Posted on Leave a comment

CDC UPDATES GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOLS

Ridgewood crossing guards 2

 

photo by Boyd Loving

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

The CDC has published updated guidance regarding school openings. The updated guidance provides additional recommendations for a myriad of topics, including ventilation, food service, and mask use as schools continue to prepare and implement their plans to start the 2020-21 school year. The guidance also expands on previous iterations regarding students with “special healthcare needs and disabilities” with a new section dedicated to these challenges. Schools may need to develop individualized plans for some students and staff, including those with limited mobility, those with visual or hearing impairments, those with underlying health conditions, or those who may have difficulties understanding or adapting to new routines. The information notes that some individuals may struggle with social distancing or isolation or mask use, or they may need additional visual or verbal reminders or assistance implementing the school’s social distancing protocols. The information also links to guidance regarding protections related to service animals.

Continue reading CDC UPDATES GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOLS

Posted on 17 Comments

Reader asks , if Trump is Suppressing the Mail ,Why aren’t Democrats going all out to insist on In Person Voting?

mailman_theridgewoodblog

Ok riddle me this….
.
Democrats are up in arms because “Trump is suppressing votes by handicapping the US Mail system”
.
SO…..
Why aren’t Democrats going all out to insist on In Person Voting and to ban Vote By Mail so they can bypass Trump’s “evil Postal plans” and ensure that there is no voter suppression?

.
Oh right… because its easier for Democrats to cheat with Vote By Mail.

Posted on 6 Comments

Reader says , “Should Corona last for the long run, the intelligentsia and NJEA unions will be toast”

rhs 2020

“residents here in Ridgewood know more about what happens than the eggheads at the BOE & REA who theorize on how to control thoughts as they trade bon mots at their cocktail parties. Should corona last for the long run, the intelligentsia and NJEA unions will be toast as they cling to their days gone by like the Luddites they are. I pity the truly great teachers in the district who have been lumped into the mix with the Marxists.”

Posted on 6 Comments

Reader Suggests Teachers Want Full time Pay for Part Time Work

rhs 2020 schools out

“So REA, if the Ridgewood BOE installs high efficiency HEPA filters in each classroom , will you agree to return to teach? These are recommended for critical healthcare applications like anterooms, isolation wards and COVID-19 patient rooms. When educational institutions reopen after the coronavirus outbreak, ASHRAE recommends a portable HEPA and UV air cleaner for each classroom, with at least two air rotations per hour. Will that, in addition to the already planned health, cleaning and physical distancing protocols, be enough for you to return to the physical classroom this fall? Or do you just not want to have to work full time but still receive full pay?”

Posted on 1 Comment

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization for emergency use of convalescent plasma

c9215d4f 47bf 4fbe ad5a 570047c8daf0
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

President Trump announced Sunday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma for emergency use to treat patients sickened by the novel coronavirus as a therapeutic.

Trump, who has been looking to announce progress in fighting the virus, touted the news as a “historic breakthrough” against the “Chine virus” at a White House news conference on Sunday, saying it would “dramatically expand access to this treatment.Not resisting further temptation the President hoped the press had a great time at their convention.

Continue reading Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization for emergency use of convalescent plasma

Posted on 1 Comment

CDC Backs off 14 Day Quarantine

Coronavirus Article 202003231501

the staff  of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, On August 3, 2020, CDC updated its isolation guidance based on the latest science about COVID-19 showing that people can continue to test positive for up to 3 months after diagnosis and not be infectious to others.  Contrary to media reporting today, this science does not imply a person is immune to reinfection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the 3 months following infection.  The latest data simply suggests that retesting someone in the 3 months following initial infection is not necessary unless that person is exhibiting the symptoms of COVID-19 and the symptoms cannot be associated with another illness.

Continue reading CDC Backs off 14 Day Quarantine

Posted on 5 Comments

Reader says for school, “all the adults stay home while all the students come in every day for a full day’s instruction”

lord of the flies 1 638

“Start the school year by letting the teachers and administrators, basically all the adults, stay home while all the students come in every day for a full day’s instruction. In addition to assembling in their regular classrooms the students will run the school and put one of their own in every office formerly occupied by an adult, including the principal’s office, secretaries and all the guidance counselors’ offices. The teachers will teach from home and the children will all do in-person learning together with each other. Easy-peasy. Yeah, by the middle of October the schools might all resemble the Lord of the Flies island, but by then maybe we will have shamed all the adults into coming back to work”

Posted on 4 Comments

New Jersey Has the 6th Worst Unemployment Rate Recovery

Phill Murphy -Sara Medina del Castillo

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, With the U.S. gaining 1.8 million jobs in July and the national unemployment rate at 10.2% compared to the nearly historic high of 14.7% at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States Whose July Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, along with accompanying videos and audio files, to illustrate which areas of the country have had the best recovery so far.

Continue reading New Jersey Has the 6th Worst Unemployment Rate Recovery

Posted on 1 Comment

COVID-19 and Flu Season Safety

v1 220th sm uoiqpifjyk02 1539120930 6714

Hackensack Meridian Health Clinical Contributors to this Story
Aysha Seeni, M.D. contributes to topics such as Internal Medicine
Pamela Orellana, M.D. contributes to topics such as Family Medicine.

Ridgewood  NJ, Until there is a vaccine created, or we have achieved herd immunity, COVID-19 must remain top of mind when it comes to you and your family’s health and well-being. As we head into flu season, this year, we need to protect ourselves from COVID-19 on top of seasonal flu. Here are tips for staying healthy.

Continue reading COVID-19 and Flu Season Safety

Posted on Leave a comment

State Senator Joe Pennacchio Continues to Challenge Department of Health on Nursing Home COVID Response

paramus sign

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, Senator Joe Pennacchio today continued his efforts for more information on the policies and decisions that effected resident care at State-run long-term care facilities during the pandemic. In a follow-up letter (click here for PDF) to New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, the Senator again sought answers from the state’s top health official.

“We keep asking questions but we don’t get answers. The Administration seems to find it easier to ignore inquiries than to face the harsh reality of what happened, and could happen again, in our nursing homes,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “The victims and their families deserve answers. Seven thousand people died and nothing is being done. Why? Doesn’t anybody care?”

Continue reading State Senator Joe Pennacchio Continues to Challenge Department of Health on Nursing Home COVID Response

Posted on 2 Comments

WalletHub Survey : 66% of college students say COVID-19 has changed how they feel about their financial future

bergen community college

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Two-thirds of college students (13.3 million) say the coronavirus has changed how they feel about their financial future, according to the personal-finance website WalletHub’s 2020 College Student Financial Survey, released today. The survey also revealed that students feel the pandemic is the biggest thing holding them back financially right now, ahead of a lack of money and a lack of financial literacy.

Continue reading WalletHub Survey : 66% of college students say COVID-19 has changed how they feel about their financial future

Posted on Leave a comment

Airbnb Announces Global Party Ban

house party

the satff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Today we’re announcing a global ban on all parties and events at Airbnb listings, including a cap on occupancy at 16. This party ban applies to all future bookings on Airbnb and it will remain in effect indefinitely until further notice.

How we got here

Unauthorized parties have always been prohibited at Airbnb listings. In fact 73 percent of our listings globally already ban parties in their House Rules, and the vast majority of our guests behave in manners that show respect for House Rules and for neighbors. We’ve historically allowed hosts to use their best judgment and authorize small parties – such as baby showers or birthday parties – if they’re appropriate for their home and their neighborhood.

Continue reading Airbnb Announces Global Party Ban

Posted on 5 Comments

In Person Protest to Promote Vote-by-Mail in Fair Lawn

five corners post office protest 6

file photo

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

FAIR LAWN NJ, Local grassroots groups are rallying in Fair Lawn in support of the U.S. Postal Service and mail-in voting as the Trump administration seeks to undermine both. The rally will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22 on the sidewalk outside the U.S. Post Office at 14-24 Abbott Road. Remember its to dangerous to vote in person ,but protests are always safe.

Continue reading In Person Protest to Promote Vote-by-Mail in Fair Lawn

Posted on 9 Comments

the fly has learned about “MERV “

fly on wall theridgewoodblog.net

…the fly has learned that the Ridgewood Schools system HVAC  is rated a MERV 8 with is the standard for New Jersey schools and office buildings, but the word is the REA wants to see a hospital standard MERV 13  installed in all Ridgewood schools , teacher and administrators may have to suffice with opening  windows  , except cottage place which has over the years presented its own set of problems …

Posted on 3 Comments

Reader asks , “How have day care centers and summer camps in NJ been open since June, but schools cannot reopen?”

rhs 2020 schools out

“In a normal society, this virus would be handled by having the sick or vulnerable stay home for as long as necessary, while encouraging the young and healthy to go about normally with life. Teachers that are sickly could stay home and go on unemployment like everyone else in the country. Young college grads with education degrees can temporarily Take their place. Very simple. How are parents that are not teachers or other government employees supposed to work and feed their families if they have to stay home and care for their children who are doing remote learning? This point is rarely brought up. How have day care centers and summer camps in NJ been open since June, but schools cannot reopen? Why are day Care workers and summer camp workers lives valued less than teachers lives? I drove by the Ridgewood YMCA parking lot last week and witnessed large numbers of children, of various ages, over the age of two years old, standing very close together and not wearing masks. Why is this permitted when masks are required in NJ outdoors when not social distancing?
Locking down everyone is actually making everyone more sickly in mind, body and soul. Why is it that the government and their followers only care about people sick or dying from covid19, but not from any other cause, like the annual flu, being killed in riots, or from not being able to receive necessary medical treatment? Yes there is a pandemic, however, like it or not, the fact is that less than 0.5 percent of all people will die from it. It is obvious that the pandemic has become a convenient, catch all excuse, which is being massively abused. This is to the detriment of all humanity, the effects of which will be ever lasting. Wake up people! Please please start thinking for yourselves and you will realize what is actually going on here. Only when teachers and all government employees are treated the same and feel the same pain as small business owners have, during this pandemic, will people actually see the truth, be on the same team and be able, willing and ready to work together.”