Dr. Richard Besser on @MeetThePress on re-opening schools:

1. Must have community transmission under control. 2 weeks of declining cases and hospitalizations.
2. Must be testing at a rate that cases are identified quickly so contacts can be quickly traced.

3. Must be able to provide support for isolation.
4. Enough room in healthcare system not just for COVID patients but anyone with health issues.
5. Must put into place safety protections in the schools.

So, let’s review. Today, Missouri has had its highest number of new cases since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations in the St. Louis area are on the rise. So that’s a fail on #1 .

Reports this week that labs which were getting results in 3-5 days are now waiting 2 weeks for results in the St. Louis area. So that’s a fail on #2 . https://www.kmov.com/news/wait-time-for-covid-19-test-results-increasing-for-many-in-st-louis-area/article_a4fe2de2-bffa-11ea-a948-0703f424dae5.html

There is a report of kids having attended the Camp Kanakuk who were encouraged to isolate. At least one did not. So, it’s not clear #3 the isolation piece is working.

So far, at least in the St. Louis area, there remains adequate hospital capacity.

Finally, what Dr. Besser did not mention is that there has to be enough supplies for both hospitals and schools in order to institute safety measures in schools. It’s not clear if there is enough in Missouri.

Another data point. https://twitter.com/andrew_havranek/status/1281367758882713606?s=21 https://twitter.com/andrew_havranek/status/1281367758882713606