Back from abroad - straight in to school

[Realitea]

DD went back to school today. There's a child in her class who just got back from Portugal yesterday. Been there for two months. I know they don't have to quarantine but surely it's a bit selfish going straight in to school after arriving back in the country? A lot of parents are concerned now. How likely is it that she could have brought back the virus? Isn't it a bit selfish considering a lot of people are quite worried right now?

You’re not framing your responses as only your opinion to which you are of course entitled, you’re framing it as ‘my way is common sense therefore it’s what everyone should think’.

While I couldn’t agree more that much of the government advice has been shambolic, we probably have different reasons why we think it.

If for once the government advice goes in someone’s favour, they arent doing anything wrong by following it, and don’t deserve to be judged or criticised by interfering busybodies.

You'll be pleased to hear OP that I (as a teacher) chose not to go abroad this summer.
Because I live in Italy and would have come to the UK. And with 38 cases in my entire region since March, and mask wearing compulsory and me getting a test before we start school, I wouldn't have wanted to risk coming to the UK with all the batshittery like yours around.

Oh come on, they've had enough time to go on a holibob and return at least a week before school started, not the day before?!

How do you know this? How can you possibly know the restrictions in someone else's life that means you can be sure they've had enough time over the summer to go away a week before they did? They may have had their own work restrictions, or family circumstances, which prevented them leaving earlier.

If quarantine isn't in place they could come back from the country that morning and come into school in the afternoon direct from there airport - and they'd still be within their rights, and within government guidelines, to so.

Rather than turning on each other, we should be focusing more on the absolute incompetent government in charge of this mess. Let's not forget that they did not impose any travel restrictions at the height of this pandemic and allowed kids and teachers back to schools after half term ski trips to major hotspots and no one batted an eyelid and things were a lot worse back than. They are responsible for confusion and chaos over everything especially education and travel and now here we are with a 'world beating' track and trace system and a 'world beating' testing program neither of which is fit for purpose if people are unable to access testing without having to drive hundreds of miles. The whole thing is a world beating mess.

'You’re not framing your responses as only your opinion to which you are of course entitled, you’re framing it as ‘my way is common sense therefore it’s what everyone should think'

That's because someone else 'framed their response' that I was jealous of a beach holiday. One that we all manage perfectly well every other year.

'Rather than turning on each other'

Lovely. However imo it is beyond clueless to go to school the day after returning from holiday abroad. No I don't know everyone's personal circumstances obviously but we know there is a lot of flexibility at the moment and I would suspect with most earlier bookings would have been possible.

They're probably the same parents who will complain when their kids are sent home to isolate after a local lockdowm and demand Boris fixes it.

^This.

If you don't think it's right someone can get off a plane and into a classroom blame the people who made the rules. Not the people who are following them.

You can't expect people who don't have to quarantine/isolate to do so, on the off chance. Otherwise we might as well all self-isolate after every trip out of the house!

Sorry my post was in response to NotAKaren but it took an age to post!

Why is it any of your business what they do?
Portugal has no higher rates of Covid, and they’d be far more likely to catch it attending an event or hotspot in the UK.
You just sound jealous to be honest!

@NotAKaren, brilliant post.

It’s only beyond clueless if you still believe that the virus is a huge threat compared to every other contagious illness that exists, many of us no longer believe that to be the case. Even if it were, ‘abroad’ doesn’t automatically mean more risk than staying in the UK.

@GetOffYourHighHorse - as two wrongs don’t make a right, what has someone else making silly comments about you being jealous of beach holidays got to do with the quality of your response? And btw, I do not believe for a minute that the family in question were on a 2-month long beach holiday.

. However imo it is beyond clueless to go to school the day after returning from holiday abroad.

But why, for somewhere not in the quarantine list?
And how long do they stay off for?
Who provides their school work if you're refusing them access into school?

What about people who have been in holiday in a busy British holiday resort? Do the MN rules apply to them too?
What about someone who has had the day at a theme park or zoo over the weekend? Or someone who has been to the cinema, soft play, a restaurant, on the bus/train? Where do we draw the line?

I teach. At the moment I am due to fly to the Caribbean at October half term, and will teach the week after. There is no quarantine in place. I have to provide a negative Covid test within a week before I enter that country.

If I don't go I will currently lose £1000 deposit. If I decide to cancel less than 3 weeks before we are due to go I'd lose much more,

If I don't have to quarantine I will be going. I will land in the UK on the Sunday morning and I will be teaching on the Monday.

If parents don't want me to do that then will they all pitch in and lay me the money I'd lose? Or pitch in to pay for two weeks of supply cover whilst I stay home for a fortnight?

and people who work no doubt go abroad on holiday and straight back to work.
calm down

what would you have people who have been working through this pandemic, go off to their prebooked holiday, or last minute. com holiday.
no quarantine required.
and then back to work?
are they also wrong?

'what would you have people who have been working through this pandemic, go off to their prebooked holiday, or last minute.com holiday. no quarantine required. and then back to work? are they also wrong?'

Well work has to be 'covid safe', social distancing etc. It isnt really possible in a classroom full of kids. Plus they'd had all the summer holidays to go. It doesnt make sense to me, obviously there was the very high risk they would need to quarantine anyway so their kids would've missed the first 2 weeks after being off months. Some parents just couldnt care less it seems. At least they got a suntan.

Bloody hell. Small minded or what? They haven't done anything wrong. I expect you and the other school gate warriors are exceptionally unintelligent.

If this is the reaction some have to to a child returning to school having been on a permitted holiday abroad, I dread to think what the reaction will be when a child tests positive for Covid.