Tuesday, September 29, 2020

NYC DAILY POSITIVITY RATE FOR COVID-19 GOES ABOVE 3% BUT UFTERS STILL BEING SENT INTO SCHOOL BUILDINGS

The NYC COVID-19 daily positivity rate is up over 3% so there is significant community spread of the coronavirus at the same time as public schools started today in NYC for elementary and K-8 school students. Maybe, that rising  number is an aberration but probably not.

This is from Gothamist:

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday said that New York City's daily testing positivity rate for COVID-19 had reached 3.25%, a jump of more than a percentage point over the previous day.

In a cruel irony, the sudden rise in the city's positivity rate comes on the first day of in-person instruction for about 300,000 children attending K-5 and K-8 schools across the city. Prior to Monday, the number of people testing positive has hovered around 1 percent for around two months.

De Blasio attributed the uptick to 9 ZIP codes in Brooklyn and Queens, which are home to significant numbers of Orthodox residents. While health officials have targeted outreach to those communities, the mayor has refrained from citing a specific source for the infections. He said that health officials would work to expand testing and strengthen enforcement, but that schools would in all neighborhoods continue to reopen.

But in a sign of a possible pushback from educators, Michael Mulgrew, the head of the teachers union, on Tuesday expressed concern about reopening schools in Brooklyn neighborhoods with covid clusters.

“We are very concerned with Brooklyn and those (zip) codes in Brooklyn. If we don’t see those numbers start coming down by the end of the week we are going to get much more aggressive with City Hall,” he said.

He later added: “Everything goes on the table. I know that makes people uncomfortable when we say those things but it’s a fact. We cannot, cannot allow politics to get in the way of our safety concerns at this point in time.”

At the end of July, the mayor had said that schools would not reopen if the positivity rate on a seven-day rolling average rose to 3%.

That seven day average now stands at 1.38%.

If you are waiting for Michael Mulgrew to look out for your health, you are most likely going to be waiting a while. When Mulgrew talks these days, I usually shake my head or scream out loud in disgust.

Remember, if you do not pass the daily health screening test, you are mandated to stay home. If it is COVID-19  symptoms, you can stay home for two weeks, even if it isn't COVID-19, without any days taken from your Cumulative Absence Reserve.

Please note you can take the days with COVID-19 symptoms that can be as simple as a runny nose causing you to lose some sense of smell. In addition, if God forbid you later come down with COVID-19, you are still covered without any loss of CAR days. 

If the NYC positivity rate stays where it is for a week, you won't be able to use those ten free days because the system will go all remote. Go get a telemedicine medical note if you are a worrier.

I put out the theory on Saturday that many UFTers have been beaten down so much by the hostile DOE and their own dues first union so they have been rendered incapable of fighting back. We termed it mass learned helplessness.  Former UFT Vice President Carmen Alvarez used to term rank and file lack of resistance to the DOE "Battered Staff Syndrome."  She of course only blamed the DOE. I feel the UFT is a big part of the problem. We need to restructure our union representation so that it serves the rank and file as its main objective, not itself.

It is a personal decision on entering school buildings. If you believe the DOE-UFT reports are legitimate and that your building is safe, then by all means go in.  If you think you have to be there for the children, they are in most cases probably safer at home. Still, we truly respect everyone's dedication whether working in person or remotely.

I do recommend that everybody listen to experts on the seriousness of the possible second wave of coronavirus and don't take my word for it as I am no scientist, doctor, or epidemiologist. Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb,who was on CNBC this morning, is an expert. 

As we head into the fall and winter, the conditions are right to see continued, more aggressive spread of this virus,” Gottlieb said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He urged Americans to adhere to public health measures aimed at mitigating the spread such as wearing masks and social distancing.

"Kids are back in school, kids are back in college campuses. Work is trying to restart. People are becoming more complacent and tired of the restrictions, and so all of those conditions are going to set up a fall and winter that, I think, is going to create a lot of risk,” he added. 

Gottlieb’s comments came one day after global deaths from Covid-19 topped 1 million, and one week after the U.S. eclipsed 200,000 deaths. 

Please stay safe.

17 comments:

  1. James' quote..."If you are waiting for Michael Mulgrew to look out for your health, you are most likely going to be waiting a while. When Mulgrew talks these days, I usually shake my head or scream out loud in disgust."

    But all of you take no action.

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  2. Screaming out loud is what kind of action?

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  3. I served on the Executive Board for a decade without any Unity endorsement. I ran against Mulgrew in 2010. I helped the opposition unite to win the high schools in 2016 where I got more high school teacher votes than Janella Hinds in the race for HSVeep. If it was a fair election, I win.

    I wrote negative reviews and strongly opposed vocally at the DA the 2014 contract. I did everything at the Exec Bd and in the media to fight against the 2005 contract. And I wrote assertively in opposition to the 2018 contract after I retired. Since March, I have been telling people how to legally stay out of COVID-19 infected buildings. I also offer to help teachers put their heads together to start over in organizing a real union and consult for any caucus that asks. People can email and I work for them as a shadow CL.

    What else do you suggest?

    What are you doing?

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  4. I meant the entire staff. No action.

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  5. We all screamed. For decades. It produced no change. Opt out or decertify?

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  6. Read about the exec board meeting from today...UFT=blah, blah, blah

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  7. Mulgrew on the 6 pm newscast now. this piece of work wants the schools in the zipcodes that have over 6% rates closed. he blames the mayor. The mayor sticking with what he said earlier today...will close the schools if the average rate of infection goes over the 3% agreed rate. It's like a bunch of boys having a pissing war. Mulgrew, the "mayor" with his lapdog chancellor behind him, and cuomo all trying to pee into the same bowl. utterly ridiculous, petty, and pretty much insane for teachers, parents and students as none of us can figure out what is going on.

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  8. Use em or lose em you fools. Most of you will lose em rather than risk the fire of your principal or you are there for the children.

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  9. Very stupid to listen to people such as Mildew to risk your life for this abortion. It’s certain that this is going to cause many more illnesses and deaths. Those bastards don’t give a shit about us. All the Unfit for Teachers cares about is harvesting dues. Tell the bastards no. Use your sick days now because these assholes are gonna have to go full remote. Maybe they will advocate classes being held in nursing homes next.
    Mildew doesn’t give a fuck about us and he never did. He is full of shit. Don’t risk your life for the stupid plans of evil morons. We are living in a kakistocracy. What kind of union puts its members in mortal danger?Its past time to stand up for yourselves. Use the rules the DOE instituted. Get a note and stay home. For the sake of yourselves and the kids and their families. If you truly care you won’t go in and risk spreading death. Have some common sense and decency. Have some dignity. Stand up.

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  10. randi tweeting how wonderful joe biden is.

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  11. I get it's cute and emotional to put up back to school pics. At the same time, I feel uneasy at putting staff and children in potential harms way and publicizing that. Harm as in safety, but also this isn't educationally sound. Maybe, it's just me.

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  12. The DOE and UFT are hiding crap again. I heard from 2 teachers from 2 different schools that the kids were in the auditoriums all day today watching movies.

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  13. Supposedly the opt out rate now is 70% based on Mulgrew in the nyceducator.

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  14. Getting no CAR days deducted for just showing symptoms is huge. I know many folks in private industry that don't have that let alone teachers outside the tri state area

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  15. No wonder our system is truly a mess with diblasio omg this is insane...no one is supporting diblasio because he does not listen to the people in the pits....we are working with this guy who is so unstable about his management style and things are getting worse every day. I mean the principals union wants to have an outsider come in and manage the situation, cuomo is set to come in and manage the situation....

    What was the big deal to have us all remote until end of the year??? Why is it so important for diblasio to have schools open with the huge risk factor,,,people are screaming from city hall to the doe to the classroom yet diblasio and carranza visit a elementary school with their masks on in the morning to greet the kids then they wisk off in limos and leave it up to the staff to hang in there and breath with the kids....wow diblasio such a disapointment mayor and manager

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  16. I think Diblasio may try for president again and say look I opened up the nyc schools when no other large city would and it was successful. Just a hunch.

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  17. DeBlahblah has a snowballs chance in hell.

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