“Parents defied a county health department’s orders and sent their COVID-infected child to school last month, triggering an outbreak among the students,” Huffington Post reports here.
The story says 7 other students at an elementary school in Marin County, California, “subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 and 75 students had to quarantine, which meant they could not travel or visit relatives over Thanksgiving week.” A local newspaper says 8 of the quarantined kids have tested positive (see story here).
The parents in question were advised that one of their two children had tested positive, and were told to keep them both at home and inform the school. They did neither, nor did they return calls from contact tracers. The infected child attended classes for 7 more school days before the school found out about it from the health department, which wanted to know why they hadn’t recorded the case. (Because they were in the dark, that’s why.)
The school district superintendent has promised “corrective action” against the parents, but declined to specify what it might be. He did say their kids aren’t at fault and won’t be disciplined. If the parents violated a law or enforceable order, I’d refer them to the prosecuting attorney.
In the wake of the pandemic, our country is being engulfed in bad behavior. People are giving the finger to society in droves. Republican politicians are egging them on. If we are to have an orderly and civil society, there must be consequences for this behavior.
Without knowing who the parents are, we don’t know motivated them. One is tempted to suspect the rancid anti-public-health politics emanating from the Republican Party and political right did, but if the parents were just being selfish then maybe the solution is for the parents of the kids they infected to get lawyers and sue them.
Even if it’s not prosecutable or civilly actionable, this kind of behavior isn’t praiseworthy. It’s reckless, negligent, irresponsible, and abusive of others’ rights.
This type of bad behavior by these parents is actually pretty common.
There are reasons there may not be a civil case from any other parent. First there are damages. Itis the school and health department doing any type of quarantine. Inconvenient but does not spell out damages. No report any of the children have been hospitalized or died. Then there is a problem of proving this one child infected any other child. There is a reason parents do not sue other parents over the mumps, chicken pox or measales. Even when they suspect the other parents have been jerks. Even if they talk to an attorney who then tells them there is no money in this for me. Go away.
The county prosecutor can go after them, but if the parents are jailed and subsequently sent to prison the children become wards of the state or another family member takes care of the kids. This is a zero sum game where there are no winners. Also state schools have running histories that indicate they do not handle epidemics or pandemics well.
It was common before, and now it’s rampant, in part fueled by a misguided political ideology. So what’s your suggestion? Take it on the chin? Or figure out new ways to rein in bad behavior?