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.

Yebbut, @fascinated, Italy is not the only Mediterranean country where these things happen. Spain and Portugal have very similar customs and I believe they have far fewer cases of the virus there, though I haven't checked the exact figures. I see 60 cases in the Rioja area are in people who attended the same funeral.

Hmm, true. Spose that means someone must have brought it into Italy at some point and these customs have caused it to spread pretty fast? Perhaps the other countries were not visited by carriers during that period ?

Yikes, yes, the kissing and embracing at a funeral will have been ideal for spreading...

Perhaps the tourism aspect is relevant? Milan, Venice and the Italian alps are probably popular destinations.

We will probably never know.

Yes, @fascinated, that's what I thought about the funeral You're right that we'll probably never know - but I see a third person has just died from the virus in the UK - he had also recently returned from Northern italy. Very peculiar.

Yes, my comprehension skills are shit, hence I am not a teacher.
Thanks to those who cleared up my confusion. If (big if) the reports are correct and there have been no cases of child to adult transmission then we could be worrying unnecessarily about the 2.4% infecting all the teachers.
I would be more worried about travelling on packed public transport each day.

People are so stupid. “Children don’t catch it”. That’s not the bloody point. It’s about them transmitting it to vulnerable people

• anyone over 65

-people with weakened immune systems

• people with underlying conditions

Schools are absolute hotbeds for contagion. Once the school kids get sick, that’s all the grannies and grandads sick, most of whom will fall into those categories above.

^^^ x100 posted by GenevaMaybe earlier

SO TRUE

Except the WHO said there were no known cases of transmission from children to adults - though that analysis was from 3 weeks ago

Jaichangecentfoisdenom, or would have probably died to the same timescale anyway, but had tested positive for covid19 before death.

I could be wrong but I'm not aware anyone in the UK has died from the virus.

StealthPolarBear three people have died in the UK so far.

3 people have died in uk.

I've just found out a child in a school close to me is a confirmed case as for going to Italy at half term. The school is open tomorrow. I've no idea if the child was in school last week or not. I'm hoping not. My friends have children at the school. I work with lots of siblings of children who attend the school.....

3 people have died in the uk I believe they had underlying health conditions. One has just been announced in the last hour.

someone on radio 4 was suggesting because the Hand washign scenario was not drummed into the Italians,
also i heard somewhere that in the skiing resorts people share helmets, gloves

Schools are absolute hotbeds for contagion. Once the school kids get sick, that’s all the grannies and grandads sick, most of whom will fall into those categories above

Except that doesn't seem to have happened in China.

Also, we cannot stop it spreading. At the moment, the UK response is about trying to slow the rate at which infection spreads. That's to avoid an Italy-type spike overwhelming the health service, not in the hope of stopping it spreading altogether. As PPs have pointed out, closing schools may actually increase the rate of spread (assuming children can transmit it), if grandparents end up doing childcare.

Not of covid19. They died with the virus, not of it, if the BBC reports are to be believed.

Lots are being signed off as geriatric pneumonia without testing allegedly.

Thing is, those that have died had underlying conditions but in normal times they can have a flu jab. There is no jab for this, so are we just supposed to say, oh well they’re old and I’ll? That seems terribly callous.

Ill

No stealth they died of it.

That makes no sense. We don't know if the virus was a complicating factor for these deaths or if it was incidental.
As a pp mentions the reverse may also be true, lack of testing and recording on other deaths

The department of health has them in the 'died from coronavirus' figures though?

Where does it say that lil? Bbc is very careful to not say that.

As was Chris whitty