Perhaps Virginia teachers terrified of returning to schools this fall should read this article in the Financial Times (of London):
There has been no recorded case of a teacher catching the coronavirus from a pupil anywhere in the world, according to one of the government’s leading scientific advisers.
Mark Woolhouse, a leading epidemiologist and member of the government’s Sage committee, told The Times that it may have been a mistake to close schools in March given the limited role children play in spreading the virus.
Who is Mark Woolhouse? Other than the fact that he is a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, I don’t know. Does he have credibility? I don’t know. But the Financial Times does, and other UK newspapers are reporting this story as well. Inevitably, someone will dispute Woolhouse’s reading of the data. This may turn into a case of dueling experts. Still, it’s worth asking if we’re in the grip of mass hysteria over COVID-19. It’s worth pondering if we’re letting fear destroy our society.
— JAB
