We were doing ok until we opened all the schools....

[Bbq1]

After lockdown was lifted pre September and pubs, restaurants etc were opened we seemed to have a handle on Covid with cases, hospital admissions and deaths all declining fairly steadily. Since we released millions of school aged children and thousands of teachers etc back into the classroom- boom, cases and consequently deaths, are now growing very rapidly again. It didn't take a rocket scientist to work out that this would happen. I work in a school and I have a 15 year old starting his gcse's so I 100% don't want the schools to close but surely there must be a more workable solution? Couldn't schools be one week, one week off for different bubbles or alternate days? Nobody wants schools to shut but surely in the long term if we don't get something safer in place and just continue sending kids and adults in day after day, then eventually they will close again?

[Remmy123]

No because how do parents go to work?? Do you really want to do this and feck with our kids education?

My kids are at x3 different primary and secondary schools - not one year has closed down!

[GRain5]

Cases were rising before schools opened in my area hence the local lockdowns. It might be one reason but it’s not the only one.

Pubs/restaurants/people going on holiday/care home visits being allowed.

Lots of reasons.

[Kungfupanda67]

This surge isn’t because of schools. They’ve only been back 2 weeks in most of the country, that’s just not long enough to see this number of cases. It’ll be following the ‘everyone go back to the office, everyone go to the pub, everyone get back on the trains and buses‘ mantra of August

[emilybrontescorsett]

What has struck me is this:
The huge amounts of pupils roaming around the streets before school opening time and closing time. Really they should be going straight to school, alone, not meandering past school, calling for friends, who probably aren't in their bubble. Then all walking side by side in large groups.
I'm all for schools being open but what I have seen is ridiculous.

[Keepdistance]

They are denying it's schools.
However there are over 1000 cases in sxhools and several have multiple teachers.
Im quite angry i want my dc at school but there are no measures my 8yo already needed a covid test after a week from a virus from school.

[2X4B523P]

In MY opinion I agree with you 100%.

[Cakestandkitchen]

How do parents work one week on one week off?

[RedRumTheHorse]

We were doing ok until BJ said get back to the office.

[Keepdistance]

The pie chart of outbreaks was
Care homes
Education settings


It will decrease as we wont be allowed tests

[2X4B523P]

@Keepdistance
Latest update is now 1700 schools affected, there was a huge jump with Welsh figures as they have released the official data.

[DelilahfromDevon]

I couldn’t agree with you less.

[Sossen]

That's it you just blame the children for spreading this virus. I suppose it has nothing to do with 17-29 year olds going out to pubs and bars and having house parties and illegal raves, and nothing at all to do with full grown adults refusing to wear masks (when they're able to) not social distancing and regularly meeting with far to many people indoors. Children in this country have been through hell and back. They need school so please don't lay the blame on them or even the goverment for choosing to open schools. Don't get me wrong in general i think that BJ is an idiot but he got one thing right and that was getting kids back to school. Education is so important.

[CodenameVillanelle]

Yes and?
Schools need to be open. A rise in cases is an inevitable consequence. That doesn’t mean schools shouldn’t be open.

[Oly4]

Not according to the Public Health England data

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Any increase in deaths is nothing to do with schools.

Chronology:

Kid is sick (days from school opening to get it)
Passes it to vulnerable person (another few days)
Person gets sicker, declines and dies (maybe two weeks, maybe more)

It takes longer than you think. It's why death rates are a terrible measure because they don't tell you what is happening with infections rather what happened weeks ago.

[Redolent]

No we weren’t. Cases jumped to almost 3000 on Sunday 6th September, less than a week after schools had reopened. That was a big moment, and it suggested that infections had been brewing by late August.

[Racoonworld]

Yes schools are definitely contributing to the rise. Doesn’t mean they should close though, children need a proper education

[Itisasecret]

You are right op and anyone who worked in education knew this would happen. I don’t want schools closed and my own children are in exam years. I really get upset at the thought of them closing again. As anyone who works in education and can now see the virus spreading and the lack of testing priority for staff and their families , we know it’s a matter of time unless this is sorted out.

People on here think wishing something and wanting it, means it won’t happen. Even Boris is rowing back on schools MUST stay open. He’s even said tonight if figures keep rising then it could risk our children’s education and school closures are a possibility if things keep going. No way, really? Yet people on here will still deny it as they don’t want to see what’s right in front of them. Instead of lobbying the government to sort it out, they’d rather pretend it wasn’t happening. Well it is.

[Leafbeans]

It's a risk we have to take imo, there's no way to make schools actually covid safe, but similarly it's criminal to shut them all again.

[Silversun83]

@Sossen

That's it you just blame the children for spreading this virus. I suppose it has nothing to do with 17-29 year olds going out to pubs and bars and having house parties and illegal raves, and nothing at all to do with full grown adults refusing to wear masks (when they're able to) not social distancing and regularly meeting with far to many people indoors. Children in this country have been through hell and back. They need school so please don't lay the blame on them or even the goverment for choosing to open schools. Don't get me wrong in general i think that BJ is an idiot but he got one thing right and that was getting kids back to school. Education is so important.

This.

Cases started rising before schools went back and the highest increase is amongst people in their 20s who are less likely to have school-aged children!

[DonLewis]

More likely to be EOTHO. And a shambles of a track and trace. Then we opened the schools and were gonna pay for that, I'm sure, but it's too early for that just yet.

[User33019385]

Absolutely agree!! I live in a country where cases were extremely well controlled by the end of summer. Even masks were no longer mandatory in a huge majority of places so life was virtually normal. Exactly 2 weeks after schools reopened, cases exploded and shooting up day by day. Masks are back everywhere, all events cancelled, tourism/travel has ground to a halt and second lockdown looming.

[GRain5]

The government probably helped the rise with the eat out to help out scheme. My son and his mates were eating out every chance they got at those prices and then out on the lash at the weekend.

[Eyewhisker]

Words cannot express how angry I would be if schools closed again. We cannot possibly not educate our children.

[jerometheturnipking]

More likely people going on their summer holidays and Eat Out to Help Out, given that infection rates started increasing before the schools went back and that it’s the 17-29 year old age group that was initially driving that.