It took 7 days: UNC reverts to remote learning only

[duenor]

PPE, distancing, testing & tracing. Or, we can keep screwing up and having to go back to full-on remote.

https://twitter.com/search?q=unc&ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Esearch

Just two weeks ago, we began the process of welcoming students back into our residence halls; just one week ago, we held our first day of class. We knew this would be a Carolina fall like no other, and with our residence halls at less than 60% capacity and less than 30% of our total classroom seats taught in-person, we certainly began with a very different feel.

In just the past week (Aug. 10-16), we have seen COVID-19 positivity rate rise from 2.8% to 13.6% at Campus Health. As of this morning, we have tested 954 students and have 177 in isolation and 349 in quarantine, both on and off campus. So far, we have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms.

Given the number of positive cases, we are making two important changes to de-densify our campus.

Effective Wednesday, Aug. 19, all undergraduate in-person instruction will shift to remote learning. Courses in our graduate, professional and health affairs schools will continue to be taught as they are, or as directed by the schools. Academic advising and academic support services will be available online. Our research enterprise will remain unchanged.

[sd_shooter]

Should have just let them get a runny nose and take a couple tylenols. Back in class the following week.


We're just postponing the inevitable.

[balgor]

They were idiots for even trying to re-open their campus. Dorms are like non-floating cruise ships. When I taught I had single classes jammed into 400+ student lecture halls, everyday was like a concert.

[el tardo]

[Full Clip]

I'm more concerned about the people they will infect.

[balgor]

I'm more concerned about the people they will infect.

Yes, it's not about kids dying they don't, it's about increased community spread.

[sd_shooter]

I'm more concerned about the people they will infect.

Yes, it's not about kids dying they don't, it's about increased community spread.

Then tell grandma & grandpa to wear a mask and wash their hands.

[shovelon]

Then tell grandma & grandpa to wear a mask and wash their hands.

Better yet, lock grandma and grandpa up for their own protection. A year or two should be sufficient.

[balgor]

Better yet, lock grandma and grandpa up for their own protection. A year or two should be sufficient.

I've never heard a good answer from the re-openers about how exactly you'll operationalize protecting the entire population over 65. It's almost 17% of the population. Guess what, they don't want to be home bound for a year, they live with and interact with people younger than 65, many still have jobs, etc. Do we use the army to forcefully round them all up and put them all on a desert island or lock them in prisons?

[el tardo]

I've never heard a good answer from the re-openers about how exactly you'll operationalize protecting the entire population over 65. It's almost 17% of the population. Guess what, they don't want to be home bound for a year, they live with and interact with people younger than 65, many still have jobs, etc. Do we use the army to forcefully round them all up and put them all on a desert island or lock them in prisons?

[gimebakmybulits]

Yes, it's not about kids dying they don't, it's about increased community spread.

At what point does your science believe that "community spread" will stop?

[as_rocketman]

Skipping past the confirmation biased: OK, but let's be a little bit careful about this --

In just the past week (Aug. 10-16), we have seen COVID-19 positivity rate rise from 2.8% to 13.6% at Campus Health. As of this morning, we have tested 954 students and have 177 in isolation and 349 in quarantine, both on and off campus. So far, we have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms.

There has to be some kind of artifact here -- this implies a five-fold increase in total infections over six days. We've never seen that anywhere. It's too fast.

So clearly there is something going on that the university either doesn't know about, or does know about and doesn't want to be public knowledge. Was previous testing inadequate? Was there some backlog or other SNAFU in test results? Are all of their students drunken frat boys going out of their way to infect each other?

All of these students evidently infecting each other: Where were they previously? Why didn't we see such insane spread rates there? If normal, what about the college life made them into superspreaders?

There is more here than meets the eye. That doesn't necessarily mean closing the campus wasn't the right move, but it's awfully hard to work with this snippet of information.

[duenor]

They were idiots for even trying to re-open their campus. Dorms are like non-floating cruise ships. When I taught I had single classes jammed into 400+ student lecture halls, everyday was like a concert.

It's worse in secondary schools, especially in CA. When I taught I had 42-48 students each hour. 240 students going through the same room a day. You had to turn sideways to get from one side of the room to the other. No ventilation because most school classrooms do not have windows that open; completely dependent on AC which often breaks down (not that you would want to use it in a pandemic anyway).
It is slightly better now. The maximum average class size for LAUSD, for example, is now 42 (note that average doesn't mean much since special education classes are about 6 to 1 and that brings the avg way down).

There's still ways that you can do in-person learning, and provide for the needs of families who absolutely cannot have their kids at home (for example, the homeless).

But to simply choose to ignore what is happening, and insist that everything is fine when it isn't, is like Nero playing the fiddle as Rome burns.

[balgor]

Skipping past the confirmation biased: OK, but let's be a little bit careful about this --



There has to be some kind of artifact here -- this implies a five-fold increase in total infections over six days. We've never seen that anywhere. It's too fast.

So clearly there is something going on that the university either doesn't know about, or does know about and doesn't want to be public knowledge. Was previous testing inadequate? Was there some backlog or other SNAFU in test results? Are all of their students drunken frat boys going out of their way to infect each other?

All of these students evidently infecting each other: Where were they previously? Why didn't we see such insane spread rates there? If normal, what about the college life made them into superspreaders?

There is more here than meets the eye. That doesn't necessarily mean closing the campus wasn't the right move, but it's awfully hard to work with this snippet of information.

I know it's probably been a few years, but do you remember the 1st week back at college? Even at my undergraduate school which was nerd U and rated the worst party school in the country (true!) it was a bacchanal. It's basically one giant super spreader event.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-superspreading-events-drive-most-covid-19-spread1/

How ‘Superspreading’ Events Drive Most COVID-19 Spread

[sd_shooter]

I've never heard a good answer from the re-openers about how exactly you'll operationalize protecting the entire population over 65. It's almost 17% of the population. Guess what, they don't want to be home bound for a year, they live with and interact with people younger than 65, many still have jobs, etc. Do we use the army to forcefully round them all up and put them all on a desert island or lock them in prisons?

People over 65 tend to be retired, most of them aren't producing much. Are they useless to society? No, they're still grandparents, babysitters, they spend money in vegas and on travel, golden corral buffets. However they are not the backbone of the economy.

What to do with them? Yes, tell them it's safer to remain at home if they care about their health.

Let the rest of the people do as they please. Give grandpa some rubber gloves to wear so he doesn't infect himself.

It's worse in secondary schools, especially in CA. When I taught I had 42-48 students each hour. 240 students going through the same room a day. You had to turn sideways to get from one side of the room to the other. No ventilation because most school classrooms do not have windows that open; completely dependent on AC which often breaks down (not that you would want to use it in a pandemic anyway).
It is slightly better now. The maximum average class size for LAUSD, for example, is now 42 (note that average doesn't mean much since special education classes are about 6 to 1 and that brings the avg way down).

There's still ways that you can do in-person learning, and provide for the needs of families who absolutely cannot have their kids at home (for example, the homeless).

But to simply choose to ignore what is happening, and insist that everything is fine when it isn't, is like Nero playing the fiddle as Rome burns.

It is fine - Sweden proves this. They never closed their schools at all. We didn't see hundreds of kids dropping dead (remember, only 26 people under age 40 died in the entire country.)