: no playing at recess, no chatting, no passing notes, no school bus. I honestly have no idea what to do, how to handle this, or what his future looks like.

Also, my husband and I are well-off. I can quit my job and homeschool him if need be. What about the children of immigrants who don’t speak English? What about the single moms with 4 kids? What about the kids who share a bedroom with 3 other siblings in an apartment with no yard? Distance learning is 100% ineffective but I am not sure what the answer is. I am SO GLAD I am not a school superintendent right now.

@CommunityRNBSN thank you so much for your post! It is kind of interesting to see the varied responses. I was really hoping more people would post their own questions, not answers to my questions! My question a were just posted as an example of things that I was thinking about. We all have our own. I appreciate all of the responses and am glad that, for the most part, the responses were civil. There is no need for attacking or poking fun at anyone for their own beliefs or anxieties.

Ultimately, there is a whole range of how people are responding to this and it is very individual. I just wish that there were solid, national guidelines for this thing. Despite what anyone wants to believe, this is a serious threat.

As for school and socialization, I often wonder how this will affect my children developmentally. It will probably shape their minds and futures much more than linear this point.

@Rose_Queen thanks for pointing out the quality of life for many that survive. Many people do not seem to realize that this is a serious threat and should be treated as such! When did public health become political? I agree with happy that the government may be over reaching I terms of control over liberties, but that is really a separate issue.

@Kerri Dold Getz your post was great, thank you. I appreciate the thoughts even though my questions were rhetorical, I can still always learn from others experience! Unwanted to respond to your comment about mask wearing. I should have phrases my question differently, but my questionably pertained to two things. One, mask wearing has become an oddly political issue. Of course I wear a mask, but have had odd responses from people who want to make it political, which makes me struggle with it mentally. Two, it is still providing some protection, but the mask wearing is really much more effective if everyone is wearing them, so I sometimes feel it is futile if dozens of people around me are not wearing one. Thank you so much, though, for the thoughtful response.

At the end of theday, we all have to figure out our own response. We have been much more cautious and isolated, and it is okay that others are not, but that is our decision to make. I am not okay with being the possible asymptomatic carrier to all of my elderly family members.

My post really was more about just how very difficult this all feels, and how much it has changed our life, with no end in sight...

Thanks to everyone for responding.

OP - you ask how do we continue to move on. I see 2 areas not addressed enough that I think could make positive impact.

Firstly, TV media - needs to take a more proactive and oversight function in all its videoing/presentations. Like I watched a TV news clip over the weekend. Some group was providing outreach free services incl haircuts for free to needing clients. Very nice gesture, but ... the barber was wearing a surgical mask at his lipline. Totally bypassing his nose & mouth. Like what good was it???

The TV media/editorial crew should have monitored the situation and explained 'WEAR THE MASK RIGHT, OR. NO. TV.!!! HARD LINE!!!

Blatant failure to wear masks correctly DEFEATS the purpose of the masks and provides the public a SUBLIMINAL or false sense of it being OK to do so. Perfect opp'ty for the media to be educational, and in another sense, a chance to monitor & provide oversight.

I'm sure many of us have seen these kinds of situations occurring daily. If social distancing is NOT being practiced, NO TV. And if the parties refuse to conform, oh well, their loss!

Secondly, better employee job screening with RESTRICTIONS - for the record, this one gives me terrible mixed emotions and civil liberties concerns. SOOOOOO many employees work MULTIPLE jobs; some 2 or 3 positions. All this criss-crossing job hopping causes criss-crossing exposure risks. Staff working in day cares, group homes, DDD facilities, NHs are exposed to higher risk clients. Staff come in and go to the next job potentially exposing themselves, their families and the other clients to the increased risks.

Somehow, this needs to be studied and addressed. I did hear of some locality actually doing so. But I recognize the crippling imposition of financial SURVIVAL for so many, esp for those employees who can least afford loss of jobs, and hence, finances & lifestyle.

I have NO CLUE how this could be done. Epidemiolgy tracks trends & exposures now. How to monitor all the jobs potentially out there, incl those under the table and/or unlicensed is mind-boggling.

OP - you asked. These are just 2 types of change that could have major impact that I hope will move society to a better outcome.

JMHO

@amoLuciaI'm not sure what you mean, exactly, by "no TV!" but I liked your post.

The media needs to be airing commercials constantly about things like proper mask wearing and a big X through the nose jockeys. Big X. There is one hundred thousand million times more that the media could be doing to educate people on how to behave during a pandemic. Where o where are the PSAs when we need them?

We need stricter nurse managers to insist on mask wearing, not to forgive the neck and nose jockeys.

On 7/13/2020 at 5:47 PM, MeganMN said:

When did public health become political?

Literally the same exact time a video of a dog chasing his tail became political. That's the sad reality of our country. Most of us are smarter, but there's a completely moronic minority that can't have anything exist without it being about politics. When the next person finds a cure for a rare disease, I can promise that when you read the comments on facebook, you'll see someone post something bashing the liberals, because in their heads, that's all connected.

On 7/15/2020 at 10:01 AM, BostonFNP said:

The case fatality rate is 8% in the US right now, just to be clear.

Less than 4% as of this writing. 136,368 deaths divided by 3,450,088 cases.

Tracking the novel coronavirus in the U.S.

16 minutes ago, Nurse SMS said:

My institution has instituted progressive discipline for people failing to wear PPE according to our policies at this time. This includes masks in all hospital areas and shields if there is any chance you will be face to face with patients. We are encouraged to politely remind one another if a mask is on inappropriately or not on at all. Before the progressive discipline ruling, reminding someone was met with hostility. Now its met with at least momentary quiet compliance.

I'm on board with something like that in a healthcare setting because you're being paid by the employer to follow their policies on giving care.

What I'm not on board with, however, is trying to impose such rules on the general public. Here in Texas, our cultural ethos is deeply individualistic and liberty-loving. If you went up to someone in public and upbraided them for not masking, it would be considered harassment. And the best case scenario would be them telling you something that rhymes with "duck off". The worst case scenario could end up getting pretty ugly.

Like I said ad nauseaum, if you want to quarantine and mask, do so to your heart's content. Nobody here is going to drag you out of your home and force you to go to a party or a bar without a mask on, I assure you. But you go around trying to tell others how to live their lives you are soon going to face outright hostility which means you'll learn to amend any sanctimonious prig attitudes very quickly.