ACT NOW TO CONTAIN COVID-19***CLOSE THE SCHOOLS IN KING COUNTY

SUMMARY 

The COVID-19 Outbreak in King County, Washington is increasing. People are dying. The virus is mutating. Social distancing has been implemented for everyone, but our children.

We the undersigned say NO to the continued operation of traditional classrooms with in person learning. Please hear us.

BREAKING NEWS MARCH 9, 2020

Schools shutting down across the country, and many moving to remote learning in spite of Public Health recommendation to remain open. They cited a need to be RESPONSIBLE in reducing community spread and protecting the high risk. But the schools that believe in alignment with Public Health remain open. High risk kids/families in some schools remain either in danger of infection or left behind without accomodations.  We ask you to TAKE THE LEAD and close schools now.

BREAKING  NEWS MARCH 6, 2020

“This may be the first clear evidence that children are as susceptible as adults." 
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00154-w?from=groupmessage&isappinstalled=0

Susan Desmond-Hellmann, Frmr CEO of Gates Foundation-

"I still have a big question about young people. Are kids somehow more immune or are they just not at all getting sick? Are they transmitting the infection?"

DETAILS 

A little over a week ago, the King County Department of Public Health released a statement indicating that it was unnecessary to shut down Bothell High School in light of a potential COVID-19 case. Citing statistics that knowingly left out up to 5 hospitalized cases in Spokane, Public Health said that there were NO CASES OF COVID-19 in Washington State. 

The next day, and throughout the weekend,  the information about a COVID-19 outbreak snow balled. Although the Bothell case was ultimately negative, we learned much more troubling information.  Most notably, it's likely that the virus has been here - undetected - for a while with community spread underway for weeks. The virus is in our community and we have no idea the magnitude of the problem. 

BUT WE CAN'T ALWAYS TEST FOR IT.

Faulty test kits, not enough test kits, screening criteria that excluded community spread, all allowed cases to slip through the cracks. And...though kids are thankfully not as hard hit by this novel coronavirus, the elderly, immune suppressed and chronically ill are at very high risk. There is so much more to learn. It is evolving every day.  

We are all at risk and it's obvious that Public Health realizes the nature of the crisis, having implemented social distancing for employers and community events.  Seattle is a ghost town.

But the advice continues...Schools should stay open.  Reasons have ranged from...kids are going to gather anyways - to - we cant afford to have our healthcare workers at home if they lose their childcare.  

While Public Health keeps our kids gathering in groups in direct contradiction to their advice for everyone else in the community, parents are expected to trust that our kids are safe. Many parents aren't willing to take that risk. 

Further, there are kids with high susceptibility to the virus, and they cannot go to school.  Likewise, there are families with medically vulnerable parents/siblings at home,  and they can't risk sending their child to school as they could bring the virus home.  Finally there are kids that are sick with a cold/coronavirus (don't know because we can't test) that can't go to school for 14 days. 

As time passes, as these kids stay at home to stay SAFE, they risk falling behind their peers (unless accommodations are made). 

This is a disability rights issue. Failure to provide adequate home based accomodations penalizes those that are at highest risk for virus fatality, while allowing the able bodied to continue to learn as usual. This is unacceptable and must change immediately. 

What is to be done with the families that are able bodied but don't feel safe sending their children to school? Given what was described earlier in this petition, and in light of how much is unknown, it's reasonable for parents to want their kids at home.  Yet these kids lack any claim to accomodations. Every day that passes, they fall further behind unless they are fortunate to be in a school willing to allow both onsite and distance learning.  What will be the consequence - will they miss so much school that they cannot catch up? 

Our children are our priority. While Public Health talks of difficulty in finding child care arrangements for healthcare workers; and adults are asked to work from home; and social gatherings are canceled; our children continue to gather in classrooms even as new evidence emerges that children are susceptible! 

To be clear - Thousands of kids are therefore the subject of a giant experiment every day they gather at school. Are we certain they safe? 

We the undersigned recognize that;

1. We are just learning about COVID-19. Very little is known at this time.

2. Social distancing has been implemented for all groups except schools.

3. Many Schools and School Districts have made the decision to close already; but, there are Schools and School Districts that WILL NOT CLOSE unless told to do so by Public Health.

4. Finally, thousands of people have already signed petitions asking to close major public School Districts in King County.

Therefore, we are raising our voices together to those in positions of power. This is an unprecedented crisis - we need to CLOSE THE SCHOOLS NOW.   

Why? Because we must stop gambling with the safety of our children.