Schools Reopening?

[ClimbDad]

A major, peer reviewed study into transmission in South Korea has established that tweens and teenagers spread the SARSCOV2 virus more than any other age group.

The study involved more than 65,000 people and used South Korea’s exceptionally effective contact tracing system to look at who brought the virus into households. Tweens and teenagers were the highest index case age group. Younger children transmitted at the same rate as 20-somethings.

This is a large scale, rigorous piece of research that proves children are effective at transmitting the virus. It was conducted in a country that implements strict social distancing and mask wearing among children. The authors say the rate of transmission would have been higher if children weren’t subjected to those measures.

Plans to reopen schools more or less as normal in September will place many lives at risk, and increase the likelihood schools will have to close again. The government needs to acknowledge schools will be highly efficient vectors of viral transmission and change its reopening plans.

Published Paper:
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/10/20-1315_article

Article on the paper:

www.bloombergquint.com/business/covid-19-spread-fastest-by-teens-and-tweens-korea-study-finds

The NhS staff have to work around confirmed active cases and still for a long time the PPE was nothing short of scandalous.

So when it’s NHS workers and care workers the lack of provision is scandalous but when it’s teachers it’s just one of those things, kids can’t be expected to behave themselves?

Bloody hell.

it seems to me we can either have chaotic, random, uncontrolled interruptions in schooling OR we can have controlled and predictable ones, for example through part time attendance and part time remote learning. We can either have the costs of adapting schools and paying for extra cleaning, more sinks, more buses and PPE OR we can have the costs of sick pay, supply teachers and local lockdowns.

I agree with this - why is the government opting for chaos - which will be far more disruptive to education?

You'd think with their track record on coronavirus being the worst in the G7 they'd maybe try and do things a bit differently going forward.

I also think it will be difficult to get supply teachers in where there have been teachers getting sick with coronavirus. I suspect it will be far more likely that schools will have to close to some students. I don't think there will be an endless supply of teachers willing to work in these conditions.

As for kids not behaving themselves. Maybe we need to be a bit stricter about this and hold our young people to higher standards.

Instant exclusion for messing around with masks might do it.

And I support bus drivers having misbehaving youths removed too - the number of bus drivers that have died is scandalous. The police should be stepping up to ensure people behave on public transport.

@noblegiraffe but teachers are not going to be around confirmed cases are they? They are not getting up close and personal in the faces and bodies of confirmed COVID patients? They won’t be in the same building as confirmed COVID patients. NHS are. You can’t compare the two.
Teachers will remain 1 m at least from pupils in secondary for the vast majority of the time. There currently is a risk of coming in contact with a person with corona 1:4000. Schools are being careful not to mix year groups (in school obviously can’t control out of school) but still it’s not a free for all with no social distancing. The r number is still low so the 1:4000 will hopefully be lower come September. Any child with any symptoms is taken home and isolated. Temperatures are being taken and hands are being frequently washed, things are being scrubbed down. It’s an elevated risk of course than joe public but so are many public facing roles at the moment

@IloveJKRowling you wouldn’t have many kids left in the schools round here! Yeah ok let’s just get ‘tougher’ that should work

@IloveJKRowling the bus driver won’t want to come out from behind his screen and nor should he / she have to! Kids will spit and all sorts as they have already done to shop keepers round here when challenged

I know it's hard to comprehend.

*@openplankitchen," Do you have to have special training to be so rudely patronising, or does it come naturally to you?

It’s an elevated risk of course than joe public but so are many public facing roles at the moment

Yet so many of those roles are wearing masks or behind screens.

Temperatures are being taken and hands are being frequently washed, things are being scrubbed down.

You’ve just listed things that aren’t happening or there isn’t money for.

@FrippEnos they are but not all the time- for instance I have seen many shop workers around the shop away from the screens, helping customers and stacking the shelves with people walking by

This happening now in Melbourne:

www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/from-toorak-to-drysdale-a-dozen-schools-closed-as-covid-19-spreads-20200720-p55drg.html

the bus driver won’t want to come out from behind his screen

Why does he get a screen when he’s not around confirmed cases? Why are you not berating him for not being happy at mingling with the masses?

Why the concern for the bus driver and not the teacher?

@noblegiraffe what do you mean? This is happening where is am and plans are in place for these things in schools here that I have dealings with for September

Any child with any symptoms is taken home and isolated.

In some cases after many hours of parental refusal to do so.

Temperatures are being taken

It is only possible at the moment due to smaller groups. Try 1200 + pupils waiting at the school gate waiting to get in and blocking the streets.

and hands are being frequently washed,

Mainly anti bac gel or alcohol rub.

things are being scrubbed down.

Nope not at all.

[quote Time2change2]@FrippEnos they are but not all the time- for instance I have seen many shop workers around the shop away from the screens, helping customers and stacking the shelves with people walking by[/quote]
For how many seconds?

Teachers will be in those groups helping out for 1-2 hours.

Temperature checks advised against by the DfE.

How can teachers frequently wash their hands when they don’t get any breaks? How can teenagers frequently wash their hands when there aren’t the facilities?

And for scrubbing - there’s no extra money for cleaning. Teachers who work in schools know how filthy they are and hold out little hope for them being transformed into something sparkling and sanitised regardless of the guidelines. My bin isn’t even emptied half the time despite being on the schedule and staff offices are barely touched.

should be "helping out"

@noblegiraffe I do agree with you - it seems unfair that a bus driver should have a screen in some ways but then he is unable to maintain the 1 meter distance with passengers who are random members of the public, not kids who are all being monitored for symptoms. The bus driver cannot move back or away- he or she has to sit in a space with people they have no clue who they are.
Don’t get me wrong- I think teachers have been amazing through this and are heroes in their own right. Must have been a nightmare and will continue to be for them in sept. I just don’t what ppe would effectively work in that particular job

@noblegiraffe ok well it’s a different story here with the schools my DC are at. Temps taken every day. Lots of hand sanitizer. Teachers and other staff disinfecting all surfaces. Equipment not shared. All non essential things taken out of the class.

I can’t speak for primary schools but for secondary the plans are a disaster waiting to happen.

Instead now we could be planning for all students in for 2 days a week being taught the same lessons with the home learning element being explained and set up by the teacher. The next week that could be checked, consolidated and built upon with new content and repeat.

It would allow for some degree of social distancing and consistency in the event of a child being ill or isolating and teachers would work one day a week from home setting up all of the home learning elements and recording explanation PowerPoints or whatever format for those who have to miss school due to isolating. Deep cleaning would take place in school on that day.

Schools could still take vulnerable kids full time.

Instead we want to pretend everything is normal and have chaos and complete disregard for safety or reality in terms of the best chance of teenagers having a consistent and effective education next year.

Why would anyone be against this for secondary?

Oh for goodness sake. Destroying children’s lives is NOT the answer to a virus that is mild in most people. Utter nonsense and we need to learn to live.

You realise that the driver gets the screen because he can’t stay two metres from his passengers, not one?

Teachers can’t stay two metres from their class and get no mitigation for that.

You seem to have experience of the current situation in schools (primary only?)

@FrippEnos no it’s not seconds. They are in that shop with no windows for hours at a time. If someone sneezes Next to the screen ( a me never of the public who is completely unknown to the staff member) then how is a screen really going to help? Those shop workers are bringing things in and out of the store rooms, crossing the store for hours!

You don’t understand how a screen would help if someone sneezes next to it?