New study shows the huge role children play in spreading Covid

[Worriedmum999]

Biggest study so far on the role of children in spreading Covid has come out today. Surely this has massive implications on children going back to school as normal. It’s very concerning. news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/looking-at-children-as-the-silent-spreaders-of-sars-cov-2/

@refusetobeasheep

So children are spreaders, just like with flu. Did you really not know that before this article? If they weren't there would be no need for the changes that schools are imposing, we'd just be sending all back with no precautions.

I think you may be surprised at how little precautions there actually are compared to other public shared spaces.

The decision really is for parents sending them knowing this information but knowing it's not the children themselves likely to become really ill or deciding to home school for a while.

I wish the third option that government planned this correctly and had better measures existed but that ship has sailed

The interesting debate on what this article actually means aside... I still don't understand the opposition to children wearing masks. My youngest is 5, technically exempt from mask wearing requirements, but if he comes into a shop or anywhere else where masks need to be worn, we make him wear one. He is fine with it (he even likes his masks, Batman ones no less). If he can do it, all kids without health conditions or trauma histories that would preclude it can do it, and we should be calling for it. I want my dc back in school and I want their education to be full time and it seems so stupid not to have them wearing masks.

DianaT1969 Excellently put.

I think everyone who doesn't want schools to open should say if they also want all pubs, non-essential shops, hairdressers, workplace offices, factories to shut too, and for us all to be banned from going outside unless it is to buy food and for all socialising to be banned.

There are risks in opening things up. But surely opening schools has a more clear urgent benefit than opening pubs and hairdressers and letting us go round to people's houses.

@coldcolder

In Germany, all secondary school children are wearing masks at school. Maybe we could learn from that?

Infection rates are climbing massively in Germany, even though their schools have masks, social distancing and disinfectant foot baths

Hairdressers- open ...with visors, masks and distancing between customers.

Beauty open ...taking temperatures on entry, staff and customers in masks and visors, no one allowed to wait in the waiting room-must wait outside

Shops open ...hand sanitiser to be used on entry, huge restrictions on numbers, masks to be worn for customers, plastic screens between customers and staff, staff not touching any returns

Offices open ....I know of one friend who is back working in her office. They have totally rearranged the workspace to enable social distancing-no more than 4 in the work staff room. Everyone else I know who works in an office (most of my friends) are still working from home. The fact Matt Hancock is having to tell the Daily Mail to say you can’t catch Covid at work to desperately encourage people back, suggests my friends are not in the minority.

My dr has gone back to normal service ...mine hasn’t. Phone consultation only. Dentist is only doing emergencies, family planning isn’t seeing anyone, nor is speech therapy or occupational therapy

@Clive222 so is everything to remain shut

@Appuskidu yes precisely they are open and functioning !!
My daughters school will have hand sanitising stations and social distancing measures - inline with government regs as the other businesses have done too .

So what ms the difference for school sleep opening ????

Come on peeps get with it! Stop harping on about business as usual.

School opens and we have
-one way systems in operation
-staff and students can wear masks

• where possible students stay in class and staff move to them
• handwashing and hand gel routines
• reduced contact sport
• reduced sports fixtures
• staggered lunch breaks
• year groups in playground zones
• extra cleaners in
• homework to be submitted for on-line marking
• in class written assessments will be the only thing marked with a pen

-no collection of books

Is that old normal? No it isnt.

@Charliescar

Open and functioning is very different from being open ‘back to normal’.

I think we need to collectively prioritise schools reopening and staying open. The detriment to children’s education and wellbeing of being out of school for this long outweighs the actual level of risk. This means if cases rise, shutting down pubs and restaurants and gyms etc and restricting gatherings. Yes there will be some outbreaks in schools but the majority will be able to carry on.
The evidence for children spreading still seems mixed but I do find it odd that while I know lots of people who got it in March (or are pretty confident they had it) none of them think their child was the source - it was workplaces, conferences, parties, relatives working in nhs, going to the theatre. Certainly different to the usual winter bugs!

I am sorry I am not bonkers !

Yes people are lucky if they can work at home !

However , we cannot carry on living our lives without thinking of your kids . Maybe younger ones are doing ok at home , but secondary school age are not . Vandalism is rife aNd so is depression.

I am not saying we should’nt be cautious , but I don’t see much caution in pubs and restaurants lately . This makes me tremendously sad . We have for skin our kids for the hospitality industry

This was always going to be the case. We know it, the government know it, they just think it's more important to get everyone back to work.

We've never been able to eradicate nits in schools, FFS. The idea that kids wouldn't spread any virus is frankly nonsense.

The measures put in place by schools are pretty useless considering the number of children in a small space, the length of time they are mixing with each other and adults, touching surfaces and breathing out droplets, and the impossibility of social distancing.

5 bubbles in my school share the same block of toilets. Those children are going to be touching the same locks, flushes and taps. Bubbles are a futile pseudo measure to reassure parents but are meaningless in practice.

@Charliescar - think you have to rewrite that last post

Schools are back - what is the problem?

Obviously there may be local closures with blended learning occasionally but that is how the cookie is going to crumble for all of us

This was on youtube last week. I posted on here, not my own thread
It's the under 5's apparently, they have anywhere between 10% and 100% more viral load than a 5-17 year old.
Nurseries and pre schools will be rife.

@Bluewavescrashing I will be keeping my classroom windows open as much as possible during winter, even if it is blowing a gale and squirting hand gel everywhere.

@Devlesko - you had better take cover as the UsForThem mob will have their pitchforks out for you.

@StaffAssociationRepresentative why ?

I presume you are a teacher ?

I work in the office of a large secondary school , my brother is a teacher . I understand the predicament of schools

Dr John Campbell, last week, reporting on American research findings.

That study was less than 200 people
presenting at two hospitals
in one city
and looked at one factor

the headline of the article
and of the thread
are not supported by the data

It's the under 5's apparently, they have anywhere between 10% and 100% more viral load than a 5-17 year old.
Nurseries and pre schools will be rife.

This is the problem with medicine/science. It is not such a simple equation. For some reason, very young children seem to spread the virus very little. This is an active research question to determine why but at least we can be reassured about the facts.

How many people here supporting the opening are going to their workplaces without masks, social distancing. Schools are not being reopened safely. They are being opened to save Gavin Williamson's job. Look at a the evidence coming from the places which have started schools. If you want to send your kids, send them. No one is stopping you. Parents have concerns they are sharing.

How many people here supporting the opening are going to their workplaces without masks, social distancing. Schools are not being reopened safely. They are being opened to save Gavin Williamson's job.

If it saves his job (which I doubt it will) won't that be because voters largely think he has done the right thing?

Voters do not have a choice now who is kept or who is sacked. Look at all the howlers made by other ministers.

Big Gav needs to go. The BTEC results aren't out yet which is another disgrace.

@Charliescar - yes I am a teacher - until recently SLT in a big outer London MAT. So yes I do have an understanding of the predicament of schools as well.