Exposed to Coronavirus at school - no one knows, nothing being done

[coronavirusissueatschool]

Not sure what to do about this.

Have name changed.

I work in a school, at the front desk as a receptionist.

Within reception, we have students in daily who require medical attention (injuries), or who are sick. All teachers send sick kids to reception. Most of the time it feels like a doctors surgery. We have at any one time, at least 5-6 students in; injured, being sick, migraines, colds, coughs, fever etc etc

They sit in the waiting area. The same area that we also sit visitors/parents. Right next to me.

One of the parents has tested positive for Coronavirus. The student of the parent was still in school when we became aware of the test result. 111 said no need for student to go home.

The student was sat in reception the day before, sat on a coach for a school trip full of students prior to that. Whole school assembly. Still doing biometric thumb prints for canteen food.

Husband of positive case came in to reception, picking up another student, who was feeling unwell and felt like a cold was coming on. We ignored 111 advice, and sent both students home to self isolate.

Everything just carried on as normal after that. No cleaning. No information on what to do about contact students had with others.

We continued to have many students in throughout the afternoon, many with a dry cough, many with a fever. There's no where to put them.

Then we have 'helpful' comments from staff members saying 'you know they should be sat 2 metres apart with a cough/fever' and 'wish I hadn't come in here and exposed myself now'

But we are exposed. Every day. And I've had a shed load of bugs already. I feel like I work in a doctors surgery.

With coronavirus, it's just brought it all to such a realisation how at risk I am.

Over the top? Tell me I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?

What would you do? There's no hand sanitiser. We're not checking anyone coming in. We don't even have a thermometer to check for temperatures. There's no real guidance, and no one seems to taking this seriously. Lots of laughter, and 'flu kills more' type of comments.

But if it carries on, it won't be a case of IF but WHEN I get it.

That was longer than I thought it would be. Sorry.

My concern is for the many poorly students we have who are compromised with their heath.

could you get a strip thermometer off amazon? its reusable and fairy cheap but it would allow you to check if the dc have a temperature. is there anyway you could talk to your local council and (anonymously) report that there has been a case within your school, if the head won't do anything about it?

I think herd immunity is bullshit. They want all the children to get it. I watch so many conspiracy theories about why they want this and I am starting to believe them. They want the parents, teachers and people who look after children to get it.

Sickos, psychos and pedos rule the world and they are in high numbers in the UK.

Herd immunity is survival of the fittest.
Completely fits with Boris and Cummings attitude towards people.
They are counting on people to die.

I’m so sorry for you OP.
Your head teacher sounds like an arse

Your head teacher sounds like an arse

Fever strip thermometers are shit.

1. They usually only measure in 1 degree increments. Ish. If they decide to work at all - according to the ones I used to have, depending upon which one I picked, I was often either dealing with the Children of the Sun or The Walking Dead.

1. They have an error margin of +/- 1 degree when working perfectly. So somebody with a temperature of 38 Celsius could clearly be shown to have a normal temperature.

1. You have to hold them to the sweaty, clammy, spotty foreheads. Which then carry any bacteria or viruses onto the next sweaty, clammy, spotty forehead. And onto you. The instructions say that using something like Dettol spray on them (which probably doesn't work in seconds, anyhow) can make them stop working.

1. They take around 20-30 seconds to work. Which means longer spent within six inches of a potential Child Zero for them to cough right in your face.

1. The NHS say they aren't any good, anyhow, because all they do is register the temperature of the skin - so if they've been outside, the reading is too low or impossible to get, and if they've been deliberately pushing their face against the radiator to get a week off school, the subterfuge is undiscovered.

MitziK - would an in ear one be any good? I wanted to get a forehead one, but can't find one. Not sure if I can get an in ear one either. Worried about how to keep it clean etc.

And sending all kids home for being ill?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

We have parents telling kids not to be stupid if they've thrown up in the car on the way to school, dropping them off and stamping on the accelerator just as said kid pukes profusely over the front gate. Somebody with a hacking cough and asthma left for four hours whilst Dad stayed at home to Netflix and wank before bringing in an inhaler that was two years out of date, dropping it off at reception rather than collecting the kid. People telling me that they were a bit busy (sounds of Christmas shopping going on in the background) and couldn't they just nap until 4pm. No, not with 43 other kids being ill that day, no they fucking couldn't. Head injury - oh, can't you send them home on the bus by themselves? FUCK OFF. And my personal favourite - your child's lips are currently swelling and she's wheezing after eating somebody's prawn sandwich. Does she have a diagnosed allergy/EpiPen/etc? Answer - why are you calling me? Just because I'm at home doesn't mean I'm available to collect her. Call her mother and get her to do it when she finishes work at 3. FUCK OFF YOU CUNT.

In ear ones - with single use ear cups, just like at the GP. Easy and hygienic.

No need to replace in a domestic setting, but for multiple users, order the replacement packs at the same time.

could you also get some hand sanitzer OP? i know its hard to find now but this website has some. you could squirt each kids hands with it when they come into the office? its rubbish that its falling back on you to buy these things though

Surely if they come into the office with a cough or feel like they have a fever it's straight home to self isolation. I'm not sure why they are sitting in the office.

In ear ones are fine, just order extra disposable tips (Make sure you get the ones that go with your thermometer as they aren’t universal).

Digital thermometers are great, well worth owning.

OP are you in the South Yorkshire area by any chance? First letter of school is W?

We tried to order some hand sanitiser a few weeks back from our supplier of other school things, but they were out of stock. I've even tried to buy ingredients to make my own, but out of stock too.

MitziK - sounds very similar to what we deal with here. Worst one was calling an ambulance for a child with a serious head injury. She couldn't have given less of a shit when she turned up. Back in school following day.

No, not Yorkshire way. Down South.

South here.

Is this right schools don’t have hand sanitiser? I would have assumed they would have some posted in areas where hand washing isn’t easy. We went to several toddler groups this week and they had hand sanitiser everywhere, aren’t schools having meetings about what measures they need to put in place?

And shouldn’t a school medical room have a thermometer already?

I’m shocked if this is the case everywhere, surely schools had meetings to work out ways they could reduce the spread of infection etc like other organisations? Or is it that they’re just waiting to be told to close and if they aren’t then they just carry on as normal with no in between measures?

Surely if they come into the office with a cough or feel like they have a fever it's straight home to self isolation. I'm not sure why they are sitting in the office.

I know. Parents either don't answer the phone, or don't want to come. Or are confused as to the fuss. Or don't know why they can't just wait at school till they are free. Or they are too far away and ask if they can get the train/bus home by themselves.

Just a warning throwing up and the shts can be symptoms of it.

It can come out a bit like gastric flu with the risk of pneumonia obviously.

aren’t schools having meetings about what measures they need to put in place?

I think the school is as good as the leadership team. I'm not aware of anything put in place. It's actually shocking what doesn't go on in that place, so I shouldn't be surprised with how this is being handled. It's a real eye opener as a parent.

And shouldn’t a school medical room have a thermometer already?

I agree. We have a forehead one, which went out of date 2013.

A crappy 2.99 digital one which gives everyone the reading of clinically dead

I have a strip thermometer because last time I had a fever it was all we could find.
It’s shit. According to it I’m currently below 35°.
You can’t get a digital one anywhere right now.

Heard similar things about schools people I know teach in. One teacher had a positive test result but was at work for two weeks feeling unwell before they had time off. No closure to deep clean, nothing done. Cleaning is the same as usual with a quick wipe of tables with a dirty cloth and a run of the hoover across visible floor, often alternating classrooms every other day.
Each class has four or five children off with symptoms or in isolation at home as a family member has symptoms.
A number of staff off displaying symptoms but no supply teachers so classes are being split resulting in more children in each class than usual and teachers becoming more stressed covering colleagues' classes.
On Friday there were more children than the office could fit comfortably waiting to be collected after lunch due to coughing or having a temperature. At home time many were still there as all the other parents queued up waiting to speak to office staff.
Teachers are spending a lot of money on soap, towels, cleaning sprays ( if they can find them in the shops) as the school has run out (ordering and delivery takes time). No hand sanitizer.
Staff meetings are still going ahead with many more staff in the same room than in the staff room at any one time (staggered break and lunch times mean this doesn't normally happen during the day). In addition, the pressure of lesson observations, data, planning and book scrutinies still continues.
Washing hands is happening though and is taking up a lot of the learning time. Children are still obviously putting their fingers in noses, mouths, eyes, bums, and coughing on each other, their friends, their teachers, their TAs, office staff.
There are older, more vulnerable staff, particularly in nursery and reception just doing what they usually do so well. There are immunosuppressed staff just trying to get by taking their medication, inhalers as prescribed.
The teachers I used to work with are at their lowest ebb, broken.
It sounds like the biggest shit storm.

It sounds like the biggest shit storm.

It really does.

I bought a braun digital thermometer in Sainsburys a couple of days ago and they were in our Tesco too. Armpit or oral reading so will be doing armpit and adding half a degree I think it is as armpits measure slightly under.

I have a question about the fever temp of 37.8

Is that oral temp? In ear temp? They are different I think? Anyone know?

Current gov advice is for schools to
STAY OPEN even if there is a confirmed case of Coronavirus onsite