To send my kids to school with coughs if they’ve tested negative for coronavirus?

[DragonLegs]

They tested negative on Tuesday for coronavirus but still have active coughs. They are perfectly well in themselves though, haven’t had any fevers just mild coughs. Is this okay? I’m not sure what’s meant to happen, as potentially they could have a cough for weeks!

My son coughs a lot in autumn, he has asthma. I'm wondering how it's going to work with school in this situation, I can't have him tested for Covid every time!

@Hotpinkangel19

My son coughs a lot in autumn, he has asthma. I'm wondering how it's going to work with school in this situation, I can't have him tested for Covid every time!

It's a new continuous cough, if he regularly has a cough due asthma he wouldn't need to be tested each time anyway.

Send them in. Coughs can last for weeks! Surely you don't want your kids missing that much school

Send them in! It will become ridiculous over the autumn, winter and right into spring if you have you stay off school with every little sniffle. Once they’ve been tested and got a negative result then they should go in.

@Hotpinkangel19 you can totally get him tested every time he develops a new continuous cough. I'm asthmatic and I know about coughs. An asthmatic cough should be occasional - if his asthma is causing him to cough continuously then it's not under good control.

Send them in.
They’ve had a negative test whilst having active symptoms. You need to take that as they don’t have Covid.

I would send them in with info though about the fact you’ve done the test etc....

No, you really can't send them in. Test results are very unreliable on children so a single negative test results is essentially meaningless. If everyone takes this type of approach then we are going to see another spike in cases.

It's inconvenient, but the isolation rules are there for a reason.

A family member of mine was not allowed to send her young son into start Reception class yesterday as he had a runny nose!

A little OTT from the school I thought.

@JaggySplinter

No, you really can't send them in. Test results are very unreliable on children so a single negative test results is essentially meaningless. If everyone takes this type of approach then we are going to see another spike in cases.

It's inconvenient, but the isolation rules are there for a reason.

But when you have a negative test your notification says you are fine to go back to work. No isolation necessary.

I have cough/cold symptoms approximately half the time all year round so interested to know this. I tell people before I see them and then it's their choice to meet me or not. Mostly they say, oh yeah, me too, and its interesting that they wouldn't have told me otherwise!

No, you really can't send them in. Test results are very unreliable on children so a single negative test results is essentially meaningless. If everyone takes this type of approach then we are going to see another spike in cases

That is just utter rubbish. Either the tests are to be trusted, or they aren't. You can't just decide that, despite a negative result, people shouldn't go about their business of school/college/work. I know people seem to have forgotten, but there are MANY more viruses floating around than Covid. Do we just shut down entire school years or workplaces because Janet has a cold? NO!

Check with the school but tbh your comment about having to work had me wincing a bit.

I do sympathise. Don’t know wtf we’re all supposed to to (though I work from home I get nothing done when they’re here) but I do fear that people are going to throw their kids into school to prioritise their jobs and that’s really not good during a pandemic!

You aren’t allowed to send them in with a negative test if they still have symptoms. The reason being the tests have a 30% false negative rate so they may v we’ll have Covid. Don’t do it!

@RegularHumanBartender read the NHS guidance and the booklet given with tests. The false negative rate with tests v high. You must continue to isolate after a negative result if you still have Covid symptoms.

If everyone keeps their kids home when they have coughs the a continuous stream of autumn/winter coughs and colds will be a thing of the past. I’d keep them home because everyone that catches your non-COVID-19 cough will have to take time off and be tested. So much wasted money and time so that one parent doesn’t have to miss work and one sick child can drag himself through a school day.

Time for a new way of thinking about things.

I have been wondering this too and what I'm getting from this thread - and the government guidance - and our school's guidance - is that it is COMPLETELY UNCLEAR what we should do if our child gets a cough/cold.

Should they stay home? Should they get a test? If the test is negative can they go back? No-one knows.

Also if it's a cold (i.e. runny nose) but not a cough then you have to lie to get a COVID test as you have to say they have 1 of the 3 official symptoms.

In Scotland verve had a letter from the government about colds and school:

Everyone's immunity is gone from 6 months of social distancing; colds are going to be rampant over the coming months. Fun times.

We’ve, not verve!

@MollyButton

Well my boss at work said he doesn't want people with coughs or colds going in at all - I know its different as we can all work from home. Just because you had a negative test on Tuesday doesn't mean you don't have it - I have heard advice that regardless of whether the test was negative or not you should act as much as possible as if it was, if you have symptoms. Admittedly if you are prone to coughs with hayfever or something, then it might be different. I would consult the school myself.

I can understand that- even if it's not covid, and you have had a negative test, if you go to work with a cough and five people pick it up: 5 people then have to be off and test for covid due to their new cough They also pass it to 5 others at the early stages. Etc etc. It would be a disaster for the company. Better to work from home and avoid spreading anything.

So every single time a child has a cough it is the corona virus? They get tested and they don't have it but they still have the virus?

Do kids get coughs for any other reason?

I know people are paranoid over the virus but this really tops it!

@JaggySplinter

No, you really can't send them in. Test results are very unreliable on children so a single negative test results is essentially meaningless. If everyone takes this type of approach then we are going to see another spike in cases.

It's inconvenient, but the isolation rules are there for a reason.

I’ve asked our school exactly this question and they have said that they expect children in in this scenario.

The test is not 100% accurate; at present it is thought to detect approximately 70% of coronavirus infections. A negative test does not mean that you stop self-isolating if you have coronavirus symptoms.*

I’d prefer people to stay home with their lurgies. I think it’s utterly antisocial to spread it through your schools and workplaces.

Schools are happy to take children with a negative test result, though you’ll probably be required to provide a copy of this as they are coughing . It really depends if they’re well enough to be there.