Major Leage Baseball's COVID plan failed after 4 days, how can schools hope to succeed?

 MLB started playing last week, over a hundred days after what was supposed to be opening day. After 3 days, it looks like they will be shutting down. The measures they put in place were far and above what they are doing for schools, so I ask, how can schools hope to be successful where they failed so spectacularly. 

After 4 days double-digit members of the Florida Marlins have been diagnoses with COVID-19.

From Slate,

The Miami Marlins’ home opener on Monday night against Baltimore has been postponed as the team deal with a coronavirus outbreak that stranded them in Philadelphia.

The Marlins postponed their flight home on Sunday night after their series finale against the Phillies. ESPN reports that the Phillies have canceled their game against the New York Yankees too. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that 11 of the 33 Marlins players who traveled to Philadelphia tested positive for Covid-19. Sources told Passan that two Marlins coaches have also tested positive.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/27/marlins-and-phillies-cancel-games-as-positive-covid-19-tests-mount

I have read on twitter it is 14 members of the Marlins and this after a smattering of members on other teams. 

This is the thing MLB has put crazy precautions in place.

From Baseball America, 

All players, coaches and team personnel are required to complete a symptom and exposure questionnaire before arriving at summer camp. If their responses indicate they may have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19, they have to undergo further evaluation and testing before they are allowed to report to the team facility. 

Upon arrival at summer camp, all players, coaches and team personnel will undergo a temperature check, a saliva or oral/nasal swab for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and a blood test for antibody testing. Individuals must self-quarantine until they learn the results of their diagnostic test (usually 24-48 hours). Only when the test comes back negative are they allowed to enter team facilities. 

All players, coaches and team employees must complete a COVID-19 education course prior to summer camp. Teams must submit a certification to MLB that all players and employees completed COVID-19 education. 

Throughout summer camp and the 2020 season, players and coaches will have their temperatures checked twice per day, a saliva sample or oral/nasal swab taken every other day for diagnostic testing and a blood sample taken approximately once per month for antibody testing. 

Players are required to take their temperatures twice, in succession, each morning before leaving their homes. If their temperature is 100.4 degrees or higher, they are required to report it to their club’s medical staff. 

Players who report or exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19 or have a temperature above 100.4 degrees are not allowed to enter a team facility. 

Players are required to wear face coverings at all times in the clubhouse and related areas. They are not required to wear face coverings on the field or in the bullpen or dugout during games or practices, or when engaged in physical activities such as batting practice or workouts. 

Non-playing personnel are required to wear face coverings at all times in the dugout and bullpen. 

Each club’s medical staff is responsible for ensuring compliance for all MLB-mandated health and safety protocols. MLB may conduct random audits to ensure proper procedures are being followed. 

Testing and procedures will be overseen by a Joint Committee consisting of one non-medical representative from MLB, one non-medical representative from the MLB Players' Association and two physicians (one appointed by each of the parties). Any disputes not solved by a majority vote of the committee will be resolved by an independent expert agreed upon by the MLB-appointed physician and the MLBPA-appointed physician. 

Players, on-field personnel and team officials may not take public transportation between their homes and the ballpark. 

On the road, players and other members of a team’s traveling party are not allowed to leave the team hotel to eat or use any restaurants open to the public. They can only eat at a private dining area for the team provided by the hotel or order food via room service or a delivery service such as Grubhub or Postmates. 

Umpires must complete COVID-19 education prior to the season and throughout the course of the regular season. 

MLB is providing free testing to household members of the covered individuals and to medical workers and other first responders in each club’s home city.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/a-guide-to-the-2020-season/

I guarantee you your school or district isn't doing ten percent of what MLB did and they lasted four days. I also guarantee you your school or district doesn't have nearly the resources MLB did and they lasted four days and I guarantee you when schools open they will fail even more spectacularly. 

Friends everyone wants to be back. Everyone thinks it is best but the reality is when schools open it won't be long before they close which means we will have risked lives for what?   

How other schools and districts are doing with the coronavirus, spoiler, not well

It is all anecdotal how other schools and districts are doing at this point, but what is happening is not pretty. Sadly it is probably a predictor of what's to come in Florida schools, and that's also not going to be pretty.

Private school closes after just reopening.

From Bussiness Insider,

A Pre-K-7 private school in North Carolina notified parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus a few days after it reopened for in-person teaching. 

On Thursday, Thales Academy Raleigh told parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported. The school stated that the staff member had been present at the school for training on Monday and interacted with at least 16 students, according to NBC affiliate WRAL. 

The school emailed parents that "the staff member in training was asymptomatic" and "passed the temperature check," according to WRAL. The News & Observer reported that a spokeswoman stated the school would disinfect the classrooms with a Clorox Total 360 machine and resume in-person classes on Friday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/nc-private-school-reports-coronavirus-case-days-after-reopening-2020-7?fbclid=IwAR0PGLzDivFrfPRZvPWviXg828YbMgTMpj9wRlA_95LO0wAnH41bIccgVxQ

700 quarantined and 51 infected in Austin,

Austin's school district is dealing with hundreds of staff members who are being asked to quarantine due to confirmed cases of coronavirus among staff members.

As of July 22, 51 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Austin Independent School District employees, according to a spokesperson for AISD. As a result, around 698 employees have been asked to quarantine.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/austin-coronavirus-covid-19-aisd-cases/269-40f5847b-47cc-4b6d-b3a7-769a30bbab64?

This is Florida's future in a few weeks.

Hundreds of school employees test positive in Hillsborough County,

From the Tampa Times, 

More than 200 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Hillsborough County Public Schools this year, district leaders acknowledged late in the week. 

Five of the patients were students. And, from what district leaders have determined, some of the employees who had the disease were ill when they first came to work, suggesting they contracted it someplace else. 

That number of positive cases — 206, to be exact — was included in an email that superintendent Addison Davis sent to School Board members on Thursday, answering a variety of questions they had asked him. Most of the questions were related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

https://www.tampabay.com/news/gradebook/2020/07/24/more-than-200-coronavirus-cases-found-in-hillsborough-schools-this-year/

Well, good thing it is summer vacation right. Though I seem to remember people, saying the virus would burn out when the heat arrived. Sadly it must not have gotten the message as we are averaging over ten thousand new cases a day.

Here is a story about how schools have been closing across the globe.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/school-openings-across-globe-suggest-ways-keep-coronavirus-bay-despite-outbreaks

How about how schools closed, reopened, and closed again?

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/10/889376184/photos-how-hong-kong-reopened-schools-and-why-it-closed-them-again

Finally, here is one about how reopening schools in Isreal led to another outbreak.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israelis-fear-schools-reopened-too-soon-as-covid-19-cases-climb-11594760001

Sigh

When schools open it will be a matter of when and how many schools close here in Florida. Schools closing is as inevitable as the sunrise. I know it, you know it and the people pushing for them to open, know it as well. Since that is the case, we are risking lives for what?

The rest of the nation and world has given us a glimpse at our future, one we could avoid if we choose to.

Trump, Scott, DeSantis, and Rubio push for in school learning for our kids but not for theirs. (draft)

National and state leaders of a particular party despite the unsafe conditions are pushing for the opening of public schools. That's unacceptable, but it is made even made because their children won't be allowed anywhere near them. Saftey for theirs but danger for ours.

First, there is President Trump, whose son Barron's exclusive private school announced they will start with e-learning.

From Yahoo, 

Despite President Donald Trump's push to have schools reopen their classrooms in the fall, his son Barron Trump won't be sitting in class full-time anytime soon.

The private St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland — which the 14-year-old began attending after moving to Washington, D.C. — announced this week that while a final decision has yet to be made, it is planning not to fully reopen its campus in the fall because of novel coronavirus concerns.

The school shut down and switched to online learning in the spring.

In a letter to parents this week, St. Andrew's said it is preparing either to continue with online classes or to implement a hybrid plan for the next school year, which would use both e-learning and in-person classes by allowing groups of its students to return to campus in cycles, along with social distancing.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/barron-trump-not-going-back-163018909.html

I don't like the hybrid model any better than in-person learning, but everyone knows the president's son schools won't want for anything while most public schools want for everything. Also if he has demanded they open like he has public schools, I haven't heard it.

Next, there is Rick Scott, who said his grandchildren won't be in school either.

From Florida Politics, 

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott wants schools to reopen, but he said his grandchildren won’t be in them.

On Tuesday’s edition of Varney and Co. on the Fox Business Network, the first-term Republican from Naples said, while parents should have “choice,” that choice should include distance learning, in addition to five days in brick-and-mortar buildings.

“My daughters are going to be more focused on distance learning right now to make sure their children are safe,” Scott told Varney. “Other parents are going to want to make sure their kids are in the classroom.”

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/350852-distance-learning-rick-scott

Scott went onto say some really tone-deaf things, but the gist was clear public schools are just fine for our families, but his won't be attending.

Then our Governor, who has been pushing hard for the reopening of schools, doesn't have to worry about it because his children are too young. 

From the Tampa Times,

With Florida’s schools emerging as the latest battleground in the fight over coronavirus public health measures, the state’s three top Republicans aren’t entirely in agreement about what they think is the safest way to go to school when it comes to their own family members. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis said his children, who are too young to attend school, would be going in person if they were old enough. 

https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/07/24/floridas-top-republicans-favor-sending-kids-back-to-school-but-what-about-their-own-kids-and-grandkids/

You know that's really easy to say when your children's lives aren't the ones put in danger and me for one don't find him credible. 

Then finally there is Marco Rubio, who has a wait and see attitude.

 Also from the Tampa Times, 

And Sen. Marco Rubio did not say if his children would attend classes in person when asked by the Miami Herald, but said he wants to see Miami’s community spread decrease in the coming weeks before students return.

“None of my two kids that are still in school have health conditions,” he said. “No one in our home does. It would be different if that were not the case.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/07/24/floridas-top-republicans-favor-sending-kids-back-to-school-but-what-about-their-own-kids-and-grandkids/

Oh, there you go, none of them have underlying conditions, and neither do his family members, so he is going to wait and see, must be nice, right?  He gives a great big, good luck to you and yours if anyone in your family does.

Ugh, 

Here is a look at what other state elected figures will be doing, notice the difference between parties. 

https://www.wflx.com/2020/07/24/which-florida-lawmakers-are-sending-their-kids-back-school/

Florida is averaging over ten thousand cases a day and well over a hundred deaths. Things are bound to get worse, as well. Being in a school is the opposite of what we should be doing right now, and there is no reason worth risking lives. 

This sucks, we all hate it, we all want to be back, but right now it is just too dangerous. It would be nice if those without skin in the game would acknowledge that.

DCPS says they will close schools based on medical advice, well medical advice has been screaming that they should not open! (draft)

When you were a kid, and mom told you no, did you over go ask dad because you knew he would give you the answer you wanted? What about with a business, ever got been told an answer you didn't like ever to call back later to talk to someone else to get a different answer? I feel like that is DCPS they don't like the answers from one medical expert they go to the next, whatever they can do to follow through with Greene's reckless decision to open school to brick and learning.

DCPS says they will close schools if the medical experts say to close schools well the medical field has been screaming to close schools, and they just haven't been listening.

It is sad to say, but the CDC and the state and local health departments have been compromised. I wish health wasn't politicized, but in the age of Trump, it is where we find ourselves.  

Since that is the case we have to look elsewhere.

Here is what the American Asociation of Petedicians says,

From Click Orlando,

 Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday defended his plan to reopen schools for the upcoming academic year, even as the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics on Thursday sent a letter to his office, asking that he reconsider allowing school districts to resume face-to-face learning.

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/07/19/gov-desantis-defends-plan-to-reopen-schools-even-amid-letter-asking-him-to-reconsider/

Okay, that's the pediatricians what about the infectious disease doctors

From Tampa 10,

But infectious disease experts say reopening brick and mortar schools won't help stop the spread of COVID-19.

"We're not where we should be for kids to be going back to school. I think a lot of people are thinking maybe if we give two more weeks, we're actually going to see an improvement with COVID, but we haven't seen an improvement in several weeks," Dr. Jill Roberts with the University of South Florida Public Health said. "I'm not sure that that's going to give us the window that we really need. My additional concern of that is that's actually pushing us closer to flu season. 

The full picture hasn't been painted yet. Dr. Roberts says not enough kids have been tested and those that have are severe. As a parent herself, she also has a difficult decision to make.

"My husband and I both know she's probably going to get infected and she's probably going to bring it home. So that's gonna cause problems for us as well. There is no easy decision for anything or anybody here to make. It's all hard across the board," Dr. Roberts says.

Come fall, she says schools could be the epicenter for community transmission.

"Coronavirus spreads so much easier than Influenza does. There is no way that the schools don't end up becoming a center for this. I would be shocked if we make it very long through the semester before they go back to online learning," Dr. Roberts said.

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/education/infectious-disease-experts-believe-schools-will-be-the-epicenter-for-the-spread-of-covid-19-this-fall/

Gulp, that doesn't sound good. If schools will close and everyone seems to know that,, why are we opening them again?

Heck, Melissa Ross of First Coast Connect has a couple of doctors on and guess what they said.

From FCC, 

Despite the steady rise in new coronavirus cases, area schools are still planning to open on August 10, for both brick and mortar and virtual classes. 

Many educators, parents and even students are questioning this decision. As are some local doctors. We spoke with two local experts on kids and infectious disease. Dr. Mobeen Rathore, a prominent local pediatrician and co-chair of the Baptist Health System Infection Prevention and Control Committee; and Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen, a pediatrician and the former Director of the Duval County Health Department joined us. 

https://news.wjct.org/post/concerns-about-reopening-schools-hugh-greene-medicaid-cummer-museum 

Give it a listen they think opening schools is a bad idea too. 

When Ashley Smith Juarez voted no, she sited John Hopkins doctors as a reason why. 

It is Arizona, but they aren't as bad off as we are. 

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2020/07/17/doctors-say-its-ill-advised-and-dangerous-open-arizona-schools/5460660002/ 

It is California, but again, they aren't as bad off as we are.

https://edsource.org/2020/schools-should-not-open-until-safety-is-assured-california-teachers-association-tells-state/635625 

A lot of medical experts think not just our schools, but the country should shut down.

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-07-23-20-intl/h_888b0f983d42b46d73b8e0d336b9721b

Here is a doctor from Orlando's COVID-19 task force, who says schools are to dangerous.
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2020/07/22/orlando-doctor-on-reopening-schools---in-person-classes-are-just-too-risky--

I could have gone on and on.

Superintendent Greene and the board admit in-person school is dangerous, and they say they would close them if only the medical experts told them too. The problem with that is expert after expert is telling them, screaming out them to and they aren't listening. Pediatricians, Infectious Disease doctors, John Hopkins, and doctor after doctor is screaming, do not open your schools. Yet still, they plow ahead and for what? 

Not to be Flippant, but NOW we care about poor children?

The powers that be say over and over again that we have to get back because children are falling through the cracks and the achievement gap is widening. Um, these are not pandemic related. Children, especially those mired in poverty have been dropping out and falling behind as long as we have schools, and the powers that be barely shrugged their shoulders. So what's different now? It is that they need their mothers and fathers and grandparents to go to their ten dollar jobs so they can continue to rake the money in. They don't care about children, and let's not pretend they do, they only care about dollar signs.   

Study after study talks about the debilitating effects of poverty. Those children in it as a group do worse than those children who aren't.

https://moveforhunger.org/the-effects-of-poverty

The powers that be know this but they often either ignore it or treat it as an excuse.

Then there has always been an achievement gap, and its mostly between those kids in poverty and those not.   

https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievement-gap/index.html

These are not new things, they did not start when the pandemic hit, but Trump and DeVos and their surrogates are either tragically uninformed when they talk about the achievement gap, a real possibility, or they are disingenuous which is what I think we all know they are being.

We have inequalities that forcing children to go to schools where they can sick or worse infect their families and caregivers is not going to solve but instead exacerbate. 

If they cared about these children, which they do not, they would create job programs that would educate and train people so they could get jobs that paid higher wages, and provide for child care or require businesses to do so. If they cared about these children, which they do not, they wouldn't be expecting them to risk their and their family's health.

If they cared about those children, they would have spent the last few months making sure they had all they need to be successful, unfortunately for us, it's cheaper to risk their and their teacher's lives.

Whenever one of the people mention the achievement gap or kids falling behind, it's code for we don't give a $%#& about children and we want to get paid.

The thing is they don't care about kids, schools, teachers or families, they only care about putting money in their pockets.

Florida's circular firing squad with schools in the middle.

The state says schools can close at the guidance of their local health department. However, the local health department says they don't have the authority to advise schools to close. UM, WHAT!!!!

Andrew Atterbury, education reporter for politic tweeted this.

Andrew Atterbury

@ALAtterbury

Who can decide when Florida schools should close? “I do not have the authority as health officer to advise you to close schools or when to re-open,” Claudia Blackburn, Florida Department of Health in Leon County's Health Officer, said today during a task force meeting.

This despite getting consultation from health departments seems to be required.

Um, what? This may explain why Health Departments throughout the state haven't been very helpful.

From Florida Today, 

When the order for all brick-and-mortar schools to open in August came down from Tallahassee on July 6, the state apparently gave worried school districts an out. Reopenings were "subject to advice and orders" of state health officials and "local departments of health," the document said.

It also said: "Absent these directives, the day-to-day decision to open or close a school must always rest locally with the board or executive most closely associated with a school."

The wording led school boards in at least three counties to believe they needed to seek advice on the safety of opening from their local health officials, many of whom served on local reopening task forces and worked closely with district leaders to craft their plans.

At least one county health leader apparently thought so, too. Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, on July 6 told the Palm Beach school district's health advisory committee the situation there was too dangerous to reopen schools. Based on her guidance, the committee — and later, the Palm Beach School Board — agreed to keep campuses closed.

But days later, Alonso refused to put her recommendation in writing, the Palm Beach Post reported.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Orange County School Board on Tuesday vented at local health chief Dr. Raul Pino for his refusal to advise them on the same question.

In Brevard County, too, school board members have been denied local guidance on whether it is safe to open schools. At the July 9 workshop, Seibert told School Board Chairwoman Misty Belford the local DOH "cannot make that decision."

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/07/20/health-officials-wont-or-cant-say-if-schools-safe-open/5456874002/

UM, WHAT?!?

Jacksonville Superintendent said they haven't even talked to the Health Department and if they don't hear from them by Tuesday they are just going to wing it.

Watch the video at the 5:20 Mark.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/07/23/duval-schools-reopening-plan-phases-students-back-after-rnc-keeps-virtual-options/

UM, WHAT?!?

One of the reasons to keep schools closed is to stop the spread in society. Opening them up to risks the spread and closing the state down again. Florida's leaders are so desperate for a week or two of daycare they are willing to risk lives and the Future of Florida itself.

This does not make sense, none of this makes any sense.