I would like to know why teachers and anyone else coming from New Jersey are not being required to quarantine for 14 days upon entering New York as is supposed to be the law and part of the NYC School Reopening Plan.
From the NYC School Reopening Plan on Page 26:
School-based staff and students cannot report to school if they have:
Traveled internationally or from a state with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 per the New York State Travel Advisory in the past 14 days.
What are the guidelines for quarantining from the NYS Department of Health that the city's Reopening Plan refers to?
This is on page 2:
All travelers entering New York who have recently traveled within a state with either:
• a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average; or
• a testing positivity rate of higher than a 10% over a seven-day rolling average, will be required to quarantine for a period of 14 days consistent with the Department of Health (DOH) regulations for quarantine.
New Jersey's positivity rate for the last seven days is in the NY Times. Today, it stands at 66 per 100,000. That looks to be worrisome. If we were following the rules, all NJ residents who are NYC DOE employees should be remote only for at least the next two weeks according to two media outlets.
Channel 7 Eyewitness News covered this story.
New Jersey's positivity rate would now put the state on its own quarantine list after seeing 973 positive tests across the state Wednesday.
Anyone traveling to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut from states where there are 10 cases per 100,000 residents must quarantine for 14 days.
Gothamist confirms these numbers:
The sustained increase in cases has made New Jersey travelers eligible for 14-day quarantine requirements mandated by many states, including New York and Connecticut.
The blithering idiots who run our national, state, and local governments as well as our union probably won't follow their own rules.
Give me New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern's "Go hard, go early" tough lockdown approach. It's worked twice when cases have appeared in the community there. Oh and she shut the borders too.
From the NY Times:
The strategy is aimed at eradicating the virus with a swift science-based policy, one that trades weeks of lockdown and sacrifice for an emergence to full economic activity.
She just won a landslide reelection victory. Nothing succeeds like success. My wife, Camille has a cousin who lives in New Zealand who was quite happy to go home after visiting relatives in Britain earlier this year.
I am aware that it is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison as New Zealand is an isolated island but Vietnam took a tough approach too and it worked. We should think about it now as the next wave is starting to hit NYC. Step I should be making the schools all remote until further notice.
Update Monday:
Every Tuesday, changes are made to New York's Travel Advisory list by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Based on 2 On Your Side’s review of the publicly available data, five states meet the criteria this week to be added to New York’s Travel Advisory list including several border states.
The five states that now have seven-day rolling averages of new cases per 100,000 residents that are greater than 10, a line set by New York State to be included on the list, are Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
During a conference call Monday about the state's progress on the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo was asked about the increase in the numbers in New Jersey and Connecticut and what that means for travel between the bordered states.
"It's a problem. New Jersey and Connecticut have worked with us, as have other northeastern states, on a operating basis since this began, also there are so many inter-connections between Jersey and Connecticut and Pennsylvania where you have a workforce that comes and goes everyday, there's just a lot of inter-connection and travel. If you were to limit access to New Jersey or Connecticut, I don't know to what extent it would be possible to do border patrol because you don't have airports there et cetera, and it would also seriously be disruptive to the economy. So, it's complicated and we're working with them, but we don't have any final conclusion yet but for a practical matters, you can't do border control with New Jersey and Connecticut."
Listen to Cuomo, it would be "seriously disruptive to the economy." That's what matters to our leaders, not our lives. It goes from Trump, to Cuomo to deBlasio.
So we have two positive cases at our school. One on Friday and the other over the weekend but our school will still be open tomorrow? How is this safe?!?
ReplyDeleteI have a cousin there also. I don’t believe we can get it right, just too much selfishness and tunnel vision here. Everything points to another long quarantine compounded by our currently opened putrid school system. No one believes or trusts anyone in public or private (union) office. Anything said has to be checked three times and even then there’s denial or claims of sarcasm or conspiracy theories. Worse there’s always palpable anger that seems to be bubbling to the surface with the threat of violence. That threat appears to be intimating many leaders, or even facilitating some, like deB, into entitling jarringly nonsensical pandering to mob rule. Escape from NY to New Zealand would be very enticing if we weren’t blocked, which we are by almost every intelligently managed country.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm surprised nobody has brought up Jacinda Ardem's highly effective lock up plan during the debates.
ReplyDeletePutting aside my disdain for the authoritarian police state that is now New Zealand, a simpler answer may be that the NY travel list gets updated weekly, I believe on Tuesday. In regard to teachers, I don't have a handy link to reference, but I do recall that "travelling for business" is not subject to quarantine rules.
ReplyDeleteI am just citing the reopening plans TJL. No exceptions in DOE plan.
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand just had a free and fair democratic election. Jacinda Ardern's Labor Party won easily. People will make sacrifices if the government is competent.
The current US mindset is beyond me. Could we have won WWII like this?
Also, and maybe JD can double check if he is reading, those values on the NY Times site may need to be divided by 7. The Times is listing all cases in the past 7 days rather than a 7-day moving daily average. That would be close to, but not exceeding 10 for NJ. FWIW my home state PA will likely exceed 10 as of tomorrow's update.
ReplyDeleteSupposedly she locked down the country when two cases amother and son from the same house were confirmed. they only had 26 total deaths.
ReplyDeleteSorry for so many posts but I found an updated document. Indeed teachers would not be able to come to work. The list is updated tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteFrom page 4, https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/10/interimguidance_traveladvisory.pdf
Additionally, teachers, school employees, and child care workers must quarantine for 14 days after returning to New York from a designated state or country due to the nature of education and child care services and the risk and difficulty of
adherence to the guidelines that govern such exemptions. Although such workers are essential, the travel advisory exemption for essential workers does not apply to teachers, school employees, or child care workers.
Consult with your employer regarding whether there is any applicable industry-specific guidance that may apply to you.
I was told security doesn’t have to do temperature checks in the morning.
ReplyDeleteIs this true?
Is this for everyone?
Was this announced somewhere?
At my school the temperature checks are done but they are claiming that they are not required to check, verify or administer the paper screening. What gives?
DeleteThank you for the work on the details TJL. We try to be accurate and are dealing in the deep weeds here. We have updated the post accordingly.
ReplyDeleteMy school never does temperature checks on staff members.
ReplyDeleteNew Zealand has more sheep than people but it is a very progressive country. We were there in 2011 and even the conservative govt that was in power then would be considered center Dems. But one thing they did was push to attack public schools and the union. When our film came out - The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, the NZ teacher union send us a $500 contribution.
ReplyDeleteDear Families,
ReplyDeleteAs part of New York City’s ongoing effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, and ensure the health and safety of our community, COVID-19 testing of staff and students will be conducted in our school once a month from now through the end of the school year. We have been notified that the testing provider will be at our school within the next week. Please note that only New York City public school students from grades 1-12 are eligible to be tested.
As the September 29, 2020 letter co-signed by NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, Executive Director Ted Long of New York City Test + Trace Corps, and Dr. Dave Chokshi, Commissioner of NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene stated, the test is easy, quick, and safe. A “short swab” (similar to a Q-tip) will be inserted into the front part of the nose for five to ten seconds. Later this school year, it is possible that tests will be administered by collecting a small amount of saliva (spit).
Only students and school-based staff members with signed and submitted consent forms are eligible to be tested (schools.nyc.gov/covidtesting). Your child will not be tested if they are uncomfortable or become distressed at any point during the process. If that happens, we will work with you to address any potential concerns so that your child is comfortable participating in future testing.
If your child is tested at school, information about the testing process, and when and how you will receive the results, will be sent home with your child. The majority of all testing results will be available within 48 hours. If your child tests positive for COVID-19, the testing provider will notify you via a telephone call, and NYC Test & Trace Corps will call to provide your family with resources and support.
If any member of the school community tests positive during this testing process, our school community will continue to follow the guidelines outlined on the Health & Safety section of the website (schools.nyc.gov/RTShealthsafety).
We deeply appreciate your partnership and your commitment to keeping your school community safe and healthy.
Sheep are dumb. They won't even utilize this. They will go in, get sick, bring it home, get abused and pay dues.
ReplyDeleteThis blog has provided more escape tricks than Harry Houdini could think of. Anyone still going to a building needs to try a little harder.
ReplyDeleteMulgrew: Why did union agree to split lump sum? Union did not agree. Arbitrator made the decision, and we agreed to no layoffs and guaranteed raise. That's agreement.
ReplyDeleteWhere is this from? We showed this was a city-UFT agreement, not an arbitrator's ruling.
ReplyDeleteYou DO NOT have to do temperature checks. That's what the online screening is for. LOL
ReplyDeleteI just read Arthur’s blog, 6:33 come out of Mulgrew’s mouth via Arthur’s minutes. Mulgrew is like a bald Trump without the charm and diplomacy. Lol
ReplyDeleteSo why are they checking the kids if they have to do the online screening too?
ReplyDeleteMy friend has spoken to HR, emailed Mike Sill, gotten responses from someone who works with him- yet she still has not received word on the medical accommodation she put in on October 1st. HR confirmed they have here application. What is going on and why is this being ignored? Lots of lip service, no action.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article from the chief
ReplyDeletehttps://thechiefleader.com/news/news_of_the_week/wage-deferral-award-for-uft-opens-door-for-other-union-deals/article_48a76080-0fdd-11eb-8998-33f05def7bbc.html#utm_source=thechiefleader.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1603143017&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
Sure, the city has to pay its bills but first it needs to service its debt.
ReplyDeleteWe just got screwed so we are focused on how that happened and why. But we don't want to fail to see the wood for the trees here. The wood or forest is that Cuomo, and thus the mayor and MM are looking at a Biden victory as the only way out of this. A Blue Wave would almost guarantee a massive stimulus to states, and NY State would get a huge check. The sooner the money gets sent and spent the better and maybe Pelosi will get something out before the election and the senate will find the votes, but the more likely scenario is that Biden and Nancy will send the checks. This is the forest we are missing when we drill down into local budget items. As dumb as MM seems he must know this is his best bet. The mayor would like to do something sooner but he would need Cuomo to authorize it and Cuomo won't. In fact, it is clear that Cuomo would rather play his political hand (see the article in the New Yorker "King of NY") and look even more king-like after Trump is dumped.