Child in DD class has Covid-19

[Vestandpants]

He’s tested positive on Friday, poor thing is feeling so poorly.

They only went back on Thursday so I’m wondering if he picked it up beforehand?

Anyway, I’m to keep our DD off for 14 days now.
My question is do I have to stay off work?
I genuinely can’t afford the bills if I have to stay off as my work don’t pay me if I’m off.

Should I just go to work and only take time off if my own DD shows symptoms (very tempted)

Help!

@Mummyto3gorgeousgirlies

Officially only your DD needs to isolate. And she needs testing if has symptoms and you/rest of household only have to isolate if she is tested and is positive. Personally if it were me I’d work from home but that is an option for me and keep clear of everyone but I appreciate that’s not an option for all lines of work... I wish you good luck and good health x

I think OPs DD would need testing anyway as she would of been exposed to a positive case? Children often carry no symptoms anyway.

" I think OPs DD would need testing anyway as she would of been exposed to a positive case? Children often carry no symptoms anyway"

Her daughter only needs testing if she develops symptoms. Thankfully not all close contacts will catch the virus.

I’m so sorry I didn’t explain properly.

The boy woke up on Friday morning with cough, sore throat, temperature etc and stayed off school.

His Mum drove him for a swab that afternoon and got the results yesterday and the school immediately texted all parents of DC in his bubble to keep them off for 2 weeks.

It’s all kicked off on the class Facebook page since then (personally can’t be doing with the drama and just hope he makes a swift recovery)

There’s parents on there saying they’ll have to stay off work and keep their other dc off school now etc and I have been hoping that’s not necessary (?)

My DH and I can share childcare whilst still working luckily (had a lot of practice recently, both keyworkers and worked all through lockdown) but we are both in jobs where we can’t work from home.
We’re also on fairly low pay so staying home for 2 weeks every time a child in our DD’s bubble tests positive would mean it’s impossible to pay our bills.
SSP of £90 or something per week each just wouldn’t come close.

If our DD had symptoms we’d get her tested of course.
The ‘plan’ if we have to stay home if one of us tests positive is to use credit cards to pay the bills as it’s the best we can do but we’d obviously like to avoid doing that unless absolutely necessary.

@Neversayn1
Well ideally yes but the guidance is only if she gets symptoms- unfortunately if everyone who had been exposed to Covid suddenly asked for a test (in school situations that could be many multiples of 29 kids) the testing system will fall over (as it already has in some parts where people are being offered tests 100s of miles away) and the people that really need to get tested won’t be.

I will update if any of the DC in the bubble also test positive during the 14 days.
I’m concerned to read that he would have been most infectious on Thursday, the day they went back (but he had no symptoms at all then so I don’t see it as anyone’s ‘fault’ it’s the nature of the virus I guess)

Surely this doesn’t take into account the fact that a great number of people are asymptomatic carriers. If everyone is tested at least school would know it’s safe.

only the close contact needs to isolate. Only need a test if they have symptoms.

How close was your DD in contact with him? If she sat next to him all day I would be more worried than if he was the opposite side of the classroom.

Hope the lad recovers quickly.

I dread to think how close their contact has been really.
They’re young primary (KS1) and in a bubble so playing together along with everything that naturally comes with that.
The school have said they will encourage good hand hygiene and sit them facing forward at desks etc but social distancing at their age is probably quite hard.

@Vestandpants

I will update if any of the DC in the bubble also test positive during the 14 days. I’m concerned to read that he would have been most infectious on Thursday, the day they went back (but he had no symptoms at all then so I don’t see it as anyone’s ‘fault’ it’s the nature of the virus I guess)

The great thing about him having no symptoms on Thursday is that he won’t have been coughing and spluttering. Thus less likely to be spreading. There’s not much evidence of formite transmission (surface) so fingers crossed your DD and other classmates could be fine. Hope he recovers quickly!

Due to this selfish attitude Covid 19 will not be controlled. If you worked at my workplace, I would be praying for everyone's safety.

It is not selfish to follow government guidelines.

Under track and trace only those with direct contact with the positive case must self isolate. The rest of the household can go about their normal life.

Infact in the case of schools, not even all direct contacts have to self isolate after just one case. Sometimes it's only a handful from the class, and often the teacher of the class done have to self isolate until there's been several cases.

*I don’t understand, if someone in the bubble is positive surely the whole bubble isolates for 14 days?
*

Actually under the school guidelines even the bubbleDon't necessarily have to self isolate after just one positive case. Sometimes it is only those with prolonged direct contact, but just being within the same classroom.
Track and trace for school appears to follow different rules than for elsewhere.

If you could work from home then that would be great, but you can't, government guidelines are clear that you can work because hundreds of people can't keep isolating for each individual case. Transmission can be very low from many individuals, his family are more likely to catch it or to have given it to him due to sleeping in the same house.

you can go to work unless she starts showing symptoms, at that point you need to self isolate.

Only your dd has to isolate. My best friends mam was recently in contact with a positive case and only she had to isolate, not anyone else in the house. My friends mam didn't catch it either despite having stayed over at this persons house the day before symptoms. Hope your DD stays symptom free and the little boy recovers quickly

It really is a worry. I am not critiscing the rules, it is what it is, but i can see myself having a DD that needs to self isolate for two weeks every other week. She is nearly 12 now but not sure I could leave her all day while I went to work. We'd be talking from 8am until 5pm each day. Im a single mother so dont have a lot of choice.

This just shows what a difficult situation it is.
Try to socially distance and wear masks as much as possible when at work/ shopping and stay away from close contact with anyone who is older/vulnerable.

@guilttripjourno

Due to this selfish attitude Covid 19 will not be controlled. If you worked at my workplace, I would be praying for everyone's safety.

There is no "must of known" to it.

I was fine until 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon, when within the space of two hours I quickly developed a persistent dry cough and within about 10 hours had a fever, which of course turned out to be covid. I couldn't have possibly known, there were no signs, and I had been to the supermarket and at work as normal that day with no symptoms - luckily I was working from home from lunchtime onwards.
For what it's worth no one I came into contact with at work that day or the days proceeding developed any symptoms.

I work in a school and was told that if one of my own children was sent home to isolate following a positive case that they were in close contact with, then there would be no need for me to isolate and I would be expected to go to work.

@mrshoho my child DS starts school on Monday.

But I’ve been Wondering how it would work for the teachers and TA if a child in their class tested positive.

I’m shocked (if I have understood correctly) that’s it’s fine for you to continue to work. Surely does that defeat the object or anybody in the school isolating.

I work in a totally different setting but there no way I would be allowed to work if I came into contact with a positive case.

I’m sure headteachers are under huge pressure but it shouldn’t be up-to them to set medical protocols.

Your dd is self isolating because she's been in contact.

You don't have to currently because she shows no symptoms.

If anytime in next 14 days your dd shows symptoms she self isolates for 10 days from that date.

You then self isolate for 14 days from the date she has symptoms.

However - during this time if her test comes back negative you can both cease isolation.

It's like some complicated maths question!

I don't know the answers re pay etc as each employee had their own rules and I think the payment was only for those in high incidence areas (but I may be wrong)

Wonder if he had a sore throat thursday?
As it is airborne if he was shouting/singing/talking etc.

Also could have been in his poop etc

Thibg is we cant say xyz contact did nt get it. They are not tested. So at leazt what 1/4 chance if they did have it they would have no symptoms. Or more that factory there were hundreds infected.
We are doing lots of tests but surely more likely to find positives among contacts. Especially household. So case numbers are artificially low

@ChickenwingChickenwing

*He’s tested positive on Friday, poor thing is feeling so poorly. ** *They only went back on Thursday

This doesn't make much sense OP.

Why doesn’t it make sense? Thursday was the Childrens first day back at school. Unwell child then had symptoms on Friday so was tested for coronavirus, results came back positive.

@Neversayn1 - OP isn't a contact of the child, her DD is. Her DD is unlikely to even get symptoms and be infectious until Tuesday, even if she catches it, which isn't necessarily going to happen; OP then wouldn't get symptoms and be infectious until the following Sunday. Your suggestion that any contact of a contact of someone with covid should isolate makes no sense. It's not only the issue that many of the original contacts will not be infected, but then their isolation period starts too early. They need to wait to see if their contact gets symptoms first.

[quote Neversayn1]@mrshoho my child DS starts school on Monday.

But I’ve been Wondering how it would work for the teachers and TA if a child in their class tested positive.

I’m shocked (if I have understood correctly) that’s it’s fine for you to continue to work. Surely does that defeat the object or anybody in the school isolating.

I work in a totally different setting but there no way I would be allowed to work if I came into contact with a positive case.

I’m sure headteachers are under huge pressure but it shouldn’t be up-to them to set medical protocols.[/quote]
Sorry I was referring to my own children at home. So if they were sent home from their school to isolate (because they were in close contact with a positive case) then my school would not expect me to isolate. I would only need to isolate if my child had a positive test.

In my school we cannot socially distance as the children have special needs so teachers and ta would isolate if there is a positive within our bubble. In other schools where teachers are supposedly maintaining 2 metres distance they do not necessarily need to isolate but I think the schools will be directed by public health and follow their guidance.