To wonder how schools can realistically reopen when there is still a killer virus about with no vaccine?

[JustCantShakeIt]

I’m not talking about them reopening now, in May or June or even September.

Who is prepared to send their DC into a school with hundreds of other DC, where social distancing and keeping a germ free environment is literally impossible, even with the best wills in the world, when there is a life threatening disease floating about which is highly transmittable and you have no guarantee it won’t make your DC severely ill or die.

Social distancing just between parents will be impossible at my DC’s school of over 500 where we all have to wait outside the main gates at pick up time.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m desperate for schools to reopen before my DC turn completely feral, but I don’t see how that can happen until we have a vaccine. We’re being told to stay home and keep our distance now due to the risk, the risk will be the same next month or in 5 months won’t it?

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay I totally agree. I also think we will continue to have lots of half measures that will lead to more people dying and drag out the economic consequences.

Oh wonderful, some more posts from people who don't work in schools telling those that do work in schools the potential severity of the problem.

Children in primary spend SIX HOURS of their day in close contact with other humans. Unless you commute for 6 hours a day it's jusnot comparable.

And by close contact I mean, touching each other, fingers in their own mouths and noses, as well as those around them. Many very young children spit (unintentionally) while they're talking to both their friends and staff.

I have taught for 12 years, exclusively 4 and 5 year olds and your toes would curl at the revolting things I've seen. And I work in a very leafy suburb where you would imagine children are actively encouraged to practise good hygiene. It doesn't happen.
Little children are inherently unhygienic creatures.

A couple of months ago, GPs were still against phone/email communication with patients, now once they've been forced to embrace it, it seems to be working well and has surprised them.

I sincerely hope it doesn't become the norm. I can see a 2 tier situation happening where people who can afford it go to private GPs to have face to face appointments and everyone else has to put up with phone appointments.

Seeing someone is vastly preferable to speaking on the phone.

Little children are inherently unhygienic creatures

As are big children 🤦🏻‍♀️

We aren’t going to eradicate the virus through lockdown. Anyone who thinks if we stay indoors a bit longer it will go away and then it will be safe for us all to come out is in cloud cuckoo land. Nor is there going to be a widely available vaccine any time soon.

All lockdown can so is a) slow the incidence of cases in the general population so hospitals can cope and b) keep vulnerable people out of harm’s way for a while in the hope that more can be learned about how to treat the symptoms.

At the same time, lockdown is having seriously bad health consequences - everything from suicides, domestic violence and child abuse to malnutrition to undiagnosed/un treated cancer and other serious conditions. Even leaving aside the massive economic and educational consequences of a prolonged lockdown, the Government has to weigh up what is the lesser of the two health evils - and soon they will decide that lockdown must partially end and the right place to start will be with those who are least vulnerable to infection. As it seems has the German government has done: it is about to reopen primary schools. The UK government will be watching that very carefully to see what effect it has on the Germán stats.

Aren’t the German government only opening the final year of primary and secondary, with a review after two weeks. Although I’ve also seen that kindergartens and primary schools will remain shut.

The Germans also have a much better testing and tracing system than we have and schools will be required to have strict hygiene policies. It’s not exactly schools reopening in the way some posters on here are imagining.

Releasing lockdown in the UK isn’t going to lead to more cancer patients getting their treatment. Probably the opposite.