CoachRTM said:
Schools are on edge right now, and rightfully so.
I'm a football official and work high school and middle school games during the week. I speak with high school coaches and administrators all across the city and this is always the topic they bring up during the "small talk" before games or during halftime.
(I'm going to leave out the names of the schools because I don't know what is allowed to be shared publicly and what isn't ... so I'm going to err on the side of caution)
There's a school that had kids go out and party all weekend (broken up multiple times, but the kids went to a different parking lot or house) and the COVID numbers are apparently through the roof and "half the school" is out on quarantine right now.
There's a school where they had 8 kids test positive for COVID in September, 12 in October, and 40 so far in November (they're worried it's going to hit 80-100)
There's a school where they had one positive test trace to 25 subsequent cases.
One of the schools that happens to be in a lower economic area where I know the coach had to fail over half the team because they weren't showing up in person or via zoom. He said that a huge number of them have to watch their younger siblings because the parents have to work.
With only a few exceptions, every B team has been rolled into the A team. (Spring Branch and Katy being notable exceptions because they have that many kids). But every team is having to have kids sit out. Coaches are telling me they're surprised we're still playing and they're just thankful for every week they get to step on the field.
Whether it's because of the virus, or the measures themselves, this is wrecking the school system. It's going to have lasting effects for the next 5-10 years.
Here's the thing though- WHY are we wrecking the school system and demanding so many tests and low positivity rate among a population with almost 0% change of getting seriously ill and something like a 3% chance of transmission to adults?
Yes, covid is not the flu and can have more negative outcomes for those with high risk factors but this truly is no worse than the flu for kids under 25.
Erring on the side of caution is absurd here because we have shown a complete inability to assess risk in a rational manner and formulate policy on that assessment.