To ignore BJ's COBRA advice to send kids to school whilst Rep of Ireland has closed schools for 2 weeks

[100percentSunshine]

Just interested to know how others feel....

We are all expecting the exponential growth of the Covid 19 to take place in the next 1- 2 weeks.

I was gobsmacked by today's news that following the COBRA meeting, BJ has resolved to keep schools open.

Is anyone considering keeping their child/ren off school despite government briefing?

School have already told me to keep my daughter off if I think it appropriate, but she is in remission from a rare, life threatening, cancer-like immune disorder which was initially triggered by a virus (Epstein Barr).

COVID 19 is too new to have any officially confirmed & published data but the previous, similar viruses are all known triggers (SARS-CoV, MERS-Cov, Avian and Swine flu etc).

I’m a bit freaked out by it all, not sure how and when I’m supposed to decide such things? She only went back to school in September after almost a whole year off. Our MacMillan nurse doesn’t have any official advice because it’s all supposed to come directly from NHS England via 111. Clinic appointment with her brilliant consultant next week, but that could easily be cancelled because he’s a paediatric oncologist specialising in bone marrow transplants so the children on his ward are seriously immunocompromised.

I think, depending on what happens on the weekend I might keep her off from Monday...

So what are drs and nurses meant to do with their kids? Those on zero hours contracts? Kids are better off together in school than being dumped on elderly relatives!

@GabsAlot as long as necessary, play it by ear week by week. I don’t give a fuck what that dimwit BJ says. I’ve already got a friend in intensive care, with no prior known health conditions. She may have had them and not known, but so could any one of us

Can you imagine the nation's school kids after three days of enforced confinement at home?

Every bus, shopping mall, soft play, McDonald's, cinema and cafe would be filled with children , infecting every other person within coughing distance as they come into contact with far more people than they would normally come into contact with on a normal day at school.

It would be madness, and would expose far more vunerable people to the virus .

We are all expecting the exponential growth of the Covid 19 to take place in the next 1- 2 week

Eh, speak for your self. I’ll go with what they said, and that’s the peak will be up to sixteen weeks away. Keep your kid off school for the next four months if you want, crack on. But when they jail you, don’t complain.

Why is everyone trusting and assuming the UK government is correct when it goes against what other countries have done? Why are our scientists and experts to be believed over ones from outside the UK?

Exactly.

Large portions have Mumsnet have done nothing but be angry for believe anything the tories say and expressed lots of worry about the disruption Brexit will bring, and have said for months and months that the tories don't give a shit about vulnerable people but are very quick to believe what the tories are saying over this, that will cause disruption.

Why are people so convinced they're protecting the vulnerable now and putting public health first?

Yes.

In many countries, they have shut cinemas and museums, parks are open air. If you are stupid enough to take your kids to soft play, that's on you.

My children will be seeing one or two friends at a time, not crowded on the school bus which actually had standing room only today as it was so packed. Twice a day.

You do you, as everyone on here is so fond of saying. I'm not worried about fines, the educational welfare officer will be far too busy these coming few weeks to worry whether your child really had a cough or not.

@ChrissieKeller61 talk to your school nurse or local health care provider so that you can rationalize your decisions, life is stressful enough for children without being isolated for possibly months. It could become very depressing for them.

No because I work in primary no essential healthcare.
DH is now WFH for the foreseeable so we’re all staying away from my parents and his mum.
Hopefully once schools close we can lock down a bit more but at the moment my priority is locking my parents down.

Most people don’t have the money to let kids go to cafes and cinemas every day, have you seen how much the cinema is these days?

Fair enough chrissie and sorry about your friend

Nope. I'm carrying on with extra handwashing and not hugging etc when seeing people.

They are delaying the spread so the NHS can cope. Self isolating for 7 days is a new tactic. Why is everyone ignoring this?

@Giveitarest20 I think we’ll be just fine actually

No, absolutely not and this is getting very tedious. I have just signed a petition to keep schools open as long as possible.

Yes. We have done already. It's too big a risk.

My daughter is medically vulnerable. If she got the virus, it could be really dangerous for her, therefore I’m keeping her at home at the moment.

@ChrissieKeller61 don’t get too stressed, chances of your children becoming poorly are v unlikely, there are more kids suffering from anxiety and this can be passed on from anxious parents, I only ask you and parents alike to seek support from those in the community who have a rational view of the situation.

Please share the petition

I was debating keeping my DC at home next week as I’m already knocked out with a horrible UTI and one of them has a virus anyway (not Coronavirus). I almost died from Swine flu so makes me nervous about this one.
Sometimes you have to act in your own interests and not rely on a government to tell you what to do. I don’t feel they have done enough. I’m more concerned with not dying than the economy.
I’m hoping at the end of next week that schools might close anyway.

I've had text messages from our gp surgery to inform us all appointments will now be by telephone. We will only be allowed into the surgery if the dr feels it is required. This scares me more than the virus. If an appointment is denied to a person who needs it, something will get missed and people will die. I completely understand the logic of shutting down the surgery, however, it does worry me a little.

Every bus, shopping mall, soft play, McDonald's, cinema and cafe would be filled with children , infecting every other person within coughing distance as they come into contact with far more people than they would normally come into contact with on a normal day at school.

Do you think people in the UK lack basic comprehension skills? Why would everyone be out if they are told to reduce contact as much as possible? I'm not in the UK but I am gobsmacked that people seem to think the people of the UK on the whole lack the ability to follow basic instructions.

No i won’t be keeping mine off until the school/sixth form college they attend is officially shutting.

We are in Merseyside but one of the few boroughs that is yet to be affected.
Ds travels quite a way to sixth form in another county. It has 2000 pupils form a huge demographic and its business as usual until otherwise informed.

Dd is 9 and in year 4 at local primary. She has asthma and I’ve been extremely cautious with her inhalers being at school, checking she has enough to last and being a bit neurotic on hand washing. School tweeted earlier that they won’t be closing as lots of rumors flying around.

I’m a SAHM so it won’t affect us if they’re off and for now I’m ok with them going in.
Obviously things can change quickly so I’m taking it day by day and making sure the house is disinfected etc.

People round here don’t seem too worried

if cases confirmed within my childs school then yes, and if they tried bullying me about it re: attendance they would be told in no uncertain terms where to go, but u til then no,

And I'm not keeping my child off but I don't think those who plan to are over reacting either.

It's likely they will close at some point and I think people should make what plans they can before it happens to reduce the blow. I know not everyone can do this, I know students will still hang out together but a couple hanging out together isn't the same as hundreds confined together in school.

My sister is a healthcare worker as is her dh, the plans they're trying to make include asking employers to not put them on the same shift if possible and trying to create a small network with other parents where they can maybe take one day off each a week and look after each other's kids and keep in touch with each other RE symptoms in the wider families.

I don't think SAHP are in la la land either.

@Giveitarest20 old strong stable will do a U turn next week and the schools will be shut. I have surgeon friends who are now prioritising surgery because they don’t have the ITU support, 50% of the staff are self isolating. Nevermind the virus what’ll finish you off is getting run over or falling off a ladder because there’s limited facilities and staff