Tired of Remote Learning, Parents Are Fighting for Schools to Reopen
“We end up in tears every day at the end of remote learning,” one New Hampshire mother told TIME’s Katie Reilly. Another parent from Oregon said her daughter, who has Down syndrome, struggles to participate in Zoom school. And one mother of four is so desperate to get her kids back in the classroom that she started a petition demanding that schools reopen their doors.
These parents recognize the risks of COVID-19. But as the pandemic stretches on, they’ve grown increasingly convinced that kids need to be back in school—and fast. “Others are finding ways to do this safely,” Oregon mother Shalyse Olson told Reilly. “And we need to get on board and catch up, or it’s going to be a hard one to recover from.”
Not all parents want their kids back in the classroom, of course, and many teachers and teachers’ unions have spoken out about the risks to staff. The science on the issue isn’t settled, either. A large study recently published in Science, as well as a September case report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirm that children are capable of transmitting the virus to adults and other kids. The question is how often they do, and how good schools are at mitigating that risk. A New York Timesstory published yesterday, drawing on data from the U.S. and the U.K., says schools—particularly elementary schools—do not seem to be significant breeding grounds for the virus, which suggests in-person learning can be done fairly safely, at least for young students.
But, as Reilly notes, there aren’t good national data tracking how well schools are handling the virus, which leaves parents and administrators in the lurch. “It would be great to have a centralized database to look to, showing how different districts reopened, what mitigation strategies they put in place and what worked or didn't work,” Reilly says. “Without that, right now, school districts are still trying to balance the risks of returning to school with the risks of keeping kids at home for months on end.”
It’s extremely difficult to say which risk is greater, and it of course depends on how prevalent the virus is in a particular area. But for many parents, the thought of endless remote learning has become the scariest thing of all.
More than 41.6 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 1.1 million people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Oct. 22, there were 414,133 new cases and 5,195 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 500,000 confirmed cases:
India, which faced a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases last month, seems to be getting the virus somewhat under control, at least according to official government statistics. After a peak of nearly 100,000 new cases in a single day in September, daily new cases have declined by about half and deaths by a third. The country is still recording huge numbers of new cases, but the trend at least appears to be moving in the right direction—although the upcoming festival season, which coincides with the country’s worst months for air pollution, may reverse some of that progress, the Washington Postreports.
As Israel fights a coronavirus spike that sent the country into a second national lockdown last month, its government is facing opposition from the ultraorthodox Jewish community, the Wall Street Journalreports. Ultraorthodox Jews make up about 12.5% of Israel’s population but 65% of its COVID-19 cases—which makes it extra concerning that some members of the community are refusing to wear masks, cancel public gatherings and make other concessions in the name of public health.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government has implemented a drastic policy to ensure its citizens continue to take pandemic precautions. Anyone caught maskless or in violation of social-distancing guidelines in public could face up to two years in jail, the attorney general’s office announced.Other countries have threatened jail time for people who break quarantine or isolation orders, and chronic rule-breakers in Spain face fines of up to roughly $700,000, but Ethiopia’s policy is among the world’s strictest. Ethiopia has reported more than 91,600 cases and nearly 1,400 deaths.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 8.4 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 223,000 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Oct. 22, there were 71,671 new cases and 856 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
The antiviral drug remdesivir yesterday became the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The agency previously gave remdesivir emergency-use authorization, a designation reserved for drugs that could make a difference during a public-health crisis. The agency’s blanket approval of the drug was based on more robust safety and efficacy data from manufacturer Gilead.
In other FDA news, the agency yesterday convened a virtual meeting of its vaccine advisory committee to discuss the review process for COVID-19 vaccine candidates. During the meeting—which signals the FDA plans to follow its usual rigorous standards for vaccine approval—agency officials said they would consider a coronavirus vaccine effective if it achieved 50% efficacy in preventing the virus.
In the final presidential debate last night, U.S. President Donald Trump and Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden once again clashed on coronavirus—this time, with fewer interruptions. While Trump claimed “we’re rounding the corner” on the virus and said “it’s going away,” Biden painted a much more somber (and accurate) picture of the situation, noting that another 200,000 people in the U.S. could die from coronavirus by the end of the year, on top of the 220,000 who already have. “Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as President of the United States of America,” Biden said.
One way to prevent some of those deaths? Universal masking, according to a paper published today in Nature Medicine. It’s hardly news to say mask-wearing can curtail viral spread, but the paper puts an dramatic estimate on its effectiveness: If about 95% of people wore masks in public between September 2020 and February 2021, about 130,000 lives would be saved during that period, the authors project.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of October 23, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Column: The FDA and CDC Promised Transparency. Congress Can Hold Them to It
In this piece for TIME, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski argue that their Safe Authorization for Vaccines during Emergencies Act could ensure a transparent and data-driven coronavirus vaccine approval process. Read more here.
College Football Feels Too Normal During the Pandemic
As people around the country settle in to watch college football each weekend, they may feel comforted by the pre-pandemic ritual. However, the players on the field feel anything but. Read more here.
Disappointing Findings About Convalescent Plasma
Back in August, the FDA decided coronavirus patients could be treated with blood plasma from recovered patients, which is known as convalescent plasma. Critics at the time slammed the agency for acting without adequate data, and a new study adds weight to their case, finding convalescent plasma offers little benefit for moderately to severely ill COVID-19 patients. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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