Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to eight classrooms at Westover Magnet Elementary School testing positive for mold. The news would be disconcerting under any circumstances, but is shocking this autumn since the school only recently reopened after being closed for two years as a result of the same problem. Mold has been a problem at Westover for several years, but $24 million was just invested in renovations to address the condensation that caused the mold.
Thumbs up to Sacred Heart University for its strict enforcement of its own COVID-19 standards. It’s alarming to hear that more than 100 students have been suspended (two have been removed for the remainder of the semester), but it would be more stunning if the school ignored its own protocols. The most common violation has related to the prohibition of gatherings of more than a dozen people. We can appreciate that it goes against human nature, but college is about learning, and some lessons apparently have to come the hard way. The good news is that administrators say that most students are adhering to restrictions.
Thumbs up
to the easing of restrictions so that families can again visit loved ones at nursing homes in Connecticut. Since March such visits were not allowed because of the pandemic, a necessary measure as more than half of the deaths in the state caused by the virus were of nursing home residents or staff. The lifting of the ban by the state Department of Public Health, following a directive by the federal agency that oversees nursing homes, is a welcome sign that rates of infection are low. More importantly, a 157-page report released Thursday by a firm analyzing the state’s response to the crisis in the nursing homes found that depression among residents increased by 15 percent during the isolation and unplanned weight loss nearly doubled. Precautions must still be taken to make residents and staff as safe as possible.
Thumbs down to news that Cineworld, the secondlargest movie-theater operator in the world, is suspending its operations in the United States, which could at least temporarily close some movie theaters in Connecticut. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disaster for theaters, bars and other entertainment venues, with six months and counting of little to no activity at businesses across the state and beyond. Without a targeted relief program aimed at businesses crippled by COVID, it is hard to see how this problem does not continue to get worse, at a cost of thousands more jobs.
Thumbs down to low availability of outdoor patio heaters, which plenty of Connecticut families are no doubt looking into purchasing as the temperatures drop and the holidays approach. No one is quite sure how a COVID Thanksgiving or Christmas is supposed to happen, but the idea of buying a tent and patio heater and carrying on with traditions like any other year is likely going to fall victim to insufficient supply. It’s not retailers’ fault, who never could have foreseen the type of situation we’re looking at. Regardless, it’s just one more situation that is going to require some serious adjustment as our coronavirus-adjusted reality continues.
Thumbs up
to the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a federal suicide prevention bill aimed at middle and high school students. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young Americans, which is exacerbated by the pandemic. The bill, championed by the Newtown-based Sandy Hook Promise, would require states and school districts to expand suicide awareness prevention training for the students as a condition of receiving grants from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Sandy Hook Promise offers free programs to schools and has seen a 10-percent increase in suicide tips to its 24-7 crisis center during the pandemic. We urge the Senate to introduce a bill and approve it.