Covid advice is a shambles now?

[coffeerevelsrock]

I've just had to get a PCR as I have cold symptoms and a cough. I have secondary school aged kids so tried to find out what they should be doing. It's a nightmare - it says they don't need to isolate but should get a pcr test, which makes no sense to me as it could take most of next week to get my result and meanwhile they'd be mixing at school?

So I rang 119 for further advice and the guy, after a long pause, said 'my advice is they should self-isolate', which to me contradicts the website advice, though does make more sense. But will the school see it as unauthorised? Off to check. It just all seems so unclear now.

Unfortunately the rules are now designed to keep schools open not keeps children or schools Covid free. I would keep the children off school with 'colds' until you get your PCR results. That way the absence is authorised and the possibility of spreading Covid is reduced.

The official advice is they dont need to self isolate so I imagine school wouldn't authorise them to be off. Why would it take a week to get your results? Most are coming through next day.

You’ll probably have the results by tomorrow morning, I have every time I’ve had a PCR.

School may authorise it, may put it as unauthorised. Schools are doing different things it seems.

The rules are perfectly clear. Sensible - probably not, but clear, absolutely.

Isn’t the rules with anyone getting a PCR test for any reason that you isolate until the results come back negative and then you’re free to go about your business?

@BedTed only if they have symptoms which the OPs children do not.

It's really not clear, it says one thing online and then another when you (or in my case anyway) ring up. Yes, I think I'll keep them off with a 'cold' but the chances of them lying to their friends are zero...

Yes the rules are a bit odd. If no symptoms and even if they are a close contact, they get a PCR but carry on as normal.

My DD1 is off with Covid now. DD2 still going to school all week as normal. No symptoms and it took a few days for her PCR to come back so she would have missed 3 days of school if she had to wait for the all clear.

Op I know it's bewildering but when dd 1 went down the advice for the rest of us is to carry on if we show no symptoms.

Get a pcr and keep working, going to school until it comes back negative or... Positive!

It seems crazy but this is what we have to do, in that I was told by work to work and dc school said its unauthorised if she doesn't go in. Now dc two also have covid but funny enough I don't think she caught it off her sister.

Yes but she maybe positive and in those three days of school passing it into everyone else!!

Yes but she maybe positive and in those three days of school passing it into everyone else!!

Yes everyone knows that but you can't argue with stupid (or the government).

In theory you don't need to do anything. They go to school as usual, if your PCR test comes in positive (mine was back by the same evening last week), they should have a PCR and go to school until it comes back positive (and if negative, continue going).

We did LFTs on DS and DH, DH came up positive and DS negative. Booked them both in for PCRs and I lied to school and said it had come up inconclusive after my positive test. They didn't want him in school until he'd returned a negative PCR. Good thing as he was positive too.

It's just a way of keeping schools open and will help the current unofficial policy of herd immunity. Although my school is on the verge of closing year groups as staff are testing positive quite frequently.

Our schools state they ‘expect all children in school unless they themselves are showing symptoms, even if parents/siblings have positive test’. Bonkers

It’s all just “advice” though isn’t it. What do you do every time you need to assess a risk and make a decision (multiple times every day) without calling 119? It’s people have completely lost the ability to do this since Bozo decided he needed to micromanage every aspect of our lives.

It is a really strange system. I know someone whose husband and daughter have tested positive but son can go to school and she can go to work as usual as they have no symptoms. I think in Scotland the system is different though and family members need a clear PCR before returning to work/school. I may be out of date with that though.

It's all very well letting it rip but local people are reporting they can't get through to 111 ambulances are taking hours.. When they get to a and e etc it takes hours even when booked in.

Yes, the rules are clear. Your advice was wrong.

If you have symptoms, or a positive LFT, you get a PCR and isolate for 10 days unless it comes back negative. Only those with symptoms and/or positive LFTs need to isolate.

If you do a PCR test for any other reason than positive LFT or symptoms (such as travelling overseas or having been in close contact with someone with covid/suspected covid), you don't have to isolate waiting for results, only if the result comes back positive.

Yes, this does mean children are spreading it through schools.

If you keep your child off when they don't need to be off, it'll be marked as unauthorised absence.

I think the UK is currently averaging around 30,000 new cases a day and over 100 deaths. It's not as bad as the over 1,000 deaths a day in January, but it will be interesting to see if deaths rise dramatically over the next few months or whether the curve will remain flattened.

When dd was positive, my text said I didn’t need to isolate but I should have a PCR test, which was negative. Even though I didn’t have to isolate in the community, I couldn’t go to work. I work in the NHS but not clinical.

To my understanding double jabbed people, and children living in a house with someone do not isolate unless they develop symptoms themselves.
Pop to your chemist and get PCR tests and lft tests. Do the PCR on you. You should get the results within 48 hours if you are sending it by post. If you go to a walk-in you normally get results on the same say or next day at latest. Not sure why you think all this will take most of the week.

If kids lft is negative send them school, if positive keep off until they also do a pcr

@coffeerevelsrock

It's really not clear, it says one thing online and then another when you (or in my case anyway) ring up. Yes, I think I'll keep them off with a 'cold' but the chances of them lying to their friends are zero...

It 8s clear, what's on the gov site is correct. The bloke you spoke to have you the wrong advice

You're not wrong. Both kids have had COVID contacts in the last week. Officially, no one needed to tell me that at all AFAIK, but in oldest's case, the school contacted me to let me know, and in DS's class parents of children affected told me and then school contacted.

Oldest's school asked her to take PCR, and keep usual twice a week LFT if negative - she was negative. Son's school asked everyone in class to PCR as there had been 3 cases confirmed on Friday afternoon - his was negative. School have asked to do LFTs for next 10 days (they are a primary school, so not doing as a matter of course). This will be a pain as son has ADHD and is extra sensitive to having things stuck in his face! But obviously we will do it.

In DS's case, affected kids weren't physically or socially close to him but sounds like oldest was lucky, as the affected person was a friend who sat next to her all through a double lesson just before becoming ill but she escaped catching it from him.

Local school had 6 staff take a PCR test last week. They were all in school till result came back and one is positive.
So now one positive case has been mingling with the children as normal.
I think school staff that take a PCR should isolate till proven negative.