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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not allow my child on school trip due to coronavirus

102 replies

SunnyMiami · 01/02/2020 13:06

Hi all

My 6 yr old child is due to go on a school trip next week to Manchester City Centre. Part of their trip will be going on a sight seeing bus and visiting the library.

As Manchester has the second largest Chinese community in the U.K and with the Chinese New Year having just passed, it is to be expected the city has had a lot of families/tourists from China visiting the city, used the buses etc.

AIBU to be concerned about letting my child on this trip and to think the school is taking an unnecessary risk considering what’s currently happening?

Would you let your child go on this trip?

Tia.

OP posts:
Aragog · 01/02/2020 14:17

YABU. I'm glad you've realised that it would be somewhat silly to stop such a trip. We can't live our lives scared of every possible risk, especially very small ones.

I'm in Sheffield. We have a really large Chinese community, mainly due to the amount of Chinese students we have here I think. I have at least 2 or 3 Chinese children in the infant school I teach. I am also immunocompromised and in the middle of a flare up of my condition. I will still be heading back to work on Monday and teaching these children, and I will still be going out and about in my city to do my normal life.

SnoozyLou · 01/02/2020 14:17

Yes.

Aragog · 01/02/2020 14:18

Our school have cancelled a trip like that.

Your school have cancelled a trip to the local city centre, because of fears of Coronavirus?!?!

MargotB7 · 01/02/2020 14:19

Also I don't think it's helpful for people to be unkind to OP. She got anxious, asked a question and graciously accepted the responses. There's absolutely no need for nastiness.

Exactly

BambooWhoosh · 01/02/2020 14:20

I can totally understand thinking like that. However there are lots of Chinese people in Manchester and I haven't heard of any cases there. I would let them go on the trip.

MargotB7 · 01/02/2020 14:24

The Hmm is so condescending

x2boys · 01/02/2020 14:27

My son actually went to China town with his school.on Thursday ( he goes to a special school and they ofen take them out and about you can't avoid people ,the two confirmed cases are both students at York university apparently ( according to sky news) they could have mixed with other students who come from all over the UK people can't avoid everywhere.

Cath2907 · 01/02/2020 14:30

You are officially Dagenham (2 stops from Barking)!

DecemberSnow · 01/02/2020 14:30

Should people in London never go out again, Just because there has been terror attacks and the chance of them hitting London again is high ?

CakeandCustard28 · 01/02/2020 14:33

You’re not being unreasonable you’re being ridiculous. Maybe we should all go to the Winchester and have a pint and wait for the coronavirus to all blow over while we’re at it?

LesLavandes · 01/02/2020 14:35

Omg. You should be embarrassed by your thoughts. Get a grip

RevolutionofourTime · 01/02/2020 14:36

Blimey. I thought you were going to say your DC is off to China.

But Manchester?

At least please tell me he’s had a flu shot. That’s more of a risk than corona in Manchester. (I’m not singling out Manchester, the same is true anywhere in the UK).

keyboardwarrior1 · 01/02/2020 14:37

Around 30 people die in UK every week in road traffic accidents. Many more are seriously injured. Does this make you want to lock your family inside the house?

Curiositykilledthecat113 · 01/02/2020 14:47

Don’t be fucking racist? ‘High Chinese population’ Jesus Christ

Tfoot75 · 01/02/2020 14:49

It is a type of flu, just a new strain, the global concern comes from the fact that it is unvaccinated and there is no natural immunity in the population so it will spread quickly. It is no more dangerous or more likely to be fatal than another strain (AFAIK) , I don't think that otherwise healthy people have anything to fear, similar to swine flu and bird flu the first year they began. Absolutely no need to cause any worry in people in this country. If we do have an epidemic here, then fair enough, but given we're a western country and have already taken action to isolate travellers and will be testing and isolating everyone with flu symptoms and any connection to China its incredibly unlikely at the moment.

MargotB7 · 01/02/2020 14:58

Don’t be fucking racist? ‘High Chinese population’ Jesus Christ

I don't think she was being racist. She meant that there is more chance that the Chinese people had recently to China than anyone else seeing as they could have family there FFS

MargotB7 · 01/02/2020 14:59

Been to China

YappityYapYap · 01/02/2020 15:03

TheGirlWithAPrince. 260 people have died? 8,800 people died in the USA alone from flu these past few months. It's a non event and people are getting ridiculous over it. It killed people that wouldn't be able to fight a cold off well, it hasn't killed healthy people

atomicblonde30 · 01/02/2020 15:03

Ffs.

Mate you’ve got more chance of catching it from me (a white woman) I live with people who have just returned from China and HK.

Findumdum1 · 01/02/2020 15:04

It's NOT "a type of flu". It's not an infuenza virus. Its a coronavirus. A new/novel one. The 7th one known to have crossed over from animals and infected humans. The previous ones were SARS and MERS. It will likely have a similar progression to SARS, though novel viruses are, of course, unpredictable in the early stages.

WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles · 01/02/2020 15:07

OP HAS SAID SHE WAS BEING A DICK UNREASONABLE Grin

According to my local DC, people are actually wearing masks in Manchester City Centre (I don't know if any MNers can confirm or deny this).

Yehdivvy · 01/02/2020 15:07

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51337400

Well the person being treated in the UK for corovirus is a British University student. By his name he doesn't sound Chinese but I could be wrong. You do know it is an indiscriminate virus, it'll infect anybody with a weak immune system regardless of race. How strong is your immune system OP?

RevolutionofourTime · 01/02/2020 15:09

@Tfoot75, you are quite wrong. This virus is a lot more dangerous than the flu. And it’s not a flu. It’s a completely different virus that causes respiratory failure.

The death rate for SARS was around 11%. MERS around 30-40%. Flu = 0.01%. Not at all the same.

Of course this new coronavirus is a cause for worry on a global scale, but hardly something to worry about in Manchester.

atomicblonde30 · 01/02/2020 15:09

Im from the steel city too @Aragog!

Our Chinese population is very large diverse mainly due to student but also British born Chinese people with settled parents.

TheMotherofAllDilemmas · 01/02/2020 15:17

One thing that I find strange is that we are here being told that the Coronavirus is likely to be mild and only a problem for people with certain conditions... while we are ferrying and quarantining people out of China.

I would allow my son to go in the trip as I’m a firm believer that if it is your turn to die you cannot hide from it, but I wouldn’t judge you for keeping him at home.

Having said that, if your worries are confirmed you need to keep him and the whole family locked inside for possibly months or years while the epidemic subsides as surely, people that you know will eventually be infected by it.