Seven year old dies of coronavirus in Georgia

[aubiefifty 18,231]

 

Covid: Seven year old dies of coronavirus in Georgia, a day after Trump said children are ‘almost immune’

Yahoo

James Crump

4 minutes

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People walk around the Historic District in Savannah, Georgia, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic on 25 April 2020: (2020 Getty Images)

A seven-year-old boy from Georgia with no underlying health conditions became the youngest person in the state to die from coronavirus, a day after president Donald Trump said children are “almost immune from the disease”.

The Georgia Department of Public Health announced on Thursday that the seven-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, had died after suffering a seizure in response to the virus, but did not release the date of the unnamed child’s death.

In a statement to Fox5 in Atlanta, Dr Lawton Davis, director of the Coastal Health Department, said that “every Covid-19 death we report is tragic, but to lose someone so young is especially heart-breaking.”

He added: “We know that older individuals and those with underlying conditions are at higher risk of complications, but this is a disease everyone should take seriously.”

A six-year-old girl from Tennessee and a six-year-old boy from Nebraska also died from coronavirus this week. The previous youngest person to die in Georgia from Covid-19 was a 17-year-old, according to Fox News.

The child’s death came a day after president Trump falsely claimed that children are “almost immune” to the disease when he called in and spoke to the hosts of Fox & Friends.

Mr Trump said on Wednesday morning that “schools should be open. If you look at children — I would almost say definitely — they are almost immune from this disease.”

He added: “They’ve got stronger, hard to believe, I don’t know how you feel about it, but they’ve got much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this. And they don’t have a problem, they just don’t have a problem.”

After the president posted a clip of the comments on his Facebook page, it was taken down by the social media site, who said it contained “false claims”.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said: “This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from Covid-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful Covid misinformation.”

Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, responded to Facebook’s claims and said that the president was “stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus”.

She added: “Another day, another display of Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this president, where the rules are only enforced in one direction. Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth.”

The post was also taken down from both Twitter and Youtube, for breaching their coronavirus misinformation rules.

A study from The American Academy of Pediatrics earlier in the year found that children are less susceptible to the symptoms of the disease, and some school districts in the US have reopened after a period of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, more than 116 teachers and students in a Mississippi school district were instructed to self-isolate on Thursday, due to an outbreak of coronavirus less than two weeks after they reopened.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, in the US as a whole, some 4.8 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 160,111.

[aubiefifty 18,231]

independent.co.uk

 

More than 100 Mississippi children and teachers in quarantine two weeks after schools reopened

James Crump @thejamescrump

7-9 minutes

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More than 100 people in a Mississippi school district have been instructed to self-isolate, due to an outbreak of coronavirus less than two weeks after they reopened.

At least 116 people in Corinth, a city in Mississippi, have been told to quarantine for two weeks, after six students and one staff member tested positive for Covid-19 over the past week.

Taylor Coombs, spokeswoman for the Corinth School District, told NBC News that any person who was considered to have been in close contact with the people who tested positive for Covid-19, have been instructed to self-isolate.

Five of the students who tested positive attend high school, one goes to a local middle school, and the other person is a teacher at an elementary school in the city.

The Corinth School District reopened facilities on 27 July, after a period of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, and parents were given the option to send their kids back or take virtual classes, with 85 per cent of them opting for in-person learning.

The students affected by the quarantine will now join the 15 per cent of children being taught virtually in the school district, until they can go back to class.

In an interview with Fox13 on Thursday, Corinth School District superintendent Lee Childress said that no major changes are planned, despite the outbreak of cases.

“It’s been interesting to watch unfold but it’s not something that was unexpected. We knew we would have positive cases. I don’t think it matters if you open schools in July, August, September, or October.

“It’s something everyone is going to experience. The key is, we had the procedures in-place to do the screening at the schools need to take place prior to children coming.”

In a later statement he added: “We believe that most of these earlier cases are the result of community transmission, which further highlights the need for all community members to adopt and practice recommended safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“Schools will only be as safe as the community in which they operate.”

Mississippi has seen a rise in coronavirus cases over the last month, and currently has the fifth highest number of Covid-19 cases per capita in the US.

The state currently has 63,444 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 1,804 deaths since the pandemic began, with its number of fatalities rising from an average of 10 a day in June to 30 in August, according to CNN.

In response to the rise in deaths in the state, governor Tate Reeves announced on Tuesday that face masks will be mandated in public and in schools for the next two weeks.

“I (had) taken a piecemeal approach because I believe firmly that this was the best way to get the most number of people to participate,” Mr Reeves told reporters.

However, he added: “I believe that there is enough motivation to safely get our kids in school that we can really juice the participation of mask wearing throughout our state for the next two weeks.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, in the US as a whole, some 4.8 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 159,433.

[aubiefifty 18,231]

al.com

Five students in quarantine after 1st day of school in Alabama

By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com

3 minutes

Five students in a south Alabama high school are now in quarantine after coming in close contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 after the first day of school on Thursday.

“We had an individual who last night started developing symptoms of COVID-19,” Saraland City Schools Superintendent Aaron Milner told AL.com. “They had contracted it from a family member, it appears.”

Milner said the individual called the principal of Saraland High, just north of Mobile, on Friday morning to report the illness. After receiving a positive COVID-19 test, the individual reported it to the school.

The district reported the case to the Mobile health department, he said. “In consultation with them, we then began working on contact tracing.”

Through careful tracing and examination of seating charts, they determined the individual had come into close contact with only five students at the high school. Those students were sent home, where they will now do distance learning during the 14-day quarantine.

All five of those students wore masks at school, Milner said.

Milner said faculty and staff have worked hard to social distance and set up a safe environment at school.

He said it was remarkable considering the circumstances. “For the whole day, when you consider that we had some 3,030 individuals in all of our schools, due to our spreading out as much as possible, and we had only five that met the (close contact) criteria.”

About the students, Milner said, “By all indications, they’re a little upset about getting sent home.”

“We could not have asked for a more supportive response from (the students’) guardians and parents,” he said.

Milner said he is not surprised, and his faculty and staff are not shaken by the news.

“This is making news because we were one of the first districts to open. It’s going to be a broken record for this school year.”

Saraland joined Enterprise City on Thursday as the first two school systems to restart in-person classes in Alabama. Three more districts opened on Friday.

“This is just a challenge there we’re going to deal with,” Milner said. “We’re going to continue to analyze cases, and if we need to make adjustments, we will.”

[aubiefifty 18,231]

usatoday.com

 

Back to school and COVID-19: Everything to know as students head back to class

 

7-9 minutes

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As students head back to classes this fall – online, in-person or a hybrid of the two – millions of families are walking a tightrope, trying to balance safety with continued academic growth.

Most large public school districts have opted for fully online learning, but some have already returned to in-person classes and new cases of COVID-19 have already been reported at schools in Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Colleges and universities, meanwhile, are increasingly altering earlier plans and opting for online fall semesters.

As the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. continues to evolve, we're here to keep you updated on all the latest news and scientific developments. Check back for back-to-school resources, tips and tricks.

Can children get COVID-19?

Yes, children can catch COVID-19, but they are less likely to than adults. A study published in Science has shown that children under age 14 are between one-third and one-half as likely as adults to contract the virus. Another group of researchers looked at 2,000 children and teachers in schools around the German state of Saxony. Tests were carried out in several schools after reopening where there had been known outbreaks of the virus. There were few coronavirus antibodies among children and teachers indicating that only some of them had gotten the disease.

Around 7% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have been among children younger than 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, older Americans now represent a lower percentage of infections than they did at the start of the outbreak. Most schools around the country closed in March as the virus began to circulate more widely. That could explain why fewer children got sick.

– Karina Zaiets, Veronica Bravo and Jennifer Borresen

Will schools become hot spots for coronavirus spread?

Advocates for resuming school in person, including President Donald Trump, have repeatedly claimed that children pose less of a risk of spreading COVID-19, but the evidence suggests otherwise.

About 245,000 youth from birth to 17 have tested positive, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hundreds have transmitted the virus at summer camps and youth programs that have welcomed kids, often with the kinds of hygiene, masking and physical distancing rules proposed by many schools.

More than 300 cases have been linked to state child care facilities in California, 62 in Pennsylvania and 54 in North Carolina, according to data published by those states.

In Georgia, at least 260 people became infected in June at an overnight youth camp where the median age of campers was 12 and staff members 17, according to a CDC report. The first person – a teenage staffer – became sick two days after the first weeklong camp session. Officials started sending campers home the next day and closed the camp by the end of the week.

– Jayme Fraser and Dan Keemahill

Parents need to study up on 'pandemic pods'

It's hard to say when – or if – education will ever look the same. As COVID-19 case levels spike, schools across the country turn to remote learning for the start of the fall semester, and some families are "podding up."

Learning pods, also dubbed "pandemic pods," are small groups of families that agree to do supplementary learning or complete at-home coursework together. Sometimes they hire a tutor. Sometimes they share the supervision among parents.

Interest in additional, at-home educational support has flooded social media over the past few weeks. One Facebook group called "Pandemic Pods" had more than 27,000 members as of Sunday. 

In addition, Care.com,  a company that connects families with caregivers, has seen a 14% increase in families using keywords such as "part-time school," "remote learning," "former teacher" and "in-person tutor" in their job posts. Care.com has seen a 92% increase in families seeking shared care arrangements. 

– Wyatte Grantham-Philips

Will the pandemic will worsen existing educational inequalities?

Some parents are in a better position than others to ensure their children stay healthy and keep up with schoolwork, and researchers are raising questions about how the pandemic may exacerbate existing educational inequalities.

"Kids who are disproportionately low-income are at highest risk for learning losses," said Ariel Kalil, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. "When these gaps in learning open up, absent some really serious and sustained intervention, the kids won’t (catch up). That will result in less academic achievement, lower lifetime earnings and even lower productivity in adulthood."

USA TODAY spoke with more than a dozen families, and many agreed: It's not safe to send kids back yet. But some parents can afford to hire personal tutors and buy new learning materials for their kids while they stay home from school. Others are more concerned about simply obtaining the tools needed to make online learning possible.

Colleges are increasingly going online for fall 2020 semester

Just as in the spring, college students have been left scrambling to adjust their class schedules and living arrangements, faced with paying expensive tuition for online classes and rent for an apartment they may not need. Digital classes are still unappealing to many, and the chances of in-person instruction for next semester remain murky.

At the end of July, Miami University in Ohio said all undergraduate classes would be held virtually through at least Sept. 21. West Virginia University announced its classes would start on Aug. 21, about a week later than originally planned, and that most upper-division courses would be taught online or through a hybrid of in-person and online courses. And George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said it was forgoing its plans for the fall semester and would hold undergraduate and most graduate classes online, joining colleges such as the California State University system and Harvard that had already made that decision.

– Chris Quintana

Colleges hope new rules will slow COVID-19 spread, but students aren't convinced

Colleges have set new rules for student conduct, and but it's unclear how universities will go about enforcing them, especially when the offensive behavior takes place off-campus – or overnight.

The University of Texas at Austin, for example, has banned parties, both on campus and off, saying they put "the health and safety of our community at risk and raise anxiety levels."

Tulane University in New Orleans threatened suspension or expulsion for students who throw or attend parties that have more than 15 people and asked students to monitor and report on the behavior of their peers. "Do you really want to be the reason that Tulane and New Orleans have to shut down again?" the message to students concluded. 

University of Pennsylvania officials have asked that students refrain from organizing parties while prohibiting students on campus from having "guests" in their "personal space." In regards to off-campus sleepovers, the university advised that students are "strongly discouraged" against hosting guests during the semester.

– Chris Quintana

[Mikey 16,781]

Children are almost immune. Check the facts. https://www.contagionlive.com/news/study-majority-of-children-with-covid19-have-mild-disease-mortality-is-rare

Keeping schools closed harms children far, far more than opening them does. That's been pointed out time and again by different professional organizations. The only people trying to deny this are those irrational Trump haters who desperately want to avoid an economic rebound prior to the election. That the haters are willing to sacrifice the life quality of children to accomplish this is remarkable.

[TexasTiger 14,289]

26 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Children are almost immune. Check the facts. https://www.contagionlive.com/news/study-majority-of-children-with-covid19-have-mild-disease-mortality-is-rare

Keeping schools closed harms children far, far more than opening them does. That's been pointed out time and again by different professional organizations. The only people trying to deny this are those irrational Trump haters who desperately want to avoid an economic rebound prior to the election. That the haters are willing to sacrifice the life quality of children to accomplish this is remarkable.

You don’t understand the what the word “immune” means. Check the facts.

[AUFAN78 4,156]

24 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

You don’t understand the what the word “immune” means. Check the facts.

Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, responded to Facebook’s claims and said that the president was “stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus”.

A study from The American Academy of Pediatrics earlier in the year found that children are less susceptible to the symptoms of the disease, and some school districts in the US have reopened after a period of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

[TexasTiger 14,289]

1 hour ago, AUFAN78 said:

Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, responded to Facebook’s claims and said that the president was “stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus”.

A study from The American Academy of Pediatrics earlier in the year found that children are less susceptible to the symptoms of the disease, and some school districts in the US have reopened after a period of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Another person who doesn’t understand “immune”.

[homersapien 12,230]

3 hours ago, Mikey said:

Children are almost immune. Check the facts. https://www.contagionlive.com/news/study-majority-of-children-with-covid19-have-mild-disease-mortality-is-rare

Keeping schools closed harms children far, far more than opening them does. That's been pointed out time and again by different professional organizations. The only people trying to deny this are those irrational Trump haters who desperately want to avoid an economic rebound prior to the election. That the haters are willing to sacrifice the life quality of children to accomplish this is remarkable.

Hey Mickey, you know what they call people who are "almost" sterile? Parents 

And there won't be economic rebound before the election any more than the virus is just going to "go away" before the election.

You folks will believe anything.

[homersapien 12,230]

We're still learning about this virus.

COVID-19 linked to heart damage in healthy people, small study suggests

Three quarters of recovered COVID-19 patients had signs of lingering heart damage months after their initial infection.

https://www.livescience.com/covid-19-causes-heart-damage-healthy-people.html

 

What Athletes Should Know About COVID-19, Heart Damage and Working Out

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-08-07/what-athletes-should-know-about-covid-19-heart-damage-and-working-out

 

But don't worry, it's just going to "go away".

[SocialCircle 570]

I understand the youngster in Georgia had a seizure and hit their head which caused them to die. The youngster did have COVID-19. 
 

You can expect to see numbers of students and staff go into quarantine because of the guidelines schools are being forced to use. Here our entire football team had to quarantine after one player who was asymptomatic tested positive. They all had to quarantine for 14 days and actually went back to practice on August 4th. Nobody ever showed even one symptom. 
 

I know several athletes who played travel ball and rec ball this summer who tested positive and had to self isolate. Every single one of them is fine and went back to playing after they sat out the required number of days. 

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

6 hours ago, Mikey said:

Children are almost immune. Check the facts. https://www.contagionlive.com/news/study-majority-of-children-with-covid19-have-mild-disease-mortality-is-rare

Keeping schools closed harms children far, far more than opening them does. That's been pointed out time and again by different professional organizations. The only people trying to deny this are those irrational Trump haters who desperately want to avoid an economic rebound prior to the election. That the haters are willing to sacrifice the life quality of children to accomplish this is remarkable.

Sit down and shut tf up. You support a party that wants to take healthcare from school children. You support a party that wants to  destroy food assistant programs for children. You support a party that wants to eliminate free and reduced lunch programs. You support a party that has watched countless school children gunned down in their schools and refused to keep students safe. 
You don’t get to act like you suddenly care about school children. 

[SocialCircle 570]

3 minutes ago, GiveEmElle said:

Sit down and shut tf up. You support a party that wants to take healthcare from school children. You support a party that wants to  destroy food assistant programs for children. You support a party that wants to eliminate free and reduced lunch programs. You support a party that has watched countless school children gunned down in their schools and refused to keep students safe. 
You don’t get to act like you suddenly care about school children. 

This post is simply not true. 

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

2 hours ago, SocialCircle said:

This post is simply not true. 

The hell is isn’t. 

[SocialCircle 570]

23 minutes ago, GiveEmElle said:

The hell is isn’t. 

Well for one the CA teachers unions have come out recently with a demand to defund police. You do understand our local police dept. here provides Student Resource Officers in our schools that help prevent just the type of situation you mentioned. Getting rid of SROs would make our schools significantly less safe everyday and significantly more at risk for the type of situation you described. Not only that but drug usage at school would increase and we would lose a valuable anti-drug training program we also receive from our police dept. Having these SROs in school really has helped build a bond between the youth in our community and our police dept. It has been very beneficial for everyone.

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

17 minutes ago, SocialCircle said:

Well for one the CA teachers unions have come out recently with a demand to defund police. You do understand our local police dept. here provides Student Resource Officers in our schools that help prevent just the type of situation you mentioned. Getting rid of SROs would make our schools significantly less safe everyday and significantly more at risk for the type of situation you described. Not only that but drug usage at school would increase and we would lose a valuable anti-drug training program we also receive from our police dept. Having these SROs in school really has helped build a bond between the youth in our community and our police dept. It has been very beneficial for everyone.

Classic whataboutisms. We aren’t talking about defund the police. We aren’t talking about SRO’s.

Every statement I made was true. Either disprove what I said or sit down and shut up. 

[SocialCircle 570]

27 minutes ago, GiveEmElle said:

Classic whataboutisms. We aren’t talking about defund the police. We aren’t talking about SRO’s.

Every statement I made was true. Either disprove what I said or sit down and shut up. 

I did. Nobody I know who is a Republican is advocating for anything that will make schools less safe or make them easier targets for shooters. Of course you aren’t talking about defunding police and SROs because it proves you wrong. So you sit down and shut up or back up your claim with evidence. So far I’ve provided a specific example and you have provided nothing but words. 

[AUFAN78 4,156]

9 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

Another person who doesn’t understand “immune”.

I said nothing about immune. I quoted a study from The American Academy of Pediatrics earlier in the year found that children are less susceptible to the symptoms of the disease. Are you disputing the study?

[Mikey 16,781]

7 hours ago, GiveEmElle said:

Sit down and shut tf up. You support a party that wants to take healthcare from school children. You support a party that wants to  destroy food assistant programs for children. You support a party that wants to eliminate free and reduced lunch programs. You support a party that has watched countless school children gunned down in their schools and refused to keep students safe. 
You don’t get to act like you suddenly care about school children. 

Are you trying to be funny? If so, you're a roaring success. While you're at it, tell us again about those peaceful protests in Portland. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/breaking-mostly-peaceful-rioters-break-portland-police-union-third-time-light-fire/

[Mikey 16,781]

13 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

You don’t understand the what the word “immune” means. Check the facts.

Well, it turns out that I do. I'll admit to using an inaccurate term, one I thought liberals might actually understand.  Here's facts:  "While all children are capable of getting the virus that causes COVID-19, they don't become sick as often as adults. Children also rarely experience severe illness with COVID-19. Despite many large outbreaks around the world, very few children have died."   https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-in-babies-and-children/art-20484405

Keeping the kids out of school is much worse for them than returning them to normal school activities.

[TexasTiger 14,289]

17 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Well, it turns out that I do. I'll admit to using an inaccurate term, one I thought liberals might actually understand.  Here's facts:  "While all children are capable of getting the virus that causes COVID-19, they don't become sick as often as adults. Children also rarely experience severe illness with COVID-19. Despite many large outbreaks around the world, very few children have died."   https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-in-babies-and-children/art-20484405

Keeping the kids out of school is much worse for them than returning them to normal school activities.

They don’t show symptoms as often — which makes them ideal carriers to teachers, parents and grandparents. Less known is what long term damage they might otherwise have. But if all these MAGA morons would have worn a damn mask and stop being idiots, school, football and everything else would have been more doable.

[TexasTiger 14,289]

3 hours ago, AUFAN78 said:

I said nothing about immune. I quoted a study from The American Academy of Pediatrics earlier in the year found that children are less susceptible to the symptoms of the disease. Are you disputing the study?

You quoted in response to my post about kids not being immune— interesting context if you weren’t disputing it, what were you doing?

[Mikey 16,781]

7 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

They don’t show symptoms as often — which makes them ideal carriers to teachers, parents and grandparents. Less known is what long term damage they might otherwise have. But if all these MAGA morons would have worn a damn mask and stop being idiots, school, football and everything else would have been more doable.

Children also are not as contagious as adults. Last count, in all the world there is one teacher who caught the virus from a student.

The highlighted part of your post is, of course, unmitigated nonsense.

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

10 hours ago, SocialCircle said:

I did. Nobody I know who is a Republican is advocating for anything that will make schools less safe or make them easier targets for shooters. Of course you aren’t talking about defunding police and SROs because it proves you wrong. So you sit down and shut up or back up your claim with evidence. So far I’ve provided a specific example and you have provided nothing but words. 

Defunding the police has nothing to do with anything I said. Stay on topic or stop responding with your whataboutisms.  
 

Name gun legislation that was passed by republicans after Columbine? Sandy Hook? Stoneman Douglas? I’ll hang up and listen.

[GiveEmElle 1,559]

5 hours ago, Mikey said:

Children also are not as contagious as adults. Last count, in all the world there is one teacher who caught the virus from a student.

The highlighted part of your post is, of course, unmitigated nonsense.

Not surprising since schools have been closed down. Why is it that right wing people NEVER EVER factor in all the information? Lower cognitive abilities?  Surely if you think a reality game show host was a good choice for POTUS there has to be a problem.