By all means, let's open up the schools in El Paso as quickly as we can. There won't be any repercussions at all. Sarcasm folks. Sarcasm. I do believe we need to figure out a way to open the schools however. I just think the decision was rushed and wasn't really thought out. We also got to a point in El Paso where people were getting too comfortable and weren't following the guidelines.

Well, here we are now with numbers going up, especially in the younger age groups. Back on August 28th, there were 138 known active cases in El Paso for teens (age 13 to 19). That number jumped up to 318 in just one month. For children younger than 13, back on August 28th, there were 89 active cases. One month later, that number is up to 235.

One thing I hear a lot is that it's not that big of a deal for kids to have it. They bounce right back. No issues. Well, we don't know that. There have been some concerning possibilities when it comes to the long term effects of COVID-19, especially to the heart. This comes directly from the CDC:

One of the health effects that CDC is closely watching and working to understand relates to COVID-19 and the heart. Heart conditions associated with COVID-19 include inflammation and damage to the heart muscle itself, known as myocarditis, or inflammation of the covering of the heart, known as pericarditis. These conditions can occur by themselves or in combination. Heart damage may be an important part of severe disease and death from COVID-19, especially in older people with underlying illness. Heart damage like this might also explain some frequently reported long-term symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, and heart palpitations.

The risk of heart damage may not be limited to older and middle-aged adults. For example, young adults with COVID-19, including athletes, can also suffer from myocarditis. Severe heart damage has occurred in young, healthy people, but is rare. There may be more cases of mild effects of COVID-19 on the heart that can be diagnosed with special imaging tests, including in younger people with mild or minimal symptoms; however, the long-term significance of these mild effects on the heart are unknown. CDC will continue to assess and provide updates as new data emerge.

So there are possible long term effects of COVID-19, even if a kid "recovers" from it quickly. It could cause problems down the road. Also, what about anyone those kids come into contact with?

Again, I feel I need to repeat this. I believe we need to figure out a way to open the schools. But there needs to be a clear-cut plan and everyone, EVERYONE, has to be on the same page.

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