Day 159: Attrition in the Ranks

PlagueBlog headquarters is experiencing an internet outage, so reporting may be erratic for a few days. Today we leave you with yet another question about unworkable coronavirus restrictions in the schools: who's going to babysit educate your children from six feet away or online? Time reports on how coronavirus is thinning the ranks of teachers across the country. In one poll, "20% of teachers said they aren’t likely to return to teaching if schools reopen in the fall," a number that's close to the 18% of teachers who are 55 or older. (Some states reported even higher numbers considering bailing.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that schools space desks six feet apart; seat only one child per row on school buses; discourage students from sharing toys, books or sports equipment; close communal spaces, such as cafeterias and playgrounds; and create staggered drop-off and pick-up schedules to limit contact between large groups of students and parents. On Wednesday, Trump said he disagreed with the CDC’s “very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things.”

P.S. Massachusetts cases were up a quarter of a percentage point today.