Profs 'Terrified' by Order to Keep Quiet About Outbreak at The University of Alabama

[Demovictory9]

Profs 'Terrified' by Order to Keep Quiet About Outbreak
The University of Alabama sent staffers an email

https://www.newser.com/story/295588/professors-told-to-keep-quiet-about-covid-19-outbreak.html

The University of Alabama is telling professors to keep quiet about a coronavirus outbreak afflicting the student body, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "Do not tell the rest of the class," administration officials wrote in an email, underlining the word "not." An online COVID-19 dashboard reports 1,368 known cases across the university system. "If the established rules for masks and physical distancing are followed in the classroom, then the risk of transmission from the positive student is minimal, and it is not necessary to inform the rest of the class they may have been in the same room as a positive classmate," the email goes on. "For privacy reasons, the instructor should not announce to the class that a student in the class tested positive, even anonymously."

But staffers appear unsettled by the order not to talk. "A lot of my colleagues and people I've talked to, they're terrified," an American studies professor tells the Daily Beast, which broke the story. "Every statement at least for the last month has been about this plan, they’ve got this plan. It makes it feel like a lot of this is for show, especially when they don’t want you to confirm it's not working." Oddly, the outbreak is no secret: The AP reported earlier this week about rising UofA cases and Tuscaloosa's plan to shutter city bars for two weeks. The Washington Post calls it "one of the largest coronavirus clusters reported at any academic institution" since the school year started. A university official says the outbreak is particularly high among sororities and fraternities.

[Tribetime]

1. All hail Alabama football

[House of Roberts]

2. If a student is known to the admin to have tested positive,

and the student isn't under quarantine, then why test at all?

[crickets]

8. +1000000

[dem4decades]

3. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Can you tell a tenured professor what to do?

[dawg day]

4. it's a huge outbreak

1 In 30 students in less than a month!

[ProfessorGAC]

5. By Comparison...

...I live in a town of 6,000. At that rate, we'd have 200 cases in a month.
We've had 26 since the whole thing started!
So yes, I'd say your use of huge is apt!

[dawg day]

6. In the USA, it's about 1 in 50, and that's over 5 months.

So 1 in 30 students (and we don't know about staff) in 3 weeks...

Well, at least that indicates that young people transmit it freely, even if fortunately it doesn't usually cause as bad a case as with older people.

[crickets]

7. When are people going to learn that 'ignore it and it'll go away' doesn't work?

"For privacy reasons, the instructor should not announce to the class that a student in the class tested positive, even anonymously."

Privacy? That's not what this is about. They just don't want to send students home. They also don't want to deal with the virus beyond masks and social distancing, apparently.

Keeping students in the dark after they may already be exposed is so wrong ethically and logically. No wonder there's a huge outbreak if there's no contact tracing and quarantine.

[keithbvadu2]

9. "If I thought you had not been exposed by an unknown classmate, I would say so." Then - silence.

How to NOT tell them...

Prof: "If I thought you had not been exposed by an unknown classmate, I would say so."

Then - silence.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. It's never a good sign when you tell your staff that they have to be muzzled.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. They need to find a way to pass the news.

Maybe do something similar to what libraries did back when the FBI was wanting to find out what books library patrons were checking out. Librarians, who are the best defenders of freedom in this country, would put up a sign that basically said, If this sign goes away, you'll know the FBI was here wanting to see what books you've been checking out. because they weren't allowed to post something or tell anyone that the FBI had shown up.

[spanone]

12. trumpworld.

'open the schools'

[TomSlick]

13. Oh, that's going to work well.

Everyone knows college professors are easily silenced.

[Ms. Toad]

14. Simlar issue here.

Students are under mandatory isolation because they have fevers. But unless they test positive and were documented to be within a few feet of someone for an extended period of time, we won't be told. (Here, the professor will not even be told.)

I'm pretty upset by the fact that administrators who are telling students they are required to stay home cannot even tell me that someone in my class has enough symptoms to e excluded from to be exlcuded from the school - which is the point at which I want to start isolating myself at home. Not interested in waiting 7 days - assuming they bother to go get tested - to find out they are positive.