Coronavirus

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Little follow up as we kind of work through this. None of our offices are more than 10 people, and no mandate was ever given that we shut down or send everyone home. So, technically, there's nothing from bringing everyone back today other than whatever civic responsibilities we feel are inherent upon us to slow the spread and protect our employees.

That said, we're going to let everyone know early June, probably June 8th is the tentative date for employees to come back to the office for full time work. We'll make a decision around Memorial Day if we're going to stick to that timeline. Until then, offices will re-open and give employees the ability to work from home or the office as they see fit.

We've got plenty of room to keep everyone separate, masks, hand sanitizer, etc.

Personally, I've come to absolutely despise working from home. It's like there's no separation between work and home life. It could be 10 pm and I'll get an email and feel the need to respond. I'll have a deadline and before going to bed start thinking about something. Instead of putting it off until the morning, I'll feel the need to do it right away. The only real break that would keep me from working was drinking because so long as I was drinking, I couldn't work. It was an unhealthy way to create that separation needed.

Regardless, I've heard some of the people are productive and enjoy working from home. Others absolutely hate it like myself. That's kind of irrelevant. But, it's also kind of not. A lot of people have been coming into the office at key times to print stuff off, be more productive, and/or find solidarity. I think giving guidance and equipment to stay safe will help, well, keep people safe. I don't know.

[ghostrunner]

Our office is planning to phase in and let people set their own home/commute schedule. I'll be doing 2 days a week at the office, 3 home. I need a couple days to do "remote work" on a solid network when people are in the office with the same good connection.

What I don't see is how schools re-open which is obviously a big problem for parents who work. Ours are old enough to stay home now, but day cares are going to have a hard time and schools can't watch everyone. There's talk of maintaining social distancing at schools but I don't see how that can be done unless you're willing to at least let some kids stay home who are capable of it. Unless the testing is just pervasive and relatively instant, but even then it may be too late by the time you know who's got it.

I don't see how restaurants and theaters mange this either. You can open but now you're forced to pay some staff, let some go, and try to profit when you can no longer house busy weekend crowds.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

I feel like wrt schools, there are going to be ages that can handle it. Say 5th graders and up can probably understand the importance of washing hands, avoiding contact, maintaining distance....during school hours. During recess, IDK. Maybe just one class at a time for recess or something. On the lower end of the scale, infants/babies that are only grabbing what is in their reach can be protected by preventing them from touching anything. Then they just have to be protected from any airborne virus which is probably doable.

What to do with toddlers up through 3rd or 4th grades where kids aren't mature enough to understand the dangers, the need to maintain distance, etc....no idea. It's all I can do to keep my 3 and 7 year old from licking dirt, let alone preventing them from touching a door knob then immediately picking their nose or rubbing their eyes. It's an uphill battle.

Certainly they'll move desks apart and be vigilant about sending kids home with coughs/sneezes. But, still, those kids are going to get each other sick almost assuredly.

That said, they set up a daycare for the hospital workers that accepts kids 6 and older and they feel they can maintain the social distancing guidelines by 1. keeping commonly touched items disinfected continuously and 2. enforcing separation. So....we'll see. God bless those day care workers though.

WRT restaurants, theates, bars, etc....good riddance that's going to be tough. First, they have to make sure their workers aren't sick which isn't an easy thing to do when so many people are asymptomatic and testing is not available to test everyone immediately. Second, it's not just table tops and chairs. It's menus, bathrooms, salt and pepper shakers, etc that are going to be a nightmare. On top of that, maintaining distance not only between customers but between staff and customers. I can see tables being stripped of all the fixins, every other table being unavailable, menus being online only, etc. But that doesn't address staff or the loss of seating, not to mention the wariness of the public to eat out...even though there are obviously going to be a ton ready to do so at the drop of a hat.

In the end, people will adapt. I don't think anyone wants to sit at home for the next 15 month or whatever just waiting for a vaccine. So, they'll kind of have to adapt...or we'll all be forced to sit at home for 15 months which would obviously have catastrophic affects on the country/globe.

[sighyoung]

My university hasn't decided whether fall classes will be in-person or online, or some combination. So accordingly, I'll be preparing to do both, or to shift from in-person to online as the need dictates. I think we may be in for rolling quarantines rather than an absolute end to them or an indefinite prolongation of them. Some of this may have tapered off by August and September, but if coronaviruses mutate as quickly as influenza viruses, we'll have a new wave either later in the year or early next year.

There are various models for instruction being bandied about, and I'm not fully privileged to know about the discussions, but some wealthy private universities are considering late fall semester starts, a short winter break, and early spring semester starts until another wave hits. My university will likely begin the fall semester at its usual time, but will decide between in-class or online instruction.

Everybody is having to change instruction on the fly. My daughter was accepted into three summer programs (a little bit of bragging, but I'm making a point)--at least two of them (a program at U of Chicago, and a Governor's Scholars program) may be online. She also got into an ACLU camp in Washington, but I don't know what will happen with that.

School admissions will change, as well. My daughter will be a high-school senior next year, and has already been told by admissions reps that more schools won't require the ACT or SAT, and will know that student resumes will be thinner because of the quarantine. Our brief summer tour of campuses is out the window for now, too.

Finally, I do have students and colleagues with compromised immune systems, and I have no idea how situations like that will be accommodated--people will have to think of something.

[sighyoung]

I have some good news and bad news. The bad news: Mom fell trying to get out of her bed (she can't walk) and went to the ER again, so the quarantine countdown starts anew. Fortunately, she only needed stitches over her left eye, but she can't catch a break. Staff in the quarantine section of the facility don't know her as well as the staff on the second floor of the facility, so they don't know that she wakes up in the middle of the night, has no idea what time it is, and tries to get up.

The good news is that I'll have a video chat with her tomorrow afternoon. She may confused (she's very polite and tries to fake knowing what's going on), but she'll recognize my voice, and for a brief moment, she'll be reassured.

I know Mom's on borrowed time now, but at least I can touch base to see how she's doing.

[mikechamp]

Here's somewhat of an update on the topic of cashing checks issued to deceased people:

'You’re not supposed to keep that payment': Mnuchin wants stimulus money given to dead taxpayers returned

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wants the relatives and estates of dead people who received stimulus checks from the CARES Act to return the money, he told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Mnuchin's declaration was the administration's most definitive word yet on the matter. But questions remain, such as whether all such payments need to be repaid and how taxpayers should return the money. "We will be issuing guidance on this issue shortly," a Treasury spokeswoman told USA TODAY.

Nina Olson, the founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights and former taxpayer advocate for the IRS, questioned whether the Treasury Department had the power to compel people to return the payments, which are technically a tax credit. Olson cited text of the CARES Act, which says when people file in 2020 the amount of the credit cannot be adjusted "below zero," to argue the IRS would face an uphill battle trying to force people to pay it back. "It may be the IRS made a mistake by making the payment to a deceased person. It can certainly ask folks to give the money back. I don’t see the legal authority for adjusting it on the 2020 return," she told USA TODAY.

"I don’t see where the CARES Act says dead people are ineligible. It does say estates are ineligible, but estates are a separate taxpayer," Olson said. "The law says to pay the advance based on the taxpayer’s 2018 or 2019 return, and then reconcile based on the 2020 return."

Last week, IRS spokesman Eric Smith told The Washington Post that surviving spouses may not have to return the funds under certain circumstances. "We are aware of all the various issues involving surviving spouses and other heirs and are still working on them," Smith told The Post.

https://news.yahoo.com/not-supposed-kee ... 50704.html

[Fat_Bulldog]

Sorry to hear about your mom sigh. Glad you can provide her a bit of comfort.

(I still haven't received any stimulus money)

[thrill]

So sorry to hear about your mom's situation, Sigh. Glad you're going to get to talk to her.

[JoeMcKim]

New York said that schools aren't going to return to finish the school year. I'm not sure how you would be able to socially distance a school without adding twice of the class rooms.

[mikechamp]

Since some people have a lot of time on their hands, here's a list of prognostications (i.e., long read) on what might be the "new normal":

Coronavirus and the 'new normal': What's coming in the months ahead

The COVID-19 pandemic has already affected the lives of every American. And while politicians and experts disagree on how best to confront the disease and mitigate its economic ramifications, there is a broad understanding that we are entering a “new normal” — an upending of our lives that will continue at least until a vaccine is developed — and perhaps well beyond that.

How that new normal will play out may depend in large part on where you live. But broadly speaking, we know that the struggle against COVID-19 will continue to be fought on many fronts, from hospitals and schools to restaurants and houses of worship.

Epidemiologists expect that the coronavirus will hit the U.S. in a series of waves. Research indicates that rates of infection could dissipate in the summer months only to spike again in the fall. Where these spikes might occur is anyone’s guess, meaning mayors and governors must be prepared to suddenly reinforce social distancing measures as rates of infection wax and wane throughout the country.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus- ... 56423.html