College spring breaks spread COVID to college campuses
I get that we’re all really antsy to get out of the house and resume “summer vacation” activities. When we’re inundated with different messages from the WHO, CDC, government, friends, and family about when shelter-in-place orders will be eased, it’s easy to just take the path of least resistance and go along with the crowd. But seriously. Read the numbers and you’ll see that the numbers of COVID-19 cases are still rising across the US. Yesterday in California, we had more new cases in one day than we have had since this pandemic started in February. A new study reveals how the 2020 Spring Break help spread COVID-19 on college campuses and the surrounding communities.
Statistics speak volumes and when researchers looked at spring break vacation dates, cell phone data, and reported cases of COVID-19, they found that student breaks are partly responsible for the continuing growth of this pandemic. It’s not just spring break, but fall break, Thanksgiving break, Christmas/Winter break, and long weekends.
Many colleges are starting early this fall so they can switch to online classes and shut down campuses and dorms before Thanksgiving. This can prevent the spread of COVID-19 when the students would return to campus from all over the country and world after the holidays.
We’re still plagued by the worst pandemic of our lifetimes, and we need to shelter in place until the coronavirus is under control and there is an effective vaccine. Imagine what’s going to happen if everyone takes their summer vacation trips all over the US and world during the next 8 weeks, we’re going to have a 2nd wave before flu season starts next winter. The sooner we stop the spread of the coronavirus, the sooner we can resume our normal lives again. It has to take place in this order – not the other way around.