Aug 28, 2020, 2:54 PM
(From The Washington Post) A new federal study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks at how four Maine summer camps were able to limit the spread of COVID-19. Jeffrey Vergales, senior author of the study, said the key was keeping the 1,022 campers and staff members in separate bubbles, or cohorts, for the entire time. The four camps also conducted virus testing before and after campers arrived and made them quarantine. Face masks and physical distancing were employed, extensive cleaning and disinfection were frequent, and activities were conducted outdoors as much as possible, according to the study.
(From NPR) A confusing back-to-school season may lead to blockbuster spending, as families plan to stock up for both in-person and virtual scenarios, according to the National Retail Federation. If that happens, spending could actually hit a new record, topping $100 billion. Big-ticket items like electronics and desks are a major reason. Meanwhile, retail marketers have been getting creative to keep people spending, embracing the disarray of pandemic schooling, pushing discounts on computers and ideas for faking a dorm room at home.
(From Inside Higher Ed) As colleges bring students back to campuses for the fall semester, questions are increasingly being raised about what it would take to send them home or revert to online instruction in the event of an outbreak of COVID-19. For some colleges, meeting 80 percent of quarantine capacity or having more than 10 sick employees are metrics that may constitute a decision to close the campus. For others, such as the University of Kansas, administrators say no single indicator or “trigger” will push them to scale down their plans for reopening.
The argument for publishing metrics comes down to issues of transparency and accountability, according to education through leader Andrew M. Schocket. “While [school leaders] may rue the lack of flexibility such an approach would entail, that is the point: setting these conditions ahead of time will mitigate how, once the semester is underway, their decision making will inevitably be clouded,” Schocket wrote.
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