Parents cooperating with health officials after New Jersey teen party leads to Covid-19 cluster

[TomCADem]

Source: CNN

(CNN)Parents are now cooperating with health officials after a teen party in Middletown, New Jersey, led to a Covid-19 cluster in the area.

More than 20 teens tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a house party on July 11, Middletown Health Department spokeswoman Tara Berson tells CNN. The partygoers ranged in age from 15 to 19 years old, Berson said.

Earlier this week, health officials attempted to contact parents and teens for contact tracing, but said their response was "less than satisfactory."

Parents have since been more responsive, a statement from Middletown Health Department Director Rich DeBenedetto says in part, "We have received a large response from parents who weren't aware of the situation and thankful that they could address it with their kids and ensure they get tested/quarantine."


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/us/coronavirus-cluster-nj-teen-party/index.html

[PSPS]

1. Parents let 15-year-olds go to keggers now?

The governor is now urging anyone who may have attended the party to come forward and speak with health officials.
"To be perfectly clear this is not a witch hunt to root out anyone who was drinking underage although we do not condone underage drinking, and remember folks, it is illegal. But this is not what this is about. This is a race against the clock to ensure that everyone who may have been exposed to coronavirus is identified before they infect anyone else," Murphy said.

[SergeStorms]

2. I'm sure they don't "let them".

Just about every adolescent sneaks into a party when they're underage. It was a rite of passage when I was a teenager. Growing up in the country, there wasn't much else to do. You can't keep your eye on your kids 24/7. You do your best to raise them and just hope they have the good sense and upbringing to avoid the pitfalls life throws at them.

[ALBliberal]

3. Yep so true.

[LisaL]

13. Most parents probably don't even know their teen is going to these parties.

Then, surprise, everybody in the household is infected with covid, and bye bye grandma and grandpa.

[Igel]

22. In this case the age range

was entirely < 21.

They had enablers who saw nothing wrong with ignoring the law.

It's hard to enforce a law when so many decide to ignore it. (That observation's used to argue for the rescission of some laws.)

[pstokely]

4. it's still spreading even with school out

distance learning won't stop it, what's it gonna take, their Grandparents dying

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Cross reference teen party in Missouri

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142545485

[FakeNoose]

6. This is every parent's nightmare

This can happen anywhere, and it's probably happening all over. Even when the kids are basically good, they can still make dumb choices.

[EllieBC]

7. That's because they're kids.

The pre frontal cortex isn’t fully developed until the early 20s. This is why teens and early 20 somethings engage in risky behaviour or make not always the best choices.

And from what I can see it seems once that pre-frontal cortex does fully develop automatic amnesia sets in and no one remembers being a rash and impulsive teen. Because everyone over 50 was clearly a saint when they were young.

[Kali]

8. LOL

[iluvtennis]

9. pre frontal cortex not fully developed - how true -- I have an 18 year old struggling now. nt

[EllieBC]

10. I remember those years.

I’m in my 40s but I remember doing some things that could have gotten me killed. My parents were very good at double and triple checking my stories and making sure I was going where I said I was but I also became pretty good at getting around them.

Now I have 3 kids. Not one is a teen yet but I’m ready to try my hardest and likely still not get it right. Teens are people discovering themselves and their limits. And learning about societal expectations and which ones are worth following and which ones aren’t. No one does everything their parents want. I mean the GOP are usually the ones who favour authoritarian top down style parenting that should produce good soldiers. But even they have kids that get around them and the rules.

Btw when I was 30 I called my mom and admitted she was right about a lot of things. So if it’s any consolation your kid will probably do the same thing. You were right, ma. Wow was I a dumb kid. Thanks for not giving up!

[moonscape]

14. Worse than Republicans are ministers :) When I was

growing up, ministers kids were the wildest!

[iluvtennis]

20. Thanks for sharing EllieBC. You're very reflective and remember your teen years so you'll handle the

teen years with your kids. And like you know, all teen are different. I have 18 year old twin girls - one does the risky behavior stuff and one doesn't.

Take care and be safe.

[LisaL]

12. Well, now their underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex can literally kill people,

if they sneak out to parties and then infect their older relatives and non-relatives.

[EllieBC]

15. Ok but do you think their parents can jail them?

And btw I love how all this responsibility is being given to them.

Restaurants and bars here are booming. And not with children or teens. With adults. Older adults. Leave the kids alone and let’s fix ourselves first.

[LisaL]

16. Teenagers are contributing to spread.

I've read about many clusters caused by teens attending parties. Yet we should leave them alone? How do you propose to stop the spread of the virus if we leave those contributing to spread alone?
If so many at those parties are getting infected, clearly there is no social distancing or mask wearing.
Yet we supposed to leave them alone so they can just spread covid around?

[EllieBC]

17. You can try your best while understanding

they aren’t going to do what you want all of the time. They just aren’t.

Is this suddenly news to people that teens often do things that are illegal, unethical, or immoral?

[LisaL]

18. Well, in case of covid spread, these things are literally deadly.

[Igel]

23. How about working on both? n/t

[LisaL]

11. This basically good kids can infect their parents or their grandparents, which could easily

kill the older people. It really seems like those younger people are driving the spread now, infecting their relatives, who might end up dead.

[wheelinanddealin]

19. oof

that is rough

[Initech]

21. Yeah let's reopen schools, what could go wrong?

[Igel]

24. I'm torn on the issue.

Because most of the research done with SARS-CoV-2 shows scant reduction in transmission with school closures. Most of the counterexamples ignore confounds. "We opened schools and transmission took off" should be "we opened schools, bars, religious buildings, restaurants, etc., etc., and transmission took off." One is presented as an observation for keeping schools closed; the other makes it unclear how to apportion responsibility, given what we know about how the virus affects different age groups.

All the "close schools to prevent transmission" relies on data from other diseases.

We only accept those results because COVID is just like the flu, I guess. Oh, wait, we look down on eedjits who say that. So difficult to straddle that 3'-high razor blade while doing that heavy lifting.

I think those under 10 should go back to in-person instruction. Put masks on the teachers (they won't stay on the kids, and most mask orders don't cover kids under 10). Few cases are shown to result from kids, kids that young get infected at lower rates even with all their transmission-friendly practices. It's not risk free, to be sure. But it's not even "moderate" risk. Plus that's the age where in-person instruction has the biggest payoff, when distance-learning is truly difficult, when kids need to be helped the most when it comes to abuse and malnutrition. Even just K-2 would be a big step to helping kids with maximum payoff and minimum risk.

Over 10? Iffier. The kids are increasingly more adult in their biology until they're about 16. Then their biology is pretty much adult, even if their brains aren't done maturing.

[EllieBC]

25. Right. We opened all the things for the adults

but we can’t open stuff for the kids because it’s suddenly up to them to shoulder the burden while we get our hair done and buy a pint.

[LiberalFighter]

26. I haven't had to deal with anything like this.

BUT why are parents even letting their kids go out at night? That wasn't something my parents allowed for me and my sisters. We had to account for our whereabouts and had to be in the house by dark if not sooner.