Time to close the schools

[PaddyF0dder]

I can’t believe I’m saying this. I’m a dad to 3 very young boys. Our eldest is nearly 6 and is on the spectrum. Our twins are nearly 3. They’re hard work when they’re stuck in the house. I also work as a doctor in the NHS. Closing the schools would be a nightmare for us.

I think we need to do it, and do it early.

Watching how this virus is spreading, seeing how harmful it’s been in other countries, reading the stats on transmission, burned on healthcare etc... closing schools and nurseries really seems to be the most logical step.

The UK is at a turning point. We’re entering the stage of sustained transmission. We may already be too late. But we might still have time to enact draconian measures early as opposed to late. Closing school and nurseries. Limiting travel around the country. It seems inevitable that these things will happen, but doing it early might save the lives of the sick and vulnerable.

I honestly don’t know how my family will cope with it. We have absolutely no family support re childcare. We both work hard jobs in the NHS. I wish there was a better option. But the more I look at the facts of this outbreak, the more obvious it gets.

We need to reduce viral transmission. There are many ways, and all must be done. One such way is to close schools and nurseries. We need to do it now.

As for closing schools it really does have to be last resort but then there's no point as it won't affect spread. This is what Italy did - it probably still will have some effect, but there are ICUs about to collapse in Italy.

If you're going to do it to have a public health impact you need to do it early.

Schools might close because too many people are in hospital and ill but that would be breakdown, not a strategic move to lower transmission.

Could have, maybe, but we don't know. I think it's very dangerous to assume there's a whole load of people who have no or mild symptomsl

It is not an assumption. The screening of asymptomatic patients in South Korea demonstrated it, as does the epidemiology. The low rate of obvious illness in young people (even though they will be becoming infected at similar rates to older people) shows us that.

If the government closes the schools to mitigate the shitstorm then that's just how it goes, complaining about it won't fix the problem.

In my area children who get FSM can get lunch at school during the summer holidays. It’s provided by a local group. Perhaps something similar providing pack lunches could be organised if we knew school closures were happening?

Many on low income will struggle if they get sick or their lived ones get sick Sunshine . It's not a zero sum game.

You will also need to plan childcare for if you get sick.

I have 4 children and run a shop. Potentially I could have to close for months! If I have to close and self isolate for each infection/child and potentially for each child it could be a month? Two weeks isolation from contact with a confirmed case and then right at the end of that time the child develops his own symptoms another two weeks! I will lose my business. It has to be done, I know this, I have elderly mother who is vulnerable to this virus so I know the inportance. But I will lose everything and that terrifies me!

Porcupine

But the vast majority who get sick get a very mild infection as we’ve been told by everyone in the know

So closing is an over reaction

50% of the mild cases get pneumonia, that doesn't meet my definition of mild.

50% of the mild cases get pneumonia, that doesn't meet my definition of mild.
Link please
as the WHO stats for Korea show over 80% of cases have no symptoms

50% of the mild cases get pneumonia

That is not true.

Another 70 cases today!

i think we should be doing things early.there is a real risk of pandemic.so we need to eeeeek it out,and spread the spread as thin as we possibly can so we can cope with it.so we can cope with each new set of cases.if we wait to close things or just assume we are ok NOW then when the time comes a huge wave of people get it and then we really wont be able to cope.
the closing and the early prevention measures should be put into place whenever possible.i dont know how because of jobs and daycare etc but surely that better than a few weeks later too many getting sick for the countries to cope.
we always seem to be too late.prevention is always better.
bit like healthcare,mental health etc this country seems to not give a toss until we are in the shit.

I think I have said it before but I think that as a minimum, those of us that are in a position to take our children out of school should be allowed to do so without being penalised. It would reduce the pressure on the system once staff have to take days off and may just help reduce transmission.

I thought I read 20% who had it, had serious symptoms, the other 80% were mild cases or asymptomatic?

Swine flu was mitigated by hitting us in the summer so coincided with long school holidays.

I don’t get all the panic and scaremongering! It only really has an adverse effect on old and or vulnerable people with underlying illness conditions.

Seriously?

@Ameliabrowner did you train to become so callous or does it just come naturally?

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300403
The petition to the government is over 100,000 and rapidly increasing, so people are voting (and signing up for a reply).

I think I have said it before but I think that as a minimum, those of us that are in a position to take our children out of school should be allowed to do so without being penalised. It would reduce the pressure on the system once staff have to take days off and may just help reduce transmission.

Yes, this!

I agree with OP, Children are super-spreaders. It would be a massive pain but better now when most of the population is healthy then when the nhs and other infrastructure is under pressure from the virus.

I do feel for families that may not be able to afford it though. Extra meals and days off work are bound to push some families to their limit financially. It's unbelievably unfair that days off work cost people who earn the least the most money.

I don't think it is true that a lot of cases are asymptomatic. They may have been asymptomatic at the point of testing.
Stat journal is saying
"People infected with Covid-19 who are truly asymptomatic are rare, Van Kerkhove said"

Enough4me . Signed

Full article here:
www.statnews.com/2020/03/06/were-learning-a-lot-about-the-coronavirus-it-will-help-us-assess-risk/
It is date 2 days ago so a fairly recent analysis.

Arti
www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf
Bottom of page 11 - kids do not give it to adults
Top of page 12 - 80% have mild to moderate symptoms needing no health care

I don't think it is true that a lot of cases are asymptomatic

Minimally symptomatic is probably more accurate. Basically most have a cold.