Should we treat covid like flu now and just get on with life?

[947EliseChalotte]

Is it time to accept covid as another flu and just get on with life and back to normality. The whole point of lockdown was to flatten the curve.

Startling fact: more dc have killed themselves in the uk since lockdown started than have died from Covid. No teacher has been recorded as having caught Covid from a pupil anywhere in the world. Factually wrong and ridiculously misleading.

@My0My

Again read up about risk. Who is at risk matters.

I’m a scientist. I weigh up risk with evidence. Not ridiculous anecdotes or articles I’ve picked that suit my POV. @My0My you don’t know what you are talking about.

I agree @IceCreamSummer20
It's shocking, but I think My0My is suggesting more than half the population (all men, women over 40, the huge number of people of all ages with common preexisting conditions) are expendable (try paying for schools without their tax contributions). She's saying we teach children that their parents and grandparents don't matter, and that as soon as they themselves turn 40 (especially if they're male) it doesn't matter if they die.

As PP point out it's not just about death either. Younger people are also at risk from potential lifelong damage to their heart, lungs, or mental health. And if they want to bring suicide into it. It's known that losing a parent young can have devastating MH impacts on a child.

Yeah me too. I get that we can't stay locked down forever but surely, when there's a novel disease circulating globally with no vaccine, no cure, that's killed well over half a million people in half a year and left hundreds of thousands more with damaged organs, we can at least comply with measures to limit further spread? Given that it is spread by people. To each other.

And actually I'm sick of hearing about the stress on young people being justification for "getting back to normal". There is nothing "normal" about a global pandemic and well what do you know, living with it is inherently stressful. Whether because of deaths or because of containment measures or because of economic damage it's fucking horrible. But acting like it's not there is not the answer.

My0My

It seems we also have a problem evaluating credibility...

I love also reading about how women under 45 have nothing to worry about. I’m 47. I have young kids. So I can just be dismissed?

Ok so dh has a condition that makes him immunosuppressed but his condition isn't life limiting. He is wfh and is a net contributor. He had finally this week left the house to go on holiday. No one seems to give a toss about sd. Someone almost knocked into him the other day. We have visited restaurants where tables are not even 1 metre apart let alone two.
Covid is not flu and shoild be taken more seriously.

Well a friend of mine knows of a teacher who died locally. No one knows who she caught it from but ridiculous to make such statements without evidence.

I think there has to be a dose of realism that the people who need to work and who are trying to work are going to have a huge problem looking after ill people and meeting their needs. Some of whom smoke, drink too much and are overweight and have diabetes. We know with a reduced tax take this will not be possible. So your dc and my dc will pay for the borrowing which has no end because veryone wants more and more and more from society.

What are you implying here, My0My?

@Mittens030869

It isn't more deadly than malaria actually, not at all. It's just that it's more widespread. Millions die of malaria in sub-Sahara Africa. It also kills the young, the vast majority of victims are under 5. Whereas COVID kills the elderly and those with co-morbidities.

I don't think there is any limit to the government spending and intervention to prevent malaria spread in the UK. It is just that the spread is prevented easily and cheaply, and so discretely that most people are unaware of it.

There has to be some balance between taking sensible precautions like social distancing and mask wearing, and locking down areas where there are spikes. But schools need to open in September (the virus doesn't really spread through schools anyway) and the economy does need to be up and running where possible.

But while we might not get the picture of what's happening in places like Russia (and who really believes the very low death rate in China???) we are seeing what's happening in Brazil with a clearly sociopathic President who really doesn't care how many deaths there are from just 'a little flu'.

There has to be some balance between taking sensible precautions like social distancing and mask wearing

Teachers/staff aren’t allowed to.

the virus doesn't really spread through schools anyway)

Where’s the proof?

Lots of teaching staff have had Covid (me included) no one for sure can say where they caught Covid. You cannot say no teacher has caught it from a student! You are speaking dangerous mis-leading information.

The risk appears low in schools compared to other environments but I take your point that we don't know. It's quite likely that the teachers caught it from other adults in school time. Home time was always chaotic pre Covid and I'm sure plenty of teachers could have caught it then.

I don't know the answers. But my DDs and others have been damaged during lockdown, although they've also admittedly been damaged by having a mum very sick with Covid symptoms for weeks.

The risk appears low in schools compared to other environments

So my husband has a higher chance of catching it in an office with 12 (clean face mask wearing hand sanitized staff)

Than I do in a school with 400 grubby hand washing avoiding non mask wearing children who like a hug? Or need medical care?

Explain that?

Well said @TheKarenWhoKnocks

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53650648

As I said, I don't understand it at all. But it does appear to be what the evidence is suggesting. That, unlike with flu, children are not super spreaders when asymptomatic. And when they have symptoms they'll stay at home thus putting their parents at risk.

What I can tell you is that my DD2 (8) had what I'm sure was COVID-19 early on, a few days after me, but for only 4 days (she was very poorly though). My DH didn't catch it from her, despite looking after her more than I did because I was unwell myself. I definitely can't explain that.

The Children’s Commissioner says children play a smaller role in spreading Covid-19 and are much less likely to get ill from it.

My DH didn't catch it from her, despite looking after her more than I did because I was unwell myself. I definitely can't explain that.“

Unfortunately, Mittens you wouldn’t know that unless he was tested for antibodies. That’s why this damned thing is so bloody dangerous.

True, but he's in his mid fifties and has asthma so I would be surprised if he had it without symptoms. I suspect DD1 (11) very likely did, though.

And what about high school?

It is very difficult to weigh up risk for schools, as the evidence is mixed. We do know that children seem to get it less, less severely and possibly spread it less. However there are also findings that children over 11 spread it as much as adults.

So we know that there is less risk in schools, but it is not risk free. Also, as schools have hundreds of kids, with hundreds of families attached, then the virus could seed into the community in quite a big way.

Community transmission - once it is out there - is the most difficult to trace and control.

Clusters - like in meat factories are more containable - the people work and live together usually.

Israel did become very blasé about schools, opened early and abandoned social distancing etc and they seemed to drive high community transmission. Denmark opened carefully, with children in very small units, physically distanced and also crucially I think did much of the classrooms outside to ensure ventilation.

The Children’s Commissioner says children play a smaller role in spreading Covid-19 and are much less likely to get ill from it

Dangerous for her to say this, re. spreading, as the evidence does NOT back this up.