Today @ChildrensMercy is having a virtual school health conference for school nurses. I'll be tweeting for the next 90 minutes from the #COVID19 panel.

Focusing on stuff I haven't heard/reported yet. 1/

In the U.S., about 2% of COVID cases are in children. 94% of kids who contract COVID have non-severe disease. 2/

Kids' symptoms are different than adults. Kids are less likely to develop fever, cough shortness of breath and diarrhea than adults. 3/

We're talking calming techniques for kids experiencing fear and anxiety, including tensing and relaxing your body and deep belly breathing. 4/

@ChildrensMercy Psychologist Simone Moody says that it's usually best to keep kids at school when they're experiencing anxiety because sending them home can reinforce that there's something to fear. 5/

Moody says for students who visit the nurse frequently for reassurance, setting goals for how often they come (for example, two or fewer times per day) can be helpful for reducing fear and anxiety. 6/

Next up, @ShelbyRebeck, the director of health services for @theSMSD. She says that the goal is not to be swayed by politics, only science, when reopening schools.

Rebeck says 100 people in JoCo attend an event, there's a 92% chance someone has #COVID19. 7/

Rebeck says case numbers for June & July were "abysmal" after JoCo did OK flattening the curve during lockdown in April & May. 8/

More than half of certified and non-certified staff have told Shawnee Mission that they in a high risk category. 9/

Rebeck says that the science shows that mitigating measures (PROPER mask wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing and consistent cohorts) work.

But, she's concerned about pediatric testing capacity. 10/

It sounds like Shawnee Mission will be doing their hybrid grouping based on last name, A-L on Monday & Tuesday, M-Z on Thursday & Friday. 11/

"Schools cannot be expected to do it all," @ShelbyRebeck says. She says supports for child care, food insecurity, mental health and physical health need to be in the community, not just schools. 12/

She says so much of the pressure to reopen is coming from the need to bring kids back to address these out-of-school factors.

"This is a long-term problem. We are likely to be online sometimes because of what the virus does." 13/

Q: Should diabetic students attend in-person school?

A: If the family feels safe and comfortable, and the school is holding in-person classes, then there's no reason they can't be in school. 14/

"Your gut feeling as a parent, and making the decision in conjunction with your college, that is the right answer. Please don't feel guilty. Please don't shame people who decide to go in person, or vice versa. This is a very personal decision," Rebeck says. 15/