Wahyu Oktarizaldi

Maria Niayu Risma Novianti

Composition I – GCOM1304 – B
December 5, 2020

School and College Should Reopen Offline in January

“On 11 June 2020, a private university student from Bogra, Bangladesh (aged 22 years) and
his mother (aged 47 years) committed suicide by ingesting poisonous gas tablets together in a
forest near where they both lived. The day before the suicides, because he had arranged for a
broadband connection, the student's father insisted that his son complete online tests. However,
the son was determined to do the tests on campus. Consequently, a huge argument between the
father and son ensued and the son felt oppressed by his father. Later that evening, the son’s
parents had further arguments about the situation. As a result of the arguments, the mother and
son engaged in a suicide pact and killed themselves the next day after the father had left for
work.” (Mamun et al) After reading that story, every Indonesian will think that Indonesian
government should reopen the school sooner so that case does not happened in Indonesia. But,
many people still argue that school reopening should be delayed for a little longer even some
people want to be delayed for another semester.
Most of those who recommend strongly for keeping schools closed are based on the direct
consequences of possibility of a child may passing the virus on to another child that also passes it
on to those whom at risk categories who might be dead because of it. (Harris) Children of all
ages were susceptible to COVID-19 and no major difference in gender was found. Although the
clinical manifestations of COVID-19 infant cases were usually less serious than those of adult
patients, young children were susceptible to infection, particularly infants. The distribution of
COVID-19 cases for children varied with time and space. (Dong et al) Even though children are
vulnerable to be infected by COVID-19, but most of children’s cases are still less symptomatic
than adult’s cases. A notable feature of the COVID-19 pandemic is that only less than 2 percent
of the total cases of COVID-19 occur in children and most develop only mild illness. Mortality
was very rare even when children with co-morbidities were reported to be at risk of serious
illness. There were many asymptomatic infections noted. The majority acquired infection in
family clusters from close contact with adults. (Kuttiatt et al) So far, statistics show that children
under the age of 18 account for around 8.5 percent of confirmed cases, with relatively few deaths
and typically mild illnesses compared to other age groups. (“COVID-19”) Children with
COVID-19 are usually less likely than adults to have serious symptoms or to have an
asymptomatic infection, meaning they do not have any disease signs or symptoms. From early
March to late July 2020, a study of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization data from 14 states in
The United States showed that the median rate of COVID-19-related hospitalization among
children was more than 20 times lower than the adults, children were 8.0 per 100,000 population
while adults were 164.5 per 100,000 population. (“Considerations”)
 WORKS CITED

Mamun, Mohammed A., et al. “Mother and Son Suicide Pact Due to COVID-19-Related Online
Learning Issues in Bangladesh: An Unusual Case Report.” SpringerLink, Springer US, 7
July 2020, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00362-5. Accessed 26 November
2020

Harris, Douglas N. “When Should Schools Reopen Fully in-Person?” Brookings, Brookings, 29
September 2020, www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/09/29/when-
should-schools-reopen-fully-in-person/. Accessed 24 November 2020

Dong, Yuanyuan, et al. “Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Children in China.” American

Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 June 2020,
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/145/6/e20200702. Accessed 24 November 2020

Kuttiatt, Vijesh S., et al. “Should Schools Reopen Early or Late? – Transmission Dynamics of
COVID-19 in Children.” The Indian Journal of Pediatrics, Springer India, 16 June 2020,
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12098-020-03401-0. Accessed 24 November 2020

World Health Organization. “Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Schools.” World Health

Organization, 18 September 2020, www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-
2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-schools.
Accessed 24 November 2020

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Operating Schools during COVID-19: CDC's
Considerations.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 October 2020,
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html.
Accessed 24 November 2020