Italy closes all their schools and universities: how will you cope if we follow?

[ChristmasFlint]

I can work from home but not everyone can. It made me wonder how on earth people with sort childcare?

Really interesting @DarkMutterings

If it starts to become likely then maybe MN could help?

So I don't have children, I do have a DBS (and loads of teaching materials) I'd happily babysit for someone or even run a revision class is someone's home.

I know it's not ideal for a stranger to babysit but if it helps someone out...

Maybe the power of MN could create a database of help, not just childcare but other things that might be needed.00000

MN doesn't verify anyone's identity (and has frequent troll problems).

I also think mutual assistance sites are likely to be more effective when local.

This is quite an interesting article on how China has managed it including the school closures.

www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/health/coronavirus-china-aylward.html?referringSource=articleShare

My friend is a teaching assistant in Italy, she tells me that the children are all socialising in each other's houses (partly out of boredom and partly to share childcare around) so I'm not sure shutting schools is that effective. Surely better to keep them in school and implement lots of hand-washing/hygiene procedures under close supervision?

Exactly! You cannot enforce a China-style home quarantine in democratic countries and people will help one another out - they have to if essential workers are to remain free to work - so closing schools makes no sense at all.

Closing schools does make sense. Even if people share childcare between one another it cuts down the points of contacts and chances for transmission exponentially. You'd hope or at least I would that people would keep themselves as isolated as possible and understand the importance of it. They now think the 2-3% mortality rate is very real. This isn't the flu. Not complying could cost people their lives.

Do remember schools in China have a long holiday around January. The actual closing due to Covid has been tagged onto the end.

I’d have to try and change my appointments into evening ones only so I can watch the children but it’s doable

Yes, it was easy to close schools as they were already closed. My dd has been off school since 24th January. She has online learning now.

It's great that they haven't missed too much and are e-learning. I am currently reading incredulously the messages from our neanderthal teachers who are planning trips (see!) because they have an unexpected 9 days off whilst frantically searching for clauses in their contracts to get out of having to do any distance teaching.

That is frustrating
Dd’s School has been great: emails sent from teachers, video messages etc. It must be tough for those teaching exam classes.

My teens would have to do the childcare for me I guess.

Single parent
Fucked !

Closing schools would be pointless unless accompanied by a decree that all kids must also stay at home and not leave house. If our school closed then I could take some time off work and we'd go to the park, days out, shopping etc. Closing schools does not mean that kids have to sit indoors so it would be pointless.

Closing schools does make sense. Even if people share childcare between one another it cuts down the points of contacts and chances for transmission exponentially. You'd hope or at least I would that people would keep themselves as isolated as possible and understand the importance of it. They now think the 2-3% mortality rate is very real. This isn't the flu. Not complying could cost people their lives.

THIS.

It's the difference between an infected child infecting up to the total number of kids in their school, or 2 or 3 kids. It's not rocket science.

There is no way on earth multiple governments would do this unless things were really, really serious. I think people must be in denial or mad to question the expert advice that has lead to multiple governments taking this decision. The instinct of politicians will be to play things down and to avoid economic disruption. I suspect the epidemiologists will have been advocating these measures for a while before the governments agree to it and they'd only agree if they were very convinced it was the only thing to do.

I really hope we don't end up the only country where our politicians are too stupid to listen to expert advice (our government doesn't have a good record on denying reality but it's a bit hard to deny mortality when we have social media and it's clear what's happening in Italy). Singapore has done well with containing it because they put in place measures very fast. We've been woeful in comparison.

I also think that the best thing to do is for the elderly or at risk groups to self isolate, rather than close schools or devastate the economy by asking workers to self isolate. I know it's not a popular opinion but from an economic point of view it would make sense and from a health point of view would be more effective at protecting those at risk.

It's hard because I work with the elderly. I have 4 kids in school. My teenagers school has nearly 2000 pupils. So it would be so easy for me to possibly bring germs to the elderly :(

@NichyNoo
China closed schools and virtually everything else was closed too - restaurants, gym, pool, cinema etc so there is nowhere to go and people were encouraged to stay at home.
As most people in cities live on a compound (flats and houses) new restrictions that only residents could enter the compound also reduced social interaction and groups of children meeting up. This was straightforward to implement as all compounds have security to get in. Clearly, this would be much more challenging in a country with individual access to houses.

@NichyNoo China did just that AND shut schools. Even with those measures they had a huge number of deaths. If we have any hope then we will follow their proven battle plan. Or we decide that capitalism means that we just don't fucking care about the vulnerable among us. Not to mention, plenty of otherwise healthy adults have died. Willing to risk your kids being orphaned in pursuit of money? Have a spouse or kid with asthma? Willing to sacrifice them? Overweight? That's a comorbidity which makes your chances of recovery lessen. Happy for the 3 wise men at the hospital to deny you a ventilator because we only have enough for those with the highest chance of recovery. We need to listen what public health officials are telling us. They are not hysterical. And after the barn door shuts will not be the time to have the lightbulb go on.

The containment measures have worked so far. Most deaths are in Hubei, the epicentre of the virus. Jiangsu, for example, has about 600 cases (population 70 million) and no deaths.

I'm a nurse so would have to find a way to work if schools close. Our childminder might help and have the kids all day but there are only so many kids she can look after at once! DH can't work from home so he would have to take time off to look after the kids - I wonder if employers are going to allow this?
I work in a GP practice and have so far received no info about contingency plans. There are signs on the door to tell patients not to enter and to go home and call 111 if they suspect they have coronavirus, and we are supposed to ask patients if they have been to any of the most affected countries if they have respiratoty symptoms. It all feels hoplessely out of date already - more countries are affected every day!

My friend is a teaching assistant in Italy, she tells me that the children are all socialising in each other's houses (partly out of boredom and partly to share childcare around) so I'm not sure shutting schools is that effective.

But a school in the UK often has 1000 pupils, some of whom travel quite a distance. The teachers may also be travelling from another area.

Meh, schools are absolutely obsessed with attendance statistics. I'd imagine this (all schools closing) is a scenario that would never, ever happen in this country, no matter what turn this virus might take.

Personally, I work in a primary school (and DS in a school within our school's trust) so we'd be stuck at home together. God help me.

We do need to do what Public health Officials say. And at this time they are not recommending closing schools.

If we destroy the economy how many people die?

In an ideal world noone will die. We don't line in an ideal world...............

The sooner they close the schools the better. My youngest is in the "at risk" category, so the sooner the better
Now this is just silly because you can of course withdraw your child from school at any time. However, if all schools close,who do you think will provide medical care to your dc, given how many NHS staff have their own children that they may be forced to stay at home to look after? Some have made it clear on this thread that they will NOT help friends etc as they thing those kids provide a risk to them. Thanks to those who say they would help out though!!!

Why not make a decision yourself, for your own child, without wishing an absolute nightmare onto the rest of us, who have to work?