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Professor hologram: UT Austin partners with local company to launch ‘classroom of the future’
21 September
(Contextual Content Group)
McCombs Professor Steve Limberg teaches in a studio while his hologram appears in a classroom, where masked students are sat socially distanced.
Like Tupac at Coachella, one professor at the McCombs School of Business is beamed as a hologram before his audience.
<p>This semester, Steve Limberg is teaching his executive MBA class in a studio while his hologram is projected before students in the classroom. The setup allows both him and his audience to interact in real time, while minimizing their exposure to the coronavirus.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="66e1c045e9633b17108404f951f7b2f5" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" type="lazy-iframe" scrolling="no" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xz0RmrBShfQ?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Hologram Technology Launches Classroom of the Future | McCombs School of Business</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=103&v=Xz0RmrBShfQ&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">youtube</a>)</small>
</p><p>"This is an authentic experience because I can see all the gestures and the nuances that the students are expressing, whether it be raising a hand or nodding, and as a result, it really is very much like being right here in the classroom," Limberg said <a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2020/09/17/hologram-technology-to-launch-classroom-of-the-future/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>in a press release</u></a>. </p><p>The accounting professor is the first adopter of the new product, called <a href="https://www.recourse.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Recourse</u></a>, from local company Contextual Content Group. </p><p>Formed late last year, CCG is focused on creating content using 5G technology. However, when the pandemic began, the company quickly shifted its focus to solving a new problem that had emerged: how to make distance learning engaging and effective. </p><p>"We really wanted to give professors and students a choice," CEO and Chairman Jim Spencer told Austonia. "That's what we've done." </p><p>Spencer is also a lecturer at UT's Moody College of Communication. After speaking to some fellow faculty members on campus, he realized CCG could help address the issues facing his colleagues. </p><p>A hologram—enabled by 5G's high bandwidth capacity and near real-time processing speed—achieved the university's goals of keeping professors safe while enhancing the online classroom experience and allowing for the possibility of expanded use across campus. </p><p>When Spencer told Joe Stephens, senior assistant dean at McCombs, his idea, Stephens had some questions but quickly got on board. </p><p>"We know hybrid delivery is something we're going to have to work through for a while because there's no flip of the switch back to normal," Stephens said. </p><p>Armed with a contract from the McCombs School of Business, CCG began prototyping the Recourse product and developing it based on feedback from professors. </p><p>"The team works around the clock, and there's just a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm to try to help solve a real problem at UT," Spencer said. </p><p>In mid-August, when the fall semester began, Limberg's hologram began teaching in the classroom while the real Limberg simultaneously lectured before cameras in a safe studio. Students asked him questions and received answers in real time. </p><p>Overall, the feedback has been positive, Stephens said. In addition to helping give students a positive in-person experience, the Recourse program has helped incoming McCombs students get to know their classmates—an experience that may otherwise have been lost given the pandemic.</p><p>"It kind of has this other benefit of creating community," Stephens said.</p><p>Both he and Spencer are hopeful that more professors—at UT as well as other universities—will join Limberg in adopting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg17T-SdW70&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">the Recourse product</a>.</p><p>"We are set up and ready to go and can accommodate more schools and classes at UT," Spencer said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="66c72a0e7d081c781a1af0c08c05197a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="be65a" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyNzg2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTc2MDg5Mn0.C4oTk8FFTCkZMWDLQ64owpPKPDIKTxw-N36o7LzvoUA/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">McCombs Assistant Dean Joe Stephens said he is hopeful the Recourse program can be expanded to other classes next semester as well as other campuses. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Contextual Content Group)</small></p><p>CCG also envisions myriad post-pandemic applications for this product, including a second version that will use natural language processing technology and artificial intelligence to allow for a hologram on-demand.<br/></p><p>As with many pandemic-era developments, the presence of a holographic professor at McCombs transitioned quickly from a novelty to an accepted norm.</p><p>"That's good," Stephens said. "There's not a distraction about it." </p>
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(Pexels)
Austin ISD and other public school districts across Texas are reporting enrollment declines compared to last year, particularly in Pre-K and Kindergarten.
Enrollment at Austin ISD, Eanes ISD and other school districts across Texas is down this year, a trend that officials are attributing to remote learning in the COVID-19 pandemic.
<p>The number of students at Austin ISD is roughly 3,400 lower compared to this time last year, Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde reported to the board of trustees at a meeting on Monday.</p><p>This decline is most concentrated in pre-K enrollment, which is about 1,850 students shy from what it was after the first week of classes last year. The district's overall enrollment is around 80,000.</p><p>"Our surrounding school districts as well as school districts through the United States and in Texas are in fact experiencing some concerns with enrollment," Elizalde said at her first board meeting since being appointed <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20200811/austin-school-district-inks-3-year-325000-deal-with-new-superintendent-stephanie-elizalde" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>last month</u></a>.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Faustinisd%2Fvideos%2F363576598131264%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="560"></iframe></div><p>Compared to this time last year, Eanes ISD's overall enrollment is down 211 students—for a total of 7,954—while its high school enrollment remains unchanged, according to Deputy Superintendent Jeff Arnett. </p><p>"There are a variety of factors, but the pandemic, the economy and other schooling options seem to be most reasonable explanations for the moderate decline," he said in a statement to Austonia. The state of Texas guarantees public school funding based, in part, on student enrollment numbers.</p><p> Elizalde attributed the drop in enrollment at AISD to virtual learning, explaining that some families may not be engaged in remote instruction, and expressed hope that the numbers may shift when the district begins a phased return to in-person instruction on Oct. 5.<br/></p><p>To this end, AISD will launch a campaign to try to increase enrollment to be more in line with district projections, which actually estimated enrollment would grow this year. </p><p>Some of the first students to return to their classrooms will be those in the pre-K and kindergarten grades. </p><p>"The rationale for that is that our youngest learners are the ones who benefit the most from in-person instruction," Elizalde said. </p><p>Other school districts are reporting similar trends.</p><p>As of the third day of class, Houston ISD saw its enrollment fall by more than 30,000 students—to 167,163—compared to <a href="https://communityimpact.com/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/education/2020/09/10/houston-isd-enrollment-down-16-as-it-marks-end-of-first-week-of-school/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>the same time last year</u></a>. Similarly, Dallas ISD reported <a href="https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-isd-attendance-down-by-13500-in-early-weeks-of-school-year" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>a roughly 10% drop of 13,500 students</u></a> and San Antonio ISD said its enrollment is <u><a href="https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/09/14/sas-three-largest-school-districts-report-drops-in-enrollment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">about 2,400 shy</a></u> of its enrollment last year, which was 6,400. </p><p>School districts are already contending with <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20200514/coronavirus-pandemic-hammers-texas-school--budgets" target="_blank"><u>increased costs due to the pandemic</u></a> and pressure to reopen from parents and the Texas Education Agency, which has hinged funding on a return to <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-schools-reopening-2646988352" target="_self"><u>in-person learning</u></a>.<br/></p><p>Private schools across Texas are also seeing an average enrollment decline of 8%, with the most impact in the lower grades, according to the Texas Private Schools Association. However, the trend may not extend to Austin, where Executive Director Laura Colangelo said some private schools have reported "significant increased enrollment." </p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/school-in-a-pandemic" target="_self">School in a pandemic: the struggle between wanting a return to school and student safety</a></h2>
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(Stock Photo)
After weeks of sustained decline, the Austin area is seeing a slight increase in the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases, which local health authorities attributed to spread among older children and young adults.
<p>"We are no longer plateaued, no longer decreasing, but increasing over the past 11 days," Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said during his weekly City Council briefing.</p><p>Travis County reported a seven-day moving average of 69.6 daily new confirmed cases on Sept. 3, the lowest it had been since early June. Since then, however, that average has increased to 105.4. </p><p>Escott attributed this change to increased transmission among children and young adults, pointing to rising positivity rates among high school and college students. </p><p>The positivity rate among 10-to-19-year-olds tested for COVID-19 in Travis County has increased over the last four weeks, Escott said, and is now significantly higher—12% to 14%—than the overall positivity rate, which was 4.8% for tests conducted last week. </p><p>The highest positivity rate recorded by Austin Public Health is among high school students, Escott said, followed by college students.</p><p>On Saturday, 95 University of Texas at Austin students tested positive for COVID-19 when trying to gain entry to the Longhorns' game. The university required the 1,198 students who attended to get tested prior to entering the stadium; the resulting positivity rate was 7.9%. </p><p>Because UT Austin used rapid antigen tests, however, those positive results are not counted toward the county caseload and are instead considered "probable," as per CDC guidelines. </p><p>Despite the uptick in the local daily caseload, the average number of daily COVID hospital admissions has declined over the same period; since Sept. 3, it has dropped from 18 to 14.8. Escott said this is explained by the increase in cases among school-age residents, who have a very low risk of requiring hospitalization. </p><p>"As we see younger people getting infections, our case numbers are going to increase. But the risk of hospitalizations being dramatically less than for older adults, we can see that increase in cases but not expect to see an increase in hospitalizations," he said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5a7a51eb8ff98851d6080b3514d38205" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="8ea03" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDMwNTkwMC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzQwMjc3NX0.4vKuSi7i52rZejeD-MwewOvGqP-EJlAMlwPOv7UsrjU/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The average number of COVID-19 hospitalizations continues to decline, despite the slight uptick in new confirmed cases.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Austin Public Health)</small></p><p><br/></p><p><span></span>Although the risk of hospitalization remains much lower for younger people with COVID, they pose a risk to others, who may be more likely to require hospitalization—or even of dying—from the disease. </p><p>As a result, Escott urged high school and college students, especially, to avoid risky behavior, such as socializing in groups. </p><p>"We have to make sure that that disease does not spread beyond that age group," he said. </p>
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(City of Austin)
Travis County is reporting declines in new confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and positive test results—as well as four new primary and secondary school clusters.
Despite continued declines in new confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospital admissions, four primary and secondary schools in Travis County are now reporting clusters, defined as three or more positive cases at a single location, local health officials said Tuesday. More than 25 cases have been reported across the four schools.
Many of these clusters stem from athletic programs, such as strength and conditioning activities for football teams, Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said. He did not provide the names of the four schools; Austonia filed a public information request for more information and is awaiting a response.
<p>This news arrives one day after The University of Texas at Austin <a href="https://austonia.com/ut-austin-students-covid" target="_self"><u>confirmed two positive COVID cases</u></a> at its residence halls. Student newspaper The Daily Texan <a href="https://thedailytexan.com/2020/08/30/resident-of-off-campus-dorm-scottish-rite-dormitory-tests-positive-for-covid-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>also reported</u></a> on a third confirmed case at the off-campus Scottish Rite Dormitory over the weekend. </p><p>Since classes began last week, the university has reported eight confirmed cases <a href="https://coronavirus.utexas.edu/ut-austin-covid-19-dashboard" target="_blank">on its public dashboard</a>. </p><p>As health officials have predicted, the return to in-person schooling has led to confirmed cases among students. This is why Escott and others have recommended that schools reopen in phases, starting at no more than 25% capacity, <a href="https://austonia.com/ltisd-school-reopening" target="_self"><u>despite pushback from some parents</u></a>. </p><p>"It's important to note that disease spread is happening," he said. </p><p><strong>Continued declines</strong> </p><p>Despite these clusters, Travis County has positive news to report.</p><p>The moving average number of daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases is now 89—as low as it was in early June, pre-surge—and the number of related hospitalizations and testing positivity rate also continue to decline. </p><p>Just over 6% of Travis County residents who were tested for COVID last week returned positive results, according to Austin Public Health data. While disparities continue—with much higher rates of positivity among Native American and Latino residents—the overall rate continues to fall.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a24199187c54cdcad83dd246a1aa7d1b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="bd8e5" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYwMTU5MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzkxMjI0Nn0.om5khVgptWJ8Z5mvzzY4sVIP1aDAt_YwDOOzaMzsKhk/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The overall positivity rate for COVID-19 tests conducted in Travis County last week was 6.2%, but that rate varies widely across demographics. (Austin Public Health) </small></p><p><br/></p><p>Escott said he would like to see the positive rate fall below 5% for all demographics before moving to <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-covid-stage-3" target="_self"><u>a Stage 2 risk designation</u></a>, which comes with fewer restrictions. </p><p>Area ICUs are also out of "present danger," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said Tuesday, with local hospital systems Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health and St. David's HealthCare reporting a combined occupancy rate of 73% on Monday. </p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c4cca8f57ac3b53d05ec9f8a687e32ab" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="20349" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYwMTU5Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTg1Nzg0OX0.-X-czZIJJer3xB3Cn7lMM2_d7_HJtDmHtpFsve87RgE/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Austin metro is reporting fewer COVID-related hospital admissions and a lower ICU occupancy rate. (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/RationalAnarchy" target="_blank">Rational Anarchy/Reddit</a>) </small></p><p><br/></p><p>But this does not mean Austinites should relax their precautions, especially given that Labor Day festivities and continued school openings could lead to an increase in new cases.</p><p>"On June 10, we were at less than 90 [new confirmed daily] cases [on average]," Escott said, comparing it to the current average. "It only took us three weeks to reach our peak of 558 cases a day … but it took us two months to get down from that peak." </p><p><strong>Other news</strong> </p><p>Austin Public Health released the names of long-term care facilities that have reported outbreaks after previously refusing to do so, citing privacy concerns.</p><p>Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office ruled in July that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission should disclose such information, according to <a href="https://foift.org/2020/07/20/attorney-general-ruling-rejects-most-texas-hhsc-arguments-for-withholding-identities-of-nursing-homes-with-covid-19-outbreaks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>a news release</u></a> from the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. </p><p>The nonprofit had advocated for the release of such information, arguing that revealing the names of impacted facilities "does not identify an individual resident." </p><p>Escott included the names of local facilities with current clusters in his weekly update to council members and county commissioners. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="78fb3a3304a76a4df94fe5a4c2a0f30e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="3a637" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYwMTU5Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODU0ODA1NH0.-AWW9NvhIpPzAUZjKlsLipdyT3mFrzDkv9_p3wtFvo0/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott shared the names of local long-term care facilities that have COVID clusters for the first time on Tuesday. (Austin Public Health)</small></p>
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Lake Travis school board requests extended virtual learning period, but some students can return sooner
01 September
(Lake Travis ISD)
Parents spoke in support of reopening at a special called meeting of the Lake Travis ISD board of trustees on Monday evening.
The Lake Travis ISD board of trustees voted 4-3 on Monday evening to approve a waiver request to the Texas Education Agency to extend the virtual learning period an additional four weeks, with exceptions for families who meet certain conditions and choose to return sooner.
Families with students in pre-K, elementary, 6th grade, 9th grade and special education programs, as well as LTISD district employees with children in the district, may decide to return to in-person schooling as of Sept. 8. The remainder will have the option to return in person as of Sept. 21.
<p>Parents spoke overwhelmingly in support of reopening during the public comment portion of the special called meeting. </p><p>Jason Blair, whose three triplets are kindergarteners, urged the board to defy Austin-Travis Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott's recommendation that schools take a phased-in approach to reopening.</p><p>"These are such small numbers," Blair said of the COVID-19 case fatality rate among school-age children. "And yes, one kid means a lot, but there's more to this."</p><p>Escott cited preliminary data in July that suggested between 40 and 1,370 of Travis County's 192,000 school-age children could die from COVID-19 if schools reopen too quickly. In recent weeks, he has said there is too little data to know what will happen if children return to school and that districts have to weigh the cost of virtual learning against intermittent closures if schools reopen only to see outbreaks emerge. </p><p>The TEA allows schools to extend their virtual period for some students up to eight weeks without losing funding, so long as the second four-week period involves "at least some on campus instruction" each day. Once the eight-week period is completed, school districts are required to provide on-campus learning to any families who choose it. </p><p>About 60% of LTISD families have indicated that they would like to return to in-person learning on campus, a district spokesperson confirmed to Austonia. </p><p>Parents organized a prayer circle outside of the building where the meeting was held, with at least some attendees praying for reopening, <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/education/set-for-school/lake-travis-isd-to-discuss-back-to-campus-plans-including-phased-in-approach/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to a report by KXAN</u></a>. </p><p>Kristin Hall told board members that her second grader had sought counseling as a result of school closures.</p><p>"You can't form those relationships [with teachers] over a Chromebook," she said. "They need to be in-person. They need that relationship."</p><p>Jose Cantu, another parent, said he is concerned about the education gap, especially for Latino students, and that teachers should be considered essential workers.</p><p>"If ultimately they feel that the risk is too high, then I suggest they find another career," he said. </p><p>More than two-thirds of LTISD's 10,695 students were white <a href="https://schools.texastribune.org/districts/lake-travis-isd/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>during the 2018-19 school year</u></a>, compared to 27.4% statewide. Just over 12% of their students were economically disadvantaged, compared to more than 60% statewide, and 6% were enrolled in bilingual or ESL programs, compared to nearly 20% statewide. </p>
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(Austonia staff)
Two University of Texas at Austin dorm residents tested positive for COVID-19.
Two students living in on-campus residence halls have tested positive for COVID-19, a University of Texas at Austin spokesperson confirmed Monday.
<p>"Following our protocols, the individuals have been isolating and public health professionals have reached out to notify primary close contacts … advising them to get tested and self-quarantine," UT Austin spokesperson J.B. Bird told Austonia.</p><p>Bird said other contacts of the infected students were advised to self-monitor for any symptoms, practice social distancing and sign up for testing through UT's <u><a href="https://thedailytexan.com/2020/08/23/how-to-get-tested-for-covid-19-at-ut-austin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Proactive Community Testing program reserved for asymptomatic testing</a>.</u></p><p>The students live in Jester and San Jacinto residence halls and have been isolated, according to a <a href="https://thedailytexan.com/2020/08/31/two-ut-austin-dorm-residents-test-positive-for-covid-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>report by student newspaper The Daily Texan</u></a>. </p><p>Residents of the <a href="https://thedailytexan.com/2020/08/30/resident-of-off-campus-dorm-scottish-rite-dormitory-tests-positive-for-covid-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Scottish Rite Dormitory, an off-campus house for women, received notification</u></a> on Sunday that one of their peer residents had tested positive for COVID-19. </p><p>Prior to classes beginning on August 26, <a href="https://austonia.com/ut-researchers-estimate-up-to-183-students-will-arrive-on-campus-with-covid-19" target="_self"><u>UT's own researchers estimated up to 183 students</u></a> would arrive on campus during the first week of the semester already infected with the disease.</p><p>Since classes began last Wednesday, five people in the campus community have tested positive, according to the <a href="https://coronavirus.utexas.edu/ut-austin-covid-19-dashboard" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>university's COVID-19 dashboard</u></a>. (The dashboard does not yet include cases reported over the weekend.)</p><p>The university previously announced it has the capacity to test <a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2020/08/20/ut-austin-will-test-more-than-5000-a-week-for-covid-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>up to 5,000 asymptomatic people a week</u></a>. During the week of Aug. 23, it tested 678 people, of whom one person received a positive result. </p><p>A number of colleges and universities across the country—including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Notre Dame—have recently shifted to online instruction after outbreaks occurred on their campuses. </p><p>In an Aug. 21 email sent to the campus community, UT Austin Interim President Jay Hartzell said the university will consider a number of metrics in deciding whether to move more classes online or close buildings on campus in the coming weeks.</p>
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Desks are zip-tied and a green "Use" sticker is placed on available desks to practice social distancing in an academic hall at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 24. (Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune)
BY SHANNON NAJMABADI
As schools and universities across Texas begin reopening, families, students and educators are adjusting to remote instruction; schools are preparing to file weekly reports on COVID-19 cases; and universities are providing free on-campus coronavirus testing.
The Texas Tribune spoke to epidemiologists and health experts about what the state can expect with schools and universities resuming online or in-person instruction.
<p><strong>Question: As hospitalizations decline, schools and universities are reopening — <a href="https://austonia.com/ut-researchers-estimate-up-to-183-students-will-arrive-on-campus-with-covid-19" target="_blank">and already seeing outbreaks</a> — and Labor Day is coming up. What do you think the state can expect in the weeks ahead?</strong></p><p><strong>Dr. Ron Cook, professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the city of Lubbock's public health authority:</strong> I think we're all holding our breath on … what opening schools and opening colleges and universities is going to do. ... So I think we're going to see a surge, I think we'll see a surge of positive cases in the next 10 days to two weeks. That [student] population more than likely will do pretty well. But another 10 days after that we may see those that they come in contact with ... may not do so well.</p><p><strong>Catherine Troisi, infectious disease epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston:</strong> It is great news of course <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-covid-stage-3" target="_blank">the hospitalizations have been declining</a>, probably due to better treatment … we've learned a lot about the infection, and the fact that it's younger people being infected and they are less likely to have more severe outcomes and need to be hospitalized. ... </p><p>However, there is concern that the fact that hospitalizations are going down will be taken as a sign that, 'Oh we can go back to normal,' because we're all tired of this. We were tired of it four months ago and now we're really tired of it ...</p><p>We've got a holiday weekend coming up [Labor Day weekend], and we saw what happened … Memorial Day. The fact that schools are opening is a big experiment, particularly the elementary schools and the role of children in the spread of this virus, and there's a lot we don't know. … Colleges — it's less of an experiment because I think we know what's going to happen. Eighteen-year-olds, first of all, think they're invincible. They're not going to die of anything. <a href="https://austonia.com/ut-austin-social-media-backlash" target="_blank">They're social animals.</a> They haven't seen their friends since March. It is understandable that they are not going to keep up masking and, particularly, physical distancing. ... </p><p>The short answer to your question is, yes, we are concerned. … We've got these three things happening and I would predict that we're going to see an increase in cases.</p><p><strong>Dr. James McDeavitt, dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine:</strong> I've got a forecast and I've got a fear. My forecast is hopeful, but my fear is that history could repeat itself. We had what we thought was a surge in April that turned out not to really be a surge, but sort of an appetizer. And then we hit all the events of the summer. ... We skated right up to the point that we were risking overrunning our hospital system capacity, though thankfully we never did.</p><p>Well, now we've come to the backside of that surge, and my fear is that we'll lose our focus. We still have a relatively immunologically naive population out there that is susceptible to the virus. ... With upcoming holidays, school reopenings, a looming flu season, there are a lot of dynamics at play that could reignite the spread of the virus.</p><p>I don't think we can adopt an attitude that the calvary is going to ride in to rescue us — I don't think a vaccine will emerge and suddenly the virus vanishes. … My guess is by December we will probably see one of the vaccines in current phase three clinical trials demonstrate adequate safety and effectiveness and will start to be distributed. But to get to the point that adequate numbers of people – or high risk subpopulations of people – are actually vaccinated to the point we develop a degree of herd immunity, I think we're looking at springtime. And that's if everything goes like clockwork, which it won't...</p><p>So the reality is if we are going to be able to resume some semblance of life as we knew it before COVID-19, we need to adopt good masking, distancing and hygiene practices for a good long while — for months to come. We will have a vaccine, we'll get there, and this will end. But it's not going to be tomorrow — so I think that's important for people to get their heads around that. We're in this — all of us together — for the long haul.</p>
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