Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Coronavirus Briefing: Schools Edition

Coronavirus Briefing: Schools Edition

August 5, 2020

An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment.

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The New York Times

By Lara Takenaga and Jonathan Wolfe

The number of virus-related deaths worldwide has topped 700,000.
Florida has surpassed 500,000 cases of the coronavirus, joining California as the only states to reach the grim milestone.
Johnson & Johnson will receive $1 billion from the U.S. government to fund development and distribution of its experimental vaccine.
Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and trackers for U.S. metro areas and vaccines in development.

A tale of two cities

Chicago, the nation’s third-largest school district, will begin the academic year remotely, after teachers and parents opposed a hybrid plan that would have sent children into classrooms two days a week.

“When we announced the potential for a hybrid model some weeks ago, we were in a very different place in the arc of the pandemic,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. The city’s reported coronavirus cases have steadily increased in recent weeks, to more than 250 a day.

Chicago’s shift leaves New York City as the only major school system in the country that is still planning to offer in-person classes this fall. But New York — which has some of the lowest viral transmission rates in the country — is confronting a torrent of logistical issues and political problems.

There are not yet enough nurses to staff schools, and ventilation systems in aging buildings are in urgent need of upgrades. There may not even be enough teachers available to offer in-person instruction. Some teachers are threatening to stage a sickout — teacher strikes are illegal in New York — and their union has indicated it might sue over reopening.

“The entire country is watching how New York City handles this,” Eliza Shapiro, who covers education for The New York Times, told us. “If the city can pull off a safe reopening, it could provide a blueprint for scores of other districts trying to figure this out. But if the city halts or delays its plan, or has to close schools quickly after they open in September, it could be a warning shot to other districts.”

Are you a student or teacher? We would like to hear what coronavirus measures your school or college is taking this fall. Please tell us here. We will feature a selection of the responses in an upcoming newsletter.

Kenya’s radical school solution

Faced with the mounting challenges of reopening schools, Kenya chose a drastic option: cancel the entire academic year and make students repeat their grades. The decision was made not just to contain the virus, but to also level the playing field for students who lack access to remote learning.

“It was a sweeping move that surprised many students, parents and educators but came as a relief to others who were worried that their children might fall behind,” Abdi Latif Dahir, the East Africa correspondent for The Times, told us.

For most students, particularly those from poor and rural households, following lessons was not possible once schools started teaching online. “By the time they go to class next year, a lot of these kids who were at home and didn’t have access to these facilities will just not be able to compete,” Abdi said.

A cautionary tale. When Israel reopened schools in May, after largely containing the virus, the number of new infections quickly increased and rippled out to students’ homes and neighborhoods. The resurgence eventually forced some 240 schools to shutter and more than 22,500 students and teachers to quarantine.

Private school choice

With cases on the rise in Maryland, public schools in the state’s most populous county decided to begin the school year online. Officials told private schools, including some of the country’s most elite institutions, to do the same. But then this week, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, abruptly overruled the order, saying that private schools should be able to make their own decisions.

The dispute over whether private schools should be able to teach in person, even if nearby public schools remain closed, represents a contentious new front in the discussion about inequality in America.

Public schools, which educate about 90 percent of U.S. children, tend to have less money, larger class sizes and less flexibility to make the necessary changes to prepare for the virus. They must also negotiate with teachers’ unions, many of which have pushed for schools to remain closed.

Resurgences

Germany has begun to see cases tick up again, and began requiring tests for travelers who enter the country from coronavirus “hot spots.”
In Japan, a pandemic policy that denies re-entry to many permanent and long-term residents has upended many lives.
Afghanistan’s health ministry said that about one-third of the country’s population, or roughly 10 million people, have probably been infected by the virus and recovered, based on a household survey that deployed rapid tests for antibodies.

Here’s a roundup of restrictions in all 50 states.

What else we’re following

The Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers to avoid 115 hand sanitizers because the products used the wrong type or amount of alcohol.
Thousands of Covid-19 patients have been treated with blood plasma, but the unexpected demand for plasma has hampered scientists’ ability to research whether the therapy actually works.
New York City will set up checkpoints at major bridge and tunnel crossings to inform travelers about the state’s quarantine requirements.
Since the pandemic hobbled the U.S. economy, the cost of groceries has shot up at the fastest pace in decades, The Washington Post reports.
Some companies that purchased “business interruption” insurance were told by their providers that they wouldn’t receive a cent for the pandemic. Now, more than 400 companies are taking their insurers to court.
The symptoms of the coronavirus can be varied and strange. A new Times guide can help you understand and identify them.
Interested in volunteering for a coronavirus vaccine trial? Here’s everything you need to know.

What you’re doing

We signed up for Spot The Station alerts so we’d know when the International Space Station would pass by. My family and I would go outside to the front yard and look for it. We’re envious of those on the ISS, and wonder what they think when they see Earth from so far away.

— Diana Yen, Santa Clara, Calif.

Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter.

Amelia Nierenberg and Adam Pasick contributed to today’s newsletter.

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