Page 18 | Coronovirus IS transmitted in schools

MoreListeningLessChatting · 10/08/2020 11:03

OP states that "around 200 school staff have dies to date"

The OP states that she is a teacher and that this information came from the NEU her union.

I have visited the NEU site and nowhere on there do they say that around 200 school staff have died. I am obviously not looking carefully enough, although I have searched their information pages around Covid. Perhaps the OP might share the section where they state around 200 school staff have died?

MrsWhites · 10/08/2020 11:05

To be honest I agree with you that schools opening in full isn’t the right course of action but you lost me at ‘I didn’t touch a single surface’....that’s just not possible!

sunseekin · 10/08/2020 11:05

@mosquitofeast

And lots of teachers have died

I am just clarifying this, as I don't know how many times I have read on Mumsnet that this has never happened. I don't know where this misinformation is coming from, but its rubbish

It was transmitted several hundred times in my school (secondary)before lock down. Hundreds of children and dozens of staff were affected. Some have been seriously ill and have been left with long term health problems, such as low lung capacity and loss of hearing.

I am a teacher and I was infected at school. I did not use public transport, or go into any shops or other businesses for the whole of March, and I was living alone. The only time I was in any contact with anyone else was in school

A school near us (also secondary) had to close a week before school closures were announced, as so many teachers were infected.

Thankfully, no staff or student in our school died, although several students have lost parents, and many have lost grandparents. One of my sixthformers has withdrawn her university application as her mum has lost a lung and a leg and now can't run her home and care for her younger children on her own.

However, according to the union, around 200 school staff have dies to date, so we have just been lucky so far.

So please don't repost this fake news that "no one has ever caught covid in a school" - because |I have watched it happen in front of my eyes, and experienced it myself.

And this will be a true story that is no doubt true in hundreds of schools up and down the country.

I hope you’re feeling ok now. Thanks for posting the truth even though you must have known the hassle and shouting down that would come with it.

I do believe that those spouting and believing the fake news must be in the minority but I think it’s so important that people keep shouting.

MarshaBradyo · 10/08/2020 11:10

Sunseekin you think that scenes that were traumatic and terrifying, with many grieving students, happened in op’s school when 77 deaths had occurred across country and the most other schools experienced were a few cases of cough and fever? But mostly parents keeping dc home due to worry.

That somehow the op noted hundreds of cases in her school? So excluding asymptomatic ones (which she would not know about) her school far exceeded Israel in number of cases, an outbreak that has been reported worldwide.

No idea why people are so susceptible.

MarshaBradyo · 10/08/2020 11:10

Although you said the word true /truth so many times I wonder if you are being ironic.

Heatherjayne1972 · 10/08/2020 11:12

Yeah but the media are just replaying the narrative the government wants
And that is ‘it’s all safe’
The virus doesn’t care - it just needs humans

Anyway if schools/children weren’t spreading all sorts of viruses and germs why is there a huge emphasis on flu vaccinations for primary aged kids?

Flimflamfloogety · 10/08/2020 11:14

Anyone else get the feeling this is a huge propaganda push from the unions? I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is one of their tactics - spam MN with loads of hyperbolic and scaremongering threads to get the mums worked up enough to refuse to send their kids to school.

Also, has everyone forgotten that the purpose of lockdown was never to prevent everyone from catching the virus, it was to prevent everyone catching it AT THE SAME TIME? This was to ensure the NHS could cope, and give doctors time to find treatments. Anyone remember the phrase "flatten the curve"? We are now at a point where the NHS has the capacity to treat us effectively, so therefore things are being opened again. No doubt if too much pressure is placed on the system we will see things closed down again.

We are all going to catch it at some point. So far the data shows that if you are not in one of the vulnerable groups (elderly, obese etc) you will be unlikely to die. Yes you may be unwell, but you could also pick up norovirus or the flu and be very unwell. It's tragic that people have died, and those most at risk should continue to be shielded (by this I mean health conditions not specific professions). Normal life has to resume at some point, we can't have a generation of children completely left adrift. The impact this will have on their futures will be devastating - unemployable, illiterate, prone to crime, drugs or alcohol abuse, mental health issues and most likely an increase in suicides.

Bananabread8 · 10/08/2020 11:18

@Heatherjayne1972

Yeah but the media are just replaying the narrative the government wants And that is ‘it’s all safe’ The virus doesn’t care - it just needs humans

Anyway if schools/children weren’t spreading all sorts of viruses and germs why is there a huge emphasis on flu vaccinations for primary aged kids?

Not everybody gives their kid a vaccine for flu. I didn’t let my child have it. It’s a newish thing too we didn’t have that when I was at school! Just because something is invented doesn’t mean you should just have because a Dr says it’s best. Would you give your child a vaccine for the Covid if it was produced next week? I wouldn’t after this shit show I’ll risk it.

FlySheMust · 10/08/2020 11:18

Anyone else get the feeling this is a huge propaganda push from the unions? I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is one of their tactics - spam MN with loads of hyperbolic and scaremongering threads to get the mums worked up enough to refuse to send their kids to school.

Oh the irony of that statement in view of the many Us4Them trolls invading MN.

sonicbook · 10/08/2020 11:18

Anyone else get the feeling this is a huge propaganda push from the unions? I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is one of their tactics - spam MN with loads of hyperbolic and scaremongering threads to get the mums worked up enough to refuse to send their kids to school.

Or maybe teachers just want the basic safety precautions afforded to other professions.

Oaktree55 · 10/08/2020 11:20

@Flimflamfloogety I really take issue with this defeatist attitude “we are all going to get it”.

There are several promising vaccine hopefuls. Testing is improving drastically and rapid testing becoming more of a probability pretty soon. This would allow places such as school/work to open safely and would be another tool to keep numbers from escalating.

Barbie222 · 10/08/2020 11:22

@Flimflamfloogety as long as nudge politics and populism are holding in this country, Johnson just listens to whoever shouts loudest on the day.

I am in favour of school opening (very much in favour as teacher and parent) but we all need to appreciate that we'll be lucky indeed if we get through to Christmas without a lot of disruption and it's easier to know in advance what this is going to look like.

Keeping transmission low in schools is key. It needs to be run similar to the June opening if we are to expect the same results as Gavin's survey says.

But it won't be - it will be like the March opening, with vastly higher transmission because unless you are particularly unable to face reality, transmission EVERYWHERE is RAISED by school opening. I don't think there can be anyone left anywhere who still can't get to that fact, apart from the very hard of thinking.

So let's get extra money and resources in to lower transmission from the start, before it's too late.

sonicbook · 10/08/2020 11:22

Still not one person has had the ability, or courage, to explain to me or several other posters why teacher don't deserve any protection in the workplace? Anyone?

Northernsoulgirl45 · 10/08/2020 11:23

Re nurseries. This was 23 cases linked to one nursery.

Barbie222 · 10/08/2020 11:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Barbie222 · 10/08/2020 11:26

That bolding is all wrong but... still scary attitude

TaxTheRatFarms · 10/08/2020 11:28

The self isolation rule was in place before lockdown so I dont think the advise was if you havent been to china then come to school on the fortnight or so before schools closed

You’re right - I know at the end of February ds2 and I had a cough and fever and were told it couldn’t be Covid as we hadn’t been to Wuhan. The middle of March was when the advice came out to self isolate with a cough and fever. That would have been the week before schools closed.

I have clearly forgotten how frustrated I was that kids were still coming to school with coughs and fevers but as deaths were so low in early March, I don’t think many people were taking it that seriously. I do remember being worried about my students with symptoms but luckily they all recovered well as far as I know, although some had a pretty rough time with it.

Northernsoulgirl45 · 10/08/2020 11:31

Testing positive isn't necessarily a bad thing if the person doesn't get ill and we shield vulnerable people from contact with them
@Genevieva how does that work when a teen catches it at school and brings it home to their vulnerable parents? 15% of extremely clinically vulnerable have kids under 16. That is just extremely clinically vulnerable.

Bananabread8 · 10/08/2020 11:32

@Barbie222 if you want to let your child have it that’s up to you.

rookiemere · 10/08/2020 11:33

I remember in March getting emails from the school saying not to send your DC in if they had a cough or fever, shortly before the schools shut.
I thought it was very irresponsible of parents to send DCs Into school at that point with symptoms
I hope that no parent would do that now.

FrippEnos · 10/08/2020 11:35

As parents already send in ill children, do posters really think that parents will abide by these guidelines?

And if the child is sent home and has a test that is negative but they still show symptoms, do posters honestly think that the parents will keep them off?

After all the parents have to work!

ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia · 10/08/2020 11:37

Irrespective of whether this whole thread is agenda given by ABC or XYZ teachers union or not is irrelevant in my humble opinion.

I am just a mum here and I like all other parents want schools to reopen soon but only if say and as the original poster suggested in subsequent posts perhaps to include many/most of the overseas tried and tested Covid smarter arrangements for schools Covid risk mitigation.

In England we are thankful that we have nearby Scottish (guinea pig) schools to closely monitor and observe before other UK schools reopen (hopefully).

We don't want constant schooling disruption nor any more unnecessary Covid fatalities. We need a cooperative all in flexible solution. We need all concerned parties involved "singing" on the same page wishing for the most ideal save outcomes.

Needless to say schools play a vital role not only in education but as a link between families and for facilitating parents to get the economy back up and running once they can be assured in person schooling is safe and not the next care home disaster scenario.

The other connected weak high risk Covid link is the journey in and out of schools for all, families and staff. Busy shared mass transit public transportation is the perfect vector for maximum Covid asymptomatic community transmission. Possibly ban or severely limit use of shared public transportation for school children and staff to reduce exposure?

Covidco · 10/08/2020 11:38

Flimflamfloogety but that also harks back to when heard immunity was the strategy. it has been proven that herd immunity is now unlikely to work as immunity is short lived.

Plus, the NHS is not set up to deal with an massive increase in cases again. We are perilously underfunded and under resourced as it is, COVID hasn't helped that. If we see another big spike, other services which have now resumed will again have to be cancelled/ postponed, which we don't want.

I'm not saying schools shouldn't reopen, they definitely should BUT we should at least try and reduce the risk of COVID spreading in schools and minimise the inevitable increase in cases. We won't be able to stop it completely, but we could slow it to manageable levels.

Flimflamfloogety · 10/08/2020 11:43

@sonicbook

It's no different to working in the private sector and having to share a confined office space with 30 people - our employers aren't offering us PPE, we can choose to wear a mask if we wish but there is no compulsion for others to do so.

My office is in a high rise, so no windows we can open, I have to share the same conditioned air as everyone else. I have to share a confined lift space with strangers, linger in hallways waiting for the lift, share possibly contaminated surfaces. It's no different.

By your logic, why are teachers so precious but private sector is expendable?

sonicbook · 10/08/2020 11:45

@Flimflamfloogety

Are you aware that your employer is supposed to be ensuring your safety at work as best they can? People should return to the workplace if their employer can make it covid safe.

Where do you work?

Teachers don't think that they're precious. They think that the regulations should apply to them also.