To send my DC back to school with Covid?

[TheChemicalsAintGotYouBaby]

DS tested positive on Sat, and was still a glaring positive last night.

He's due back at high school tomorrow. V few symptoms apart from a snotty nose, and DH and I seem to have swerved it.

He's desperate not to miss the first day of term, and I'm aware that official guidance means that you no longer have to isolate etc if you test positive, if all reasonable steps (masks, distancing etc) are taken. However, I wouldn't be confident he'd remember to do this (little scatterbrain!)

On the flipside though, I don't want to unleash a new infection that will no doubt spread through the school like wildfire.

WWYD?

YANBU - send him. Covids going nowhere and we need to carry on

YABU - keep him off until he's negative

Interesting how you are looking at the two sides of the argument. Let's rephrase it:

Option 1:
Keep child off school for a day or two, to his very slight detriment.

Option 2:
Send child into school with active Covid infection. Potentially pass to lots of people who could then pass to elderly/ vulnerable people. Sometone could actually die.

Err - is that really a tough decision?!

Option 2 involves potential major harm - but it's people you don't know, so that's OK.

Option 1 involves very slight detriment, but it's to your son, so not OK at all.

(eye roll)

Contact school. Ask them what their policy says you should do.

Most school guidance now is 3 days isolation then back in if there are no symptoms.
We did this with our ds and nobody had an issue with it.
They've missed enough school.

There is no point to testing. It doesn’t achieve anything.

Like absolutely every other illness, if he’s well enough to go in, send him in. There’s no reason you shouldn’t.

It achieves the school not grinding to a halt yet again through staff sickness. Kids are usually ok but adults not always so resilient.

No need to be so dramatic. The same could be said of any illness.

It is what it is. For the vast majority of people, covid is nothing more than a mild illness. We cannot continue isolating ourselves. It’s just silly.

I would send my child in with a cold. I would not send him in with 'flu or covid.

With covid I would wait until he had no symptoms at the very least. It's sometimes nothing, sometimes something (like 'flu is) but I wouldn't knowingly pass it on.

I wouldn't send them in but I know you can still work in some places if you have it etc so maybe just ring the school and see what the policy is. I can't imagine them allowing it but you could always ask.

As someone with an immunocompromised child, please don't knowingly send your sick child in with covid. It might be just a mild cold for him, but it could be really, really serious for a kid like mine. I think it's easy to forget if it's not your life, but covid can still be really dangerous for some. It's disappointing to miss the first day of school but not worth putting others at risk for, or setting children at school passing it around to each other and their family members. Please don't send him in.

Would you send him to school with a knife that could harm someone? No of course not.

Same with an infection that could be passed on and someone die as a result. Even if your DS was not 'scatterbrained' (awful term but I get the meaning).

Not being dramatic, realistic most definitely.

I'm pregnant with a very high risk pregnancy and underlying conditions and I've been told by the consultant that I need to not catch covid, it really could kill me or my baby. I'm a teacher and I've started my mat leave early because I can't be in school.

But I still have to send my older child to school and I'm terrified of the risk that she will bring it home. Please don't send symptomatic covidy children to school.

Also, please everyone tell the teacher if they have tested positive - it is legal but guidance is to avoid vulnerable people for 10 days and there is nearly always at least one vulnerable child or teacher in each class. The teacher can do their best to keep the covid positive child and the vulnerable child distanced. In our case, we will take our older child out of school for a week but we can't do that for the next 11 weeks because we can't afford the fine. We are relying on other parents to be honest with the school.

Its a mess and most people are not even testing that I know as they can't afford all the tests etc , people who have them free will continue to do so
I would just call the school and ask them what they advise
Previously we have had years of schools telling us to send kids in unless very ill , and shitty letters if you kept your child home and attendance drops
They need to decide this winter how they want to proceed
My ds sneezes every morning without fail due to allergies , we can't test every morning
But the symptoms could easily be covid as well
We now only stay home if unwell as we did before
I have already spent £30 on tests and with new electric costs cannot afford to test anymore
I know adults who have tested positive and have had to still go into work
They need to decide what is going to happen this winter
People cannot stay home from school/ work with every sniffle just incasw

Of course he should go, especially as we all now know that schools should never have been closed because of Covid.
In fact, why are you even bothering to test?

I wouldn’t hesitate to send him in.

It is maybe shit for vulnerable people yes but colds and sickness bugs all sorts can also cause major issues in some people , people are working with covid and you wouldn't even know
Little ones have upteen snotty noses and the advice is not to test children is it not , therefore their will be lots if kids in with potential covid this winter that is just obvious

I’ve had Covid symptoms for two weeks now…the world can’t grind to a halt.

After two weeks there's no reason to isolate,I don't know what your point is?

It's not the same as any other illness though is it? It's much more contagious and easily spread.

I'd split the difference. Keep him off the first day when there's not a lot of actual learning but send him in Thurs or Fri if he's well, even if he's still testing mildly positive. I'd also err on the side of saying he's unwell if he is borderline.

It's a bizarre situation where others will be catching it, choosing not to test and therefore being "allowed" to send their kids in with it, and the law says you're meant to send them in with it after day 3. With that, it feels disproportionate now to keep a well child home religiously until he gets a negative.

I've had covid twice. It was mild both times. I now have long Covid with is debilitating and worse than the initial infection.

My mum had mild Covid last year.

She spent ten weeks in ICU, spent Christmas in hospital on a cpap machine with respiratory failure while I sat in a room on my own with her doctor being asked what my wishes were if she didn't improve. She has been left with life changing damage.

Could have been avoided if people would stop treating Covid like a cold and stay at home while they're infected.

Send him in if he feels well and forget about the test result. It won't matter diddly squat now.

Follow the Gov guidance. 3 days and no symptoms he can go in.

It's all a potch now but since you did test and you do know I'd go by the rules. I wouldn't knowingly send him in with covid.

Of course he should go, especially as we all now know that schools should never have been closed because of Covid.
In fact, why are you even bothering to tes

oh do bore off.

Such a selfish view. Who cares if other people suffer as long as you can do what you like, eh? @connie26 ?

We don't test anymore so that helps the situation massively but I guess if YOU KNOW he has covid that it's unreasonable to send him in.