Schools with Covid 19 cases in UK

[guilttripjourno]

Just saw this tweet.

Numbers climbing especially for England

100 UK Schools with Coronavirus infections in its population

• Wales 1
• England 11
• N. Ireland 15
• Scotland 73

twitter.com/ToryFibs/status/1301599811863539713?s=20

There are primary schools in Scotland's total though, but not in that poster's area. There have been plenty of primary cases reported. My secondary child goes to school and comes home, walks to and from with children in his class, doesn't mix with others.
He doesn't 🤞 have Covid but has already been off school with some nasty cold.

Could you please provide a link

I've just googled - from four days ago though so more since then

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-53833823

Thanks.

In March before the schools closed there were probably thousands of cases in schools. Back then you only got a test if you were in hospital. Some estimates have put the number of daily new infections in March in the hundreds of thousands range.

So the chances are, it was probably already in your child's school in March. The numbers now are so slow it's really not worth worrying about. The time to worry will be when hospital admissions and deaths start to rise again substantially because then we will know we have uncontrolled community spread.

Shouldn't we plan to stop the scenario you envisage. We will helpless as in March when Hospitalization and deaths rose exponentially. This is herd immunity all over again.

It is very different from March.

Schools have different practices in place.
We know what to look for.
Test and Trace is in operation.
Everyone is/should be social distancing in general.

You can't keep schools off indefinitely.

• it messes up mental health of children
• it messes up their education
• it prevent parents from working
• it screws up the economy which in turn will lead to more deprivation and mental health problems and physical illnesses

Send schools back as safely as is practical. Keep an eye out for symptoms, isolate and test if needed.
Jump on areas where it starts to gain hold before it does so too strongly.

But we are. That's what test and trace is about with testing open to anyone. We're nowhere near the same situation we had in March. Schools have extra measures in place, lots of people are still working from home, nightclubs closed, large events cancelled. Everyone likes to shit on the government and the British public but every action, no matter how small, puts us in a better place than we were in March. So I don't understand the point of focusing on small numbers and trying to panic everyone.

I'm no Tory fan, I'm a member of another party and think Boris is a wanker but I think a little rational thought is needed.

I'm not in the least surprised. I was always sceptical at the insistence that children didn't transmit the virus. How can anyone know that for sure? There's no way of knowing who is passing the virus on asymptomatically.

And why would a child with the virus be less likely than an adult to spread the same virus?

I feel really sorry for teachers and classroom assistants at this time. I do want my DDs to go back to school (the lengthy absence has been very damaging to them), but I am concerned at the way teachers' legitimate concerns are being dismissed.

There will be cases in schools. Who thought there wouldn't be? The virus is here to stay for the time being. The important question is how many of the new cases are being admitted to hospital with serious complications. I believe new hospital cases are very low. There are none where I work despite infection rates going up slightly.

@Rollmopsrule

I think that now that people who have been shielding have started to come out of isolation, the number of hospital admissions is likely to rise again. People are still dying in large numbers in the US and also Brazil and other Latin American countries (and in India), so complacency should be avoided.

I'm not saying that schools shouldn't reopen, as we need to regain some normality. But we would be unwise that vulnerable people are less at risk from the virus than they were before.

Those shielded people could have been given an option to shield further and keep their kids at home. That decision has been taken away from the vulnerable.

[quote Mittens030869]@Rollmopsrule

I think that now that people who have been shielding have started to come out of isolation, the number of hospital admissions is likely to rise again. People are still dying in large numbers in the US and also Brazil and other Latin American countries (and in India), so complacency should be avoided.

I'm not saying that schools shouldn't reopen, as we need to regain some normality. But we would be unwise that vulnerable people are less at risk from the virus than they were before.[/quote]
This is where my own issues come to the fore. As a parent of a school aged child, with a vulnerable husband, there's no middle ground.

I am extremely lucky to have a supportive headteacher who understands our issues as parents and has addressed my concerns directly. The government have done feck all to address school openings for children with vulnerable parents. All documents and guidance released offers no solution or flexibility, even in the event of rising cases in the area. Their approach is basically telling me to trust the gov and send my kid in until THEY decide a local lockdown is necessary. What will they say if, God forbid, my extremely vulnerable husband ends up in ICU? I won't hear sorry.

I know that, OP, I know people who are shielding and I'm vulnerable myself, as is my DH, who has asthma. But he's WFH so we're low risk. Teachers are not, and obviously some of them will be vulnerable, too.

So yes, I'm worried myself, but as a parent I'm prepared to take the risk. Plus I only have to worry about catching COVID from my 2 DDs; teachers have 30 children to potentially catch it from.

Not only 30 students. They will teach other classes as well. From fellow teachers and staff.

TeenPlusTwenties Test and Trace is in operation, but not very well. It should be headed by a medical professional, not a failed head of an internet service provider.

That is my main concern.

'So what? We knew this would happen. It doesn’t change the fact that schools need to be open. People just have to isolate, wait for it to pass, and get back on with it. Covid is going to be with us for years, we have to learn to live with it. Some people will die but the vast majority won’t. Same as with all infectious diseases.'

True but I really do feel sorry for teachers having such constant, intense exposure. I now think face covers should be mandatory in classrooms. People are perfectly audible through them and if it stops even one airborne droplet infection then it is worth it.

NHS theatre staff have always worn masks, now everywhere else in the NHS does. Everyone is able to understand each other perfectly. Why not use them in all schools not just those in high infection rate areas?

Very true, sadly. Or from parents at home time. I really am worried. I've just about come out the other side after long-term Covid and there's absolutely no certainty that I have any immunity as a result. So the thought of catching it again is scary.

Mittens030869 I can understand the worry regarding shielding completely. Fortunately should someone develop more serious complications hospitals have more treatments at their disposal to treat successfully and also prevent ICU admissions. Knowledge and treatments have evolved so much in such a short time.

I do have experience working with patients that are in the vulnerable / shielding groups and most survived which does give me great hope. My Mum has been shielding and I'm now reassured that should she contract the virus she will be more likely to survive.

Of course unnecessary risk should be avoided but school is a necessity. The processes in place will help keep numbers down. People are free to do their own risk assessments and decide if they can send their kids to school depending on individual circumstances.

@Rollmopsrule

I realise that it's a necessity and I want my DDs to go back to school. Mostly I don't think about it, it's a risk that I accept is there. But pretending the risk isn't real for a lot of people is also not fair. We're not just being hysterical about it.

From the BBC link;

"The Scottish government has stressed that these are part of community clusters which have had an impact on schools, rather than school-based clusters."

"It is not thought that the virus has been transmitted within schools."

There’s about 1000 a day so some are clearly going to be in a school environment.
Stop scaremongering

I would have been more assured iff they said "" it has been confirmed not thought""
Do you think with the narrative the governments have played they will allow their departments to say it was school transmission. Some days back BBC news said that cases in 2 Glasgow schools were school transmission.

Scaremongering was quoted for brexit as well. People need to look at facts.