Are there likely to be blanket school closures?

[asblindasabat]

A person I work with today said that she wouldn’t be surprised if the government made the decision to close all schools in the UK because of the Strep A outbreak.

Are we really at that point? When they closed in March 2020 they were closed for months so I really hope not!

Your memory is faulty. It made the press multiple times back in 2018. For example:
www.cnn.com/2018/03/27/health/scarlet-fever-surge-in-cases-uk-intl/index.html
www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/929536/scarlet-fever-symptoms-rash-outbreak-signs
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/north-east-three-times-many-14494087

to show but a few.

Sadly up to twice as many children die from chickenpox in this country each year (8-17 in the years leading up to the pandemic but only 4 in 2020). Not nice statistics but this puts it into perspective that schools will not close.

In March 2020 and January 2021, schools were closed because of the lack of teachers available. This was, in part, due to the need to isolate- in March 2020 we couldn't even really access testing, so any member of staff with a cough had to isolate for a week. As you can imagine, you quickly end up with no teachers!

Schools were closing or partially closing anyway, so the blanket closure in March 2020 was more in response to this. In January 2021, it was in part due to action, including a threat of legal action against the DfE from teachers/headteachers unions.

Unless things change drastically, I expect we will see closures of individual schools with outbreaks (as you would for something like measles, too), but not blanket closures across the country.

If I was a primary school I would give them the option to do home learning or close the school as I know some parents are hysterical at the minute.

However, I can’t see it ever happening as there was so much up roar over the schools closing during covid.

Even if the risk of serious illness or death increased I don’t think they’ll ever close the schools and simply say parents can keep the children home if they choose to.

Again like with covid, a big issue we’re currently experiencing is staff being off because they have young children who are poorly.

My mum was talking about Strep A today, not realising it’s Scarlet Fever. Then she said then when she was about three, she and my uncle were put in a sanitorium and she remembers being in a cot and feeling like she was in a cage.

Apparently the staff threw an orange and an apple on the ends of the beds but she didn’t get one because she was in a cot. She said she was so sad because she desperately wanted an orange😔. My uncle screamed the whole way there and obviously they weren’t allowed visitors. This must have been during the war.

It's very sad for these families but no.

No they might prescribe blanket antibiotics though

I took my son to the Dr's today she said he has two mild symptoms look out for a rash if he gets worse call in we will prescribe antibiotics as we have a low threshold at the moment

No, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that in very isolated circumstances single schools or clusters or schools might be shut for a limited time (days not weeks) - this has happened before with large outbreaks of transmissible disease such as norovirus but is on the advice of local public health organisations and is obviously a last resort.

I said this on a thread yesterday but there are heaps of parents at dds school not sending them
in. Down to ten in her class today (obviously, the children who are there are counting and gossiping!) The playground is so quiet at pick up and drop off.

It’s an odd school though, parents keep them
off for everything - always huge absences the week before Christmas, Easter and summer holidays anyway.

School keep sending out parentmails saying please do not keep children off, we have had no reported cases of strep A.

So I think it’s a combo of that and the usual end of term can’t be arsed to send them in thing that they get before every holiday.

More chance of them closing the schools as they can't afford heating. My head thinks half days will come in when it gets really cold.

Do you have any stats to back up your claim that shutting schools had no impact on the number of Covid deaths @GreenWheat? I keep hearing people say this but I’ve not seen any data to back this up.

Just found this www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/closing-schools-and-workplaces-linked-to-reduced-early-covid-deaths-finds-study/

Lots of children every year catch Step A, yes it’s more prevalent at the moment but it’s a normal virus going around to which we have antibiotics to combat. No way will they close school.

No.

The Covid closures were because there was no approved tested treatment and no vaccination.

We know that antibiotics work on strep and Scarlett fever.

Absolutely not. People are burnt out by school closures, home schooling and everything else going on. It’s treatable with antibiotics.

Good luck with anyone using me as a conscript🙄 have no idea what area I would go into. Eating enemy rations perhaps to starve them into surrender 🤣

Once again. Strep a is not a new illness, similar numbers get ill with it every year the difference is this year doctors aren't seeing as many patients face to face and so not treating the illness properly.

No way.

Just wait for the teacher strikes!

My son was hospitalised with Scarlett Feaver this summer. It was absolutely awful as he didn't present with a rash and was vomiting so we presumed he had a vomiting bug from preschool.

He actually has tonsillitis now but on antibiotics.

ITV news said they might give all primary children antibiotics as a precaution in hot spot areas.

Well, I’m all for the school to stay open, but IF there is an outbreak in my child’s school, I don’t want them there, I want to have an option not to, or I want a preventive treatment (antibiotics). I’m not willing to play games with their health.

This was the thing with early days of COVID people were taking their children out of school well before schools were closed as they wanted to protect their DC from COVID

Don't be daft. This isn't a novel virus for a start.