Why do people think closing schools is going to help?

[Bearbehind]

• Evidence suggests children are far less susceptible to Coronavirus than adults

• Unless you plan to quarantine them in the house 24/7 then they’ll be in contact with their friends anyway

• Very few working parents could cope with no childcare during school hours

• There’s been stories on here of parents who want schools to close but have no intention of cancelling other plans / holidays

What is it designed to achieve?

“ If I were still using public transport, I would be wearing gloves tbh.”

It’s easier to wash hands than gloves.

The virus is airborne too.

It is likely this will happen or the consequences is that the coronavirus spreads even more, more people are ill and more people die

It is not only children that are at school and should we take the measures that Italy and China have we shall not be mixing with friends.

My friends live in Singapore and they have for he last month been very careful who they mix with and where they go and working for home when possible (not possible for everyone certainly not myself as I work in mh)

It this is what is decided is best in the UK or parts of the UK then the reasons are because it’s absolutely necessary to cause such disruption to halt the spread of the virus

Schools are not childcare facilities though.

That old chestnut. Childcare facilities would also close I imagine

Perhaps the government are holding out until closer to the Easter holidays when the schools will be shut for 2 weeks anyway.

Lots of schools have put extra measures in place to stop the spread including extra cleaners, enforced handwashing before, during and on leaving school and deliberately planning fewer activities where children touch each other. I know our school has extra cleaners who are wiping rails, door handles and common use areas every hour.

It’s easier to wash hands than gloves.

Yes but apparently it doesn't transfer as well from gloves. Plus I tend to touch my face less when wearing gloves. It's not infallible but just a way of slightly reducing the odds of catching it.

“ It is not only children that are at school and should we take the measures that Italy and China have we shall not be mixing with friends.”

The lockdown in Lombardy, what does it mean exactly? I thought they could travel within the area, otherwise how do you help out neighbors etc?

Autumnrose - you can't travel out of the region and I think you have to have a valid reason to travel to another town within the region. Basically, you should stay at home as much as possible! I have colleagues in the lockdown regions that now can't get to work. (I live just outside it).

No they aren't terrifying far fewer people have died than of seasonal flu.

You might not be terrified by the new numbers from Italy but please don’t belittle the fact that I am.
Half of the currently diagnosed patients in Italy are ill enough to be hospitalised, and 12% (650 people) are in intensive care. Overnight 87 patients had to be moved to intensive care and 130 died. They didn’t act quickly enough and now have had to implement drastic measures - until they work, these daily figures will continue to rise drastically.
To many of us, with loved ones with immunodeficiency, and/or who know how little capacity ICU units in the UK have currently, this is fucking terrifying.

I might start a thread titled how do they think having 200 bog rolls in the house is going to help.

At least with the schools thing there is a misguided rationale but wtf is this panic buying bog roll all about?

So Somerville you need to stay in where possible and avoid seeing people. It is within your control surely?

I get the rationale behind this but from a practical perspective it’s going to be a nightmare, especially in London where parents have long commutes on top, both parents normally working and where people often live far away from their families. This will massively affect services like the NHS and transport, or any provider which employs parents. The London NHS is going to struggle enough, with having 1. existing vacancies 2. employees off sick 3. parents who cannot work as their young children need care.

Oh and today in the busy town I live in the elderly were not self isolating at all, plenty packing out the cafes, restaurants and supermarkets. So it seems like they don’t care enough to change their habits.

Seventy

Thanks. I’m just wondering what “region” means. Here, if it was postcode area, for example, it would be a very small area and I doubt London would be able to work.

I also worry much more about a sudden quarantine than the virus. Would the announcement give me time to get to my elderly mum, in a different county?

IheartNiles

I agree it will be a practical nightmare. I’m single parent working for the nhs and live in London I can’t work from home

But there maybe (and likely to be in some areas of the country) no other option

If you consider how quickly it is spreading in this country (and has been slower here than other countries) and do the sums it’s very frightening as within 8 weeks the number run in to millions contracting the coronavirus

I would like the government to put out daily statements with clear guidelines difficult when things are changing all the time but at times he felt they are lacking in doing so

One of the reasons why Covid-19 is a major concern is that it is highly infectious (as, if not more, infectious than flu) and associated with a case fatality rate that is 20 times higher than flu. In other words, if you catch the Covid-19 virus, you are 20 times more likely to die compared to flu. In addition, a higher proportion of Covid-19 patients (up to 20%) are so ill that they need hospitalisation. Of course, people who are more likely to become seriously ill with Covid-19 are older and with pre-existing health issues - otherwise healthy people below 50 are less likely to succumb to Covid-19. But if this becomes an epidemic in the UK, the NHS will be seriously over-stretched and that will affect everyone. It will become, for example, difficult to get routine operations or even urgent care for other illnesses due to a lack of hospital beds or intensive care facilities etc.

Autumn I wouldn't think you would have time.

That's the problem with the Italian lockdown. People had advanced warning and left the region.

It may be depend on the area locked down.

So Somerville you need to stay in where possible and avoid seeing people. It is within your control surely?

Don’t patronise me.
We were alerted yesterday by the medical team of the neutropenic member of my family that Covid-19 is now in our area, and they need to self-isolate as a result. The rest of the family is advised to self-isolate as much as possible outside of necessary activities (like, at present, school). And medical staff are visiting for necessary procedures as part of that individual’s treatment - so it isn’t really isolation, as those staff are exposed to anything their DC/patients/friends transmit to them.
So within my control? Not really, no. Viruses aren’t controllable outside of a lab, as Italy’s figures show.

It would be very difficult to lockdown London but not impossible

It it was deemed necessary then it would be done. There will have plans and procedures in place already should this need to happen

“ There will have plans and procedures in place already should this need to happen”

Oh I know. I just hope it doesn’t happen. I reckon if we were all confined to our shoebox flats, there’d be a high number of suicides.

Random “ I wouldn't think you would have time.“

Horrendous.

@EnthusiasmIsDisturbed
Yes, China has shown what is possible. It isn’t pleasant, but it can be done.

No they aren't terrifying far fewer people have died than of seasonal flu.

It would be interesting to know what the death rate was per day? 133 in one country?

I’m just wondering what “region” means

It's basically a county.

ShanghaiDiva I age. Seen your posts on another thread and agree China have dome an incredible task of managing lockdowns. I agree it is manageable because it has to be but it won’t be a nice little break for us all from usual life it will be tough

I have ...

Not sure why it was changed to i age