Covid Tracker – December 1-2

Logo Design by Sarah Feuer, Photo by Benjamin Gamson

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

By Benjamin Gamson, Molly Litvak, and Eli Weiss
December 4, 2020

The Boiling Point is conducting a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but among friends, family and personal acquaintances of Shalhevet community members.

The survey is not scientific. Originally it was posted whenever there was a Town Hall, but it will now be published every other week, and community members including students, faculty and staff have until midnight the following night to respond.

This week’s poll was posted (and linked on Schoology and in other school chats) Dec. 1-2 . There were 103 students and staff who responded. Results are below.

For the second week in a row, the number of students and staff who said that they had ever tested positive for Covid-19 went up — from three in last week’s poll to five this week. The percentage increased from 3.1% of 93 respondents to 4.9% of 103 respondents.

However, some percentages and raw numbers decreased as well, showing that a different group of people responded to the survey than previous ones.

Decreasing was the percentage of students and staff who said they had been exposed to coronavirus. The number declined from 20 people (20.4%) in the Nov. 26 tracker to 17 people (16.5%) as of Dec. 2, apparently reflecting a difference in who filled it out this time.

Similarly, the numbers and percentage of students and staff who responded that someone in their own household had had Covid-19 also declined, from 10 respondents (10.2%) in late November to 7 respondents (6.8%) this week.

And the percentage of community members who know someone who has contracted Covid-19 also decreased between these two polls, from 78.6% (77 out of 98) to 69.9% (72 out of 103).

Likewise, the percentage of people responding who said they knew personally someone who had died from the illness also declined from 17.3% (17 of 98) to 14.6% (15 of 103). This compares with 40 students and staff who knew someone who had died when the Boiling Point Covid Tracker was initiated Oct. 13- 14. That poll had 143 respondents.

Click on the gallery below to see answers to all Dec. 1-2 Covid Tracker questions.

Type “Covid Tracker” in the search box for information on previous time periods.

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Meet the Writer

Benjamin Gamson, Editor-in-Chief

Benjamin Gamson, 12th grade, is in his second year as an Editor-in-Chief of the Boiling Point, having served last year as only the second junior to hold that post himself. Benjamin joined the Boiling Point during his freshman year as a staff writer and became Polling Director during the second semester. As News Editor in his sophomore year, Benjamin managed and edited the Community, Torah and Outside News sections.

Benjamin has authored over 70 articles and podcasts and won awards from organizations including AJPA, JSPA and NSPA. Outside of Boiling Point, he is a member of the Model Congress team and an active participant in the Just Community. When not in school, Benjamin enjoys following politics, current events and baseball, and listening to music.

Molly Litvak, Editor-In-Chief Emeritus

Molly is studying at Midreshet Torah v'Avodah seminary in Jerusalem and will attend Columbia University in New York next year.

Eli Weiss, Senior Editor

Eli joined Boiling Point in his first semester as a freshman. Quickly becoming involved, he became assistant web editor in his second semester, during which he helped redesign the website and get the Boiling Point to become a SNO Distinguished Site for the first time.

Besides web design, Eli does design and takes photographs for the Boiling Point. Outside of Boiling Point, Eli is a programmer of the Shalhevet robotics team, guitarist with the band and a grade representative to the Agenda committee. When not in school, Eli enjoys playing guitar, harmonica and listening to music.