<div dir="ltr"><font face="georgia, serif">Greetings:</font><div><font face="georgia, serif">For those who don't get the DNews, here is my Thursday column in long form. This version appeared in Pocatello's Idaho State Journal this morning. Read my other columns on the virus at <a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/nick_gier/coronavirus.pdf">www.tomandrodna.com/nick_gier/coronavirus.pdf</a>.</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif">How many more deaths, declining economy, and delayed in-class schooling are we going to tolerate??</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif">nfg</font></div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Virus Positivity Rate Key to Opening Schools:<br clear="all">
Only 15 States have Reached the 5 percent Threshold</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:11pt;text-indent:0.5in"> As far as my current research indicates,
schools world-wide, except those in Israel and the U.S., have reopened with few
problems. The reason for their success is that they have followed protocols
established by their public health officials and they have leaders who respect science.</span><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Over the years I’ve written about the
Nordic countries (I lived in Denmark for four years), so I will focus on those
nations. Readers can check out my columns on them at <a href="http://webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/ThirdWay.htm">webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/ThirdWay.htm</a>.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Nordic Countries Bend the Infection Curve</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">On March 11, Denmark was the second
European country after Italy to enforce a strict lockdown. Within a month,
health authorities were so successful in bending the infection curve that they recommended
that schools reopen. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Danish children ages 2-12 went back to daycare and primary schools on April 15 in “protective bubbles” of 12. Students
ages 12-16 returned to school on May 18, but universities will be closed until
August 1.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif"> Because
of stringent health protocols and high levels of testing (253/1,000 in Denmark),
Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Finland have kept the number of positive cases to
between 0.1-1 percent of people tested. Iceland’s rate is 0.1 percent with only
10 deaths. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Outlier Sweden Suffers 5,783 Virus Deaths</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">With far fewer people tested (59/1,000),
Sweden’s positivity rate has been between 2-3 percent. The U.S. average now
stands a 4.8 percent of cases testing positive. The higher this rate is the
more difficult it is to trace contacts, quarantine, and control the virus,
which the U.S. has done in 35 states.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Sweden did not close its schools to children
ages 16 and under, but the high schools and universities have remained closed.
>From February 24 to June 14, there were 1,124 Swedish children ages 1-19
infected with COVID-19. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Only one child and one teacher have died
(still too many), but their “remain open” policy has cost the Swedes dearly in all
other age groups. They have suffered 5,783 deaths in a population of 10.2
million, while the Nordic countries have had a total of 1,214 with 17 million.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Infection Rate must be below 5 percent</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">One of the principal criteria the CDC has required
to open businesses and schools is that the virus positivity rate must be below
5 percent. Only 15 states have achieved this goal, but most of the Northeast
and New York are now below one percent. Four states in the South, Nevada, and
Idaho are at the top with rates ranging from 16 to 26 percent. For comparison,
Pakistan’s positivity rate is 22 percent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">New York’s Infection Rate is 0.78 percent</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo, holding
daily briefings based on public health data, has been an exemplary leader in
fighting COVID-19. Once the virus’ epicenter, daily deaths in the state have
gone down from a high of 799 on April 9 to 5 on August 8. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">New York’s virus positivity rate is now an
incredible 0.78 percent—matching the Nordics but not beating Italy at 0.6
percent or Iceland’s 0.1 percent. Cautiously, Cuomo is allowing schools to open
at the discretion of local officials and according to strict guidelines.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">LA, Chicago, and San Diego Schools Remain
Closed</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">The virus positivity rate in Los Angeles
County now stands at 8.6 percent, so school officials have wisely decided
against in-class instruction. With a rate that has risen to 5.8 percent in Cook
County, Chicago schools will also be closed. The head of Chicago’s teachers’
union has declared that, because of the virus and bad ventilation in poorly
maintained schools, she does want her teachers to return to classrooms.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">For good reasons, San Diego schools will
not re-open for in-person classes. The virus positivity rate in San Diego
County is 11% with 84 percent of those infected below the age of 60. Among those
testing positive are 3,847 children (11.2%) and youth ages 0-19, and one
quarter of the total (40 percent in Alabama) are in the 20-29 age group. Those in
this latter group tend to be people who do not follow coronavirus best
practices.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Over 339,000 Children have been Infected</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">According to a recent study released by the
American Academy of Pediatrics, there were at least 97,000 testing positive for
COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July alone. The age range across the states
averaged 0-17. There have now been nearly 339,000 children infected since the
beginning of the pandemic. The states with the highest child infection rates are
Missouri, Oklahoma, Alaska, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">In Alabama, 7,000 children have tested
positive, and two infants and one teen have died. In Georgia, two children (ages
5 and 7) have died of the virus. In one Texas county there have been 85 infants
(one year and under) who have tested positive for the virus. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">In Florida, where the positivity rate is
now 17 percent, the median age for that testing positive has dropped from 65 in
March to 35 at the end of June. By July 15, over 31,000 of those infected were
below the age of 18. The CDC estimates that 45 percent of children are asymptomatic
and just as able to transmit the virus as adults.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">MIS-C: A Deadly Virus-Related Disease</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">All around the world doctors have reported
a COVID-related disease called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.
So far 570 cases in previously healthy American children ages 0-20 have been
reported. Alarmingly, the reported indicated that “40 percent were Hispanic or
Latino, 33 percent were Black, and 13 percent were white. Ten died and nearly
two-thirds were admitted to intensive care units.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Schools have the Virus in Five States</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">As classes have begun in some states, there
have been virus outbreaks in Tennessee (8.4%), Indiana (9%), Georgia (11%), and
Mississippi (26%). (Infection rates noted.) In Georgia, 70 students have tested
positive, and 1,130 students and 38 staff are in quarantine, and 22 schools
have been closed in Mississippi with 34 students and staff infected and 100 in
quarantine. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">In Indiana, 504 students have been
quarantined in three different school districts. In Tennessee three school
districts have closed after at least 39 cases had been confirmed. The current
total is over 2,ooo in quarantine and 331 cases. Sadly, masked teachers in
Georgia have been mocked by rude and misinformed students.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">After three people connected to Florida’s
Fort Braden School died of the virus, principal Jimbo Jackson, who has tested,
along with several family members, positive, has announced to parents: “I
cannot guarantee your safety in this environment.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">The Florida Education Association has sued
Gov. Ron DeSantis citing the state constitution’s requirement that schools must
be “safe and secure.” Teachers in an Arizona school district have threatened to
strike because of high infection rates. My union, the American Federation of
Teachers, has encouraged its members to withhold services unless their schools
are safe.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">COVID-19’s Long Term Effects</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Covid-19 is far worse than the flu: not
only is it more deadly than the flu, it also has, in some cases, long lasting
effects. Those with cardiovascular problems are more likely to get the disease,
and even in some of those healthy who survive, heart and lung problems
continue. A study published in the <i>Journal of the American Medication
Association: Cardiology</i> found that among the 100 virus survivors, 78 had cardiac
problems and “myocardial inflammation in 60 patients, which was independent of
preexisting conditions.” British researchers have found brain damage in some
children who had recovered from the virus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Just Think: Cuomo instead of Trump</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Just think if someone as competent and
proactive as Andrew Cuomo were president instead of Trump. We would have had many
thousands fewer virus deaths and our economy would not have crashed at a record
annual rate of 33 percent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;line-height:115%;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif">Nick Gier<b> </b>of Moscow was President of
the Idaho Federation of Teachers from 1982-2020. He taught philosophy at the
University of Idaho for 31 years. Email him at <a href="mailto:ngier006@gmail.com">ngier006@gmail.com</a>.</span></p><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div> <div style="height:auto;width:auto"> <div> <div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><font size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt"><div><span style="font-size:13.3333330154419px">A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. </span><br style="font-size:13.3333330154419px"><br style="font-size:13.3333330154419px"><span style="font-size:13.3333330154419px">-Greek proverb</span></div><div><br>
“Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity.
Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance
from another. This immaturity is self- imposed when its cause lies not
in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it
without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! ‘Have courage to use your
own understand-ing!—that is the motto of enlightenment.<br>
<br>
--Immanuel Kant<br>
<br><br></div></span></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>