To not send my children to school next week

[blondieblonde]

That's it really. It seems mad to send them and have them inevitably catch the virus when they could stay at home. What are others doing?

So far the evidence is showing that Coronavirus is no more dangerous to healthy children than other minor illnesses are.

Can no one think a step beyond this? What about the parents and grandparents of all these kids? Even parents are old enough to be at a significantly greater risk than their children. If I keep my kids off at any point it will be partly because of us and their grandparents (some of whom have pre-existing conditions, not just age).

The message from countries ahead of us is not that this is an illness there's not much point in avoiding, and no big deal. The message is that everyone should be trying really hard to avoiding catching it and spreading it.

I can understand people who argue that the risk is still tiny in their particular area, but not those who think the risk is irrelevant because "kids are fine". It's just not that simple.

If you want to protect grandparents then just keep the kids away from them. Much more sensible than removing kids from school. Madness!

Nice way to miss the significance of 'parents' in there.

And I'm assuming that those grandparents are still going to the supermarket, using taxis, going to GP etc where they're just as likely to pick up the virus

You can't assume that at all.

Just because it hasn't occurred to you to change your behaviour yet doesn't mean people who are considering it must be stupid. They may just be looking a little further ahead than you (or have been paying attention for longer).

How the other half live, as a working parent I am unable to just keep my kids off school.

I suggest you get all the family hasmat suits to wear, do online shopping for delivery and get a contamination tent !!!!

@Scbchl thanks we’re waiting to see what happens re numbers in this area. There are five very close cases to us, hence the concern.

@tinytears we aren’t on benefits so our decision to pull the kids absolutely is measured on necessity only. See my previous post- I certainly can’t afford to be pulling them out due to anxiety but on the risk that their parent would be dead in a couple of weeks. Given that their DDad nearly died of flu do you really think we shouldn’t be taking precautions?

I'm sure some people are loving the drama 😡
Absolutely!!
Nothing wrong with worrying a bit and being more mindful but the whole let's close schools is ridiculous. What do these people plan to do just stay indoors? How long for ?
Because you could catch it at the corner shop .

Obviously I'm not worried about the children themselves, based on current statistics, but I'm extremely concerned about us passing something on to my mother who has complex lung problems and is in her 70s. As a single parent I'm also concerned about the possibility of getting ill and being unable to care for my children (who would then also need to be in isolation).

Looking at the statistics, it's quite reasonable for me to be alarmed by these prospects. Why are social distancing measures helpful enough for workplaces and Westminster to be closed, but not schools? It's not just about the children, it's about how they would spread coronavirus to others who are at greater risk of severe illness or death.

Well one of my DCs school has just said it is to be closed on Monday. It is a special school, with many vulnerable children.

Of course all the siblings will still be heading off to their mainstream schools in the same area so idk 😐.

I’m worried.

Why is it closed on Monday? Coronavirus? Just Monday?

Change.org petition here campaigning to allow parents who can keep children at home do so without penalty.

You can already do that if you are prepared to deregister and home educate them.

If you are not prepared to do that then send them to school - missing potentially months of education unnecessarily is not fair on them.

@purplebob deep clean because of staff member exposure to cv19. And then we await further instruction as to whether it will reopen.

science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6482/1061

Evidence from China

From this article - “Everywhere you went, anyone you spoke to, there was a sense of responsibility and collective action—and there's a war footing to get things done,” Aylward says. (i.e people putting up with quarantine, kids at home etc)

Aggressive “social distancing” measures implemented in the entire country included canceling sporting events and shuttering theaters, schools, and businesses. Anyone who went outdoors had to wear a mask.

“As a consequence of all of these measures, public life is very reduced,” the report notes. But the measures did work. In the end, infected people rarely spread the virus to anyone except members of their own household, Leung says. Once all the people living together were exposed, the virus had nowhere else to go and chains of transmission ended. “That's how the epidemic truly came under control,” Leung says.

Why are social distancing measures helpful enough for workplaces and Westminster to be closed, but not schools? It's not just about the children, it's about how they would spread coronavirus to others who are at greater risk of severe illness or death.

Agree 100%

That's the key phrase isn't it

'' ending chains of transmission ''