Should teachers be extra vigilant to infection in their every day lives to reduce school transmission?

[WhyNotMe40]

As the latest PHE report states that in June there were more staff than students affected by the covid19 coronavirus, there are suggestions that teachers should take measures to reduce bringing the virus into schools.

Voting: do you think teachers should change how they behave out of schools to protect the school?
YABU yes
YANBU no

Also - what activities or behaviours do you think teachers should avoid or do to further this aim?

@ineedaholidaynow

But surely that is what people should be doing anyway *@Sedona123*

My point is that no, teachers don't need to be "extra vigilant" - whatever that could mean? Everyone (parents, teachers and pupils) needs to follow the guidelines. No exceptions for being younger than 50, or it's someone's 9th birthday, or wedding anniversary etc.

What have you stopped OP? You could apply this to every family of a child attending school. If the teachers put their lives on hold so should every parent and child. No day trips, no mixing, no holidays etc. Not really reasonable though is it?

YABU.

I'm not saying we shouldn't think about what we are doing , but why should we have to change our lives ?

Ps ...we are FAR more likely to get it from pupils than they are from us so should parents and pupils change their ways to protect us?

@Barrowmanfan22

Ps ...we are FAR more likely to get it from pupils than they are from us so should parents and pupils change their ways to protect us?

I think the PHE report said the opposite - well, not the opposite exactly, but that the evidence from June suggests that the biggest risk to staff was other staff, not kids. I think that’s the OP’s point.

@ScarMatty

*Should teachers be more vigilant?

Or should we start excluding pupils on spit on teachers and will purposefully cough on everyone?*

Surely these two shouldn’t be mutually exclusive anyway?! I‘m not a teacher so I have no idea how common this is but I think any pupil who deliberately spits at a teacher should be excluded. It’s an assault, Covid or no Covid.

[quote Monkeynuts18]@Barrowmanfan22

Ps ...we are FAR more likely to get it from pupils than they are from us so should parents and pupils change their ways to protect us?

I think the PHE report said the opposite - well, not the opposite exactly, but that the evidence from June suggests that the biggest risk to staff was other staff, not kids. I think that’s the OP’s point.[/quote]
The PHE report concluded that because much more staff than children were being tested as positive, it must be the teachers spreading it amongst themselves. However they do not test without symptoms and children are largely asymptomatic. Without comprehensive testing and tracing I don't think their conclusion is a fair one to make.
And yet because of this report they are now saying that teachers need to be "extra vigilant" to avoid bringing the virus into schools.

Thinking about it, I do know a few keyworkers who are extra vigilant about following the rules and minimising social contact. For example, my neighbour is a doctor at the local hospital and hasn’t been to visit her elderly mother since the pandemic began. Someone in my NCT group also works in the hospital, including on Covid wards and isn’t coming to (outdoors, socially distanced) meets-ups because she feels she’s high risk and needs to keep her social circle as small as she can.

It’s not different rules for different people but I think it’s pretty common for people to make their own risk assessment based on the nature of their work.

Genuinely and without malice, what sort of a question is that?!

Teachers werent going around trying to get students to cough on them or rolling around in used tissues.

This is potentially a matter of life and death. Teachers are alert and taking it seriously.

The question should be does the government issued guidance protect teachers and give them the ability to do their jobs in a safe manner.

@WhyNotMe40

Yes that’s what I mean - the answer to the previous poster’s question is that parents and pupils aren’t being told to be ‘extra vigilant’ because the report didn’t conclude that staff are far more likely to catch it from kids, it concluded that staff are most likely to spread it.

Is that to me? @Combustablecustard
The reason I posed the question is because I genuinely wanted to know if the average MNetter would think it reasonable if teachers are asked to restrict their private life activities in order to protect schools.
Because that is what is happening. Both in individual schools and generally from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries.

Despite this being based on a report where it was concluded that it is largely staff that spread the virus amongst themselves in school - based on that in June more staff tested positive than children. Even though you need to be symptomatic to get tested, and children are largely asymptomatic.

I already follow all the current rules. Other than going back to full lockdown rules, I'm not sure what else I can do.

And I think I'll be having my 20 min lunch break in my car.

So looking forward to next week

@Combustablecustard various sources and the media are trying to put the responsibility of keeping the virus out of schools onto teachers.

I'm still in denial that it's next week

@ineedaholidaynow I know. Which is more than infuriating.

@WhyNotMe40 was more aimed at others who asked the question leading to your post and probably what I would say to them (in a more polite way) were they here.

Seems ridiculous to be considering putting limitations on what teaching staff can and can do and blaming for them for transmission whilst simultaneously refusing to demand that masks be worn in school.

Well quite.

The government is all spin and no action

Easier to scapegoat teachers than actually do anything to prevent the shit show that's approaching

More teachers than kids would be infected wont tbey, given it affects adults more than kids.

They are literally working their way through the gas lighters manual.

They assume the public are stupid. But they've almost run out of targets and people to blame.

They are scrabbling around in the dark trying to find a way to say schools are safe and when the science and every other restriction they have in place doesn't support their narrative they move on.

They are the ones failing in their moral duty to get schools open.

It's overwhelming, I have been Thursday tired on Tuesday. Maybe wearing masks as they move around the school will everyone acting like nothing is different.

My scientist relative in California has told me the research community there is watching Scotland to see what happens. No masks, no distancing, all in from day 1, class sizes of 30 in small poorly ventilated rooms I take no joy from my DD and I being lab rats.

‘They are being asked not to leave the school premises and grab lunch from a bakery/Pret/Costa.’

Can I have a job at the school that has time at diner to leave site to go to bakery/Pret/Costa?

-misses point of thread entirely-

Lidlfix

Also strike through fail

Combustablecustard

The question should be does the government issued guidance protect teachers and give them the ability to do their jobs in a safe manner

We tried that.

The answer from various arseholes posters was if you don't like them resign.

Schools are safe, schools are safe, schools are safe...

...Teachers need to become hermits else we are all doomed.

They’ve just realised that all the ‘mitigation measures’ that they are implementing in schools don’t apply to the teachers haven’t they? Like teachers being in every bubble, every kid facing the teacher, not able to social distance. Oh no, I’ve just thought, what if the teacher has it?

Still, a week to go, loads of time to sort that out.

Every time a teacher wears a mask, a fairy dies.....