Thread by @YossiGestetner

Netherlands opened schools in April. Split classes in half; distancing for ages above 12.

By June: No distancing at school; no split classes for primary grades.

The country’s 7-day average of death was 0-3 all of July; depending the day.

@sarahnadav

nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

Finland had clsoed schools for a few months but they opened Grades 1-9 by mid-May with tight rules such as eating lunch in the classroom and no physical contact.

They opened more grades since then.

Their 7-day average of Covid deaths in July was 0-1.

cc @annagronewold

France opened lower grades until high school level in mid-May on a voluntary basis when the country’s 7 day average of deaths was above 200.

By June 22, it became mandatory to attend school.

On June 22, France’s 7 day average of Covid deaths was 32.

It is now at 8.

In Early May when Germany averaged 100+ daily deaths (down from its 238 peak), schools opened with rules such as testing every 4 days; smaller class sizes and masks in hallways. Children are now unleashed across Germany due to summer.

Germany’s daily Covid death count is at 4.

Belgium has the highest deaths-per-million residents in Europe.

They lost 300+ a day mid-April.

Some grades opened in May. In early June, primary schools were fully opened. No mass gatherings there; teachers had masks.

Their 7 day average of Covid deaths is now at 3.

🔥 🔥 🔥

Sweden kept schools open for ages under 16.

Sweden’s death per million (568) is lower than Spain (617) and Italy (581) who both had draconian lockdowns (NY is 1,683).

Sweden’s 7 day average of Covid deaths is now at 1.

Spain is now at 2.

Italy at 7.

NY at 17.

Then there is Israel. Buzz is that they opened schools in May and boom. A spike happened.

First, one sample does not outweigh many others that show the opposite.

Secondly, Israel overall not just schools started to open late April so it’s dishonest to pin the spike on schools.

The debate is not whether schools should open. The debate is in which Phase should schools be? First? Second? Maybe older grades should be in a later phase while for age 12 or younger it should be in Phase 1-2? See the above tweets as to how Europeam countries operated.

Twitter headlines a story that 260 employees at Georgia’s largest school district are off due to testing positive for Covid or being exposed to it.

Schools there did not open yet. They had planning meetings 5 days ago. 260 Exemptions were given the next day.

cc @kateefeldman

Teachers “did not return to the classroom.” They had planning meetings on Wed, and the next day 260 were told they are exempt to return to school when it starts based on claims of being positive/exposed.

It’s not that they tested positive the next day as a result from meetings.

“The day after school resumed (in GA), one school announced a second grader tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the child's teacher and classmates to be sent home to quarantine for two weeks.”

Test results came back so quick?

No one had Covid-19 before school?

Even if only 2% of the population in a given area has Coronavirus, then when you go on a train, plane or to a store you were certainly in the same room as a patient.

Do you quarantine after every time you go out? No.

Ok, so why do it after a case in school?

There is more:

If the situation in Atlanta is such that there are positive cases among students/teachers after just one day of school, then they were positive before school even started from buses/stores. So why the freak out about a case at school and not when going out before/without school?

🚨 Fauci 1/28/20: “Even if there is some asymptotic transmission, in all the history of respiratory born viruses of any type, asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of outbreaks.”

If more remembered this, schools would be open normal with temp checks at the door.