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Covid
Email from school: We have decided to stay open, BUT...
BloodyBoris · 14/03/2020 05:04
NC.
The mother of a boy at our English secondary school has tested positive for Coronavirus/Covid-19. She has not visited the school very recently. The boy's father is now symptomatic. He attended a large indoor school event with the boy on Tuesday evening this week before his symptoms started. The boy last attended school on Wednesday this week, is asymptomatic and self-isolating at the moment. School were informed on Friday, (yesterday), took advice and have decided not to deep clean or close.
Given the recent comments by WHO, and the actions of other countries and organisations, I am very concerned that this is the wrong advice and therefore the wrong decision.
It is highly likely that the father has Covid-19 and likely that the boy has it. The event on Tuesday night was attended by about a quarter of the school - around 300 pupils, staff and parents, all in very close proximity for several hours. Perhaps they are right and it is too late for a deep clean, but I can't understand why they are not closing, at least for a few days, to try to slow the spread. As yet, there are no other confirmed cases in our area.
I know that the government is insisting that a nudge to wash hands is enough, and that schools stay open in the hope that children will get it and develop herd immunity, but what about all the children who are more vulnerable because of their health, and the equally vulnerable family members at home and in the community.
Should our school stay open? And what would you do about your own DCs in this situation? One of ours has GCSEs coming up this year and is in vulnerable health at the moment, and we also have a family member at home in vulnerable health
BloodyBoris · 16/03/2020 21:50
I think schools - pupils, staff and parents - are in a very difficult position, thanks to our government's stance of inaction. So many are deeply concerned about those in vulnerable health, about GCSEs and A Levels, about being penalised for non attendance - yet unlike just about every other country we are being expected to carry on. My own feeling is that a decision should be taken now about exams, probably to delay them until September. Schools should close this week to the majority, with a vastly scaled down cohort of those who are vulnerable at home, or are in the younger years and have both parents (or one in the case of a lone parent) who are essential workers and who do not have alternative arrangements.
Our school is now saying, again probably on the flawed advice of PHE and DfE, 'we have no confirmed cases in our school although some pupils and staff are in self isolation'. I think you have to question whether this is the actual picture given the first email about the parent who is a confirmed case, their then symptomatic husband and asymptomatic son. Those in self isolation will not be tested because it is not government policy to test unless someone is that ill that they need hospital care. We simply do not know the true picture.
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