Surely they can’t keep schools open as normal if cases keep going up like today!

[Worriedmum999]

My daughter went back to school last Thursday. She really needed to go as lockdown played havoc with her mental health. She was fine doing her academic work but she is someone who needs the social side of school.

We are a vulnerable family and, with this shitshower of a government, I had no faith that cases wouldn’t rise and I wouldn’t be forced to take her out of school again. But I cannot believe that she has been back 2 days and the jump in cases has been so huge. I honestly expected us to be able to get to half term. Of course deaths are going to rise now. Why wouldn’t we follow the pattern of the other European countries. Add to that the fact that people can’t get tested now and we’re fucked. And I’m so fucking angry and upset about the damage that this is doing.

What are the government going to do? Surely it will be impossible to expect parents to keep sending their children to schools when the death toll is huge again and the ICUs are full.

@Lovelydovey

Mine haven’t gone back yet so don’t say this!

Realistically we are going to have to realise that schooling is essential and that other non-essential activities are going to have to be restricted to allow schools to return. I’ve already told my parents that they can’t see my children so much now they are back at school.

I would do this but my mum is in her seventies. Doing this would put her without support. If she needed something I wouldn’t feel able to help without putting her at risk. She can’t drive and would be very isolated.

@MiddlesexGirl

I'm more worried about the people without covid who are dying.

THIS.

It caused death of Family member who was without essential routine care at hospital.

Cancer patient/stroke/ cardiac deaths frighten me far more than covid.

@Friendsoftheearth agree also re impact on secondary aged

Yes @Friendsoftheearth I get the rage when the blanket proposal that secondary students work from home is mooted. DS 14 has noticeably lost a lot of his lockdown weight since being back at school and is actually enjoying learning. Totally unimportant I know, but I no longer feel on the edge of a breakdown trying to ensure he learns something and I do my job.

If there is to be tiered education again based on what job you do, then he - like many others - are in real danger of not fulfilling their academic potential. My friends DD is already screwed as can't get a guaranteed uni place despite getting brilliant exam results as suddenly everyone else's results are also brilliant.

I don't know what the answer is, but keeping DCs in education as much as possible seems like the right priority to me.

And for the last time, the numbers are exponential. In two weeks we will have a spike like before. Deaths will be lower because the average age is lower, but the older people who aren't or can't completely shield will get it and die. It seems no one in the UK cares about people with medical conditions, when all they have to do is follow the social distancing rules.

As others have said this is not a result of schools going back as it takes a few days to catch virus and test positive
Also in Spain numbers have been going up for weeks yet the death toll has been lower.

The usual Sunday night fear mongering post. I see OP never bothered to come back on

But she is a retired teacher and we can form a safe bubble. Which is lucky I know but not if my two lose their places and have to start a new school as well as deal with the return to school etc. And I know there are loads of people in trickier positions than us. There is zero regard for children’s mental health in this - every proposed option would be damaging for my children.
Going to keep researching options. One of which is writing to my GP to make sure that my concerns for their mental health are put on record. I can’t see how deregistering can ever be legal in these circumstances - if anyone else feels they could be heading to this make sure that you put duress in any letter about deregistering.
And if your circumstances mean you don’t have that option, I real feel for you.
Zero empathy from the government at the moment.

If a large number of teachers test positive, then individual schools will have to close regardless of local lockdown situations.

Even before lockdown my DCs' school had to close and my school could only run some year groups due to a lack of teachers.

Part of the reason the death rate is tiny (apart from that mainly younger people are getting it) is that they are now counting only those who die within 28 days of a positive test.

Secondary school aged children should be kept at school at all costs, I have been horrified by the explosion of self harm, anxiety, eating disorders, depression even among previously healthy and happy children, not to mention what it has done to those that were already struggling.

We have experienced an actual suicide of a fifteen year old boy this summer, due to the pressure so I am not sure people have considered the true impact of the pandemic for some children. It has been horrendous.

Being forced to be locked down at home with family at this age for months on end, the loss of education at the most crucial moment, the loss of friends, support, the impact on exams and attainment. The future.

There is no way a secondary schools should ever be closed again unless the situation is so severe that the hospitals can no longer cope - the level of a national emergency has been reached, because the consequences to the children are just too high.

@ZombieFan

Of course deaths are going to rise now Have no idea what you are talking about, we literally had 2 deaths yesterday out of a population of approx 70 million.

That is because 4 weeks ago cases were lower.

Hospital admissions are at 900/day in Spain now. They are rushing to complete a 1000 bed covid-only hospital in Madrid.

British people are not a different species to Spanish people.

@Friendsoftheearth

Secondary school aged children should be kept at school at all costs, I have been horrified by the explosion of self harm, anxiety, eating disorders, depression even among previously healthy and happy children, not to mention what it has done to those that were already struggling.

We have experienced an actual suicide of a fifteen year old boy this summer, due to the pressure so I am not sure people have considered the true impact of the pandemic for some children. It has been horrendous.

Being forced to be locked down at home with family at this age for months on end, the loss of education at the most crucial moment, the loss of friends, support, the impact on exams and attainment. The future.

There is no way a secondary schools should ever be closed again unless the situation is so severe that the hospitals can no longer cope - the level of a national emergency has been reached, because the consequences to the children are just too high.

This is the wrong way to view it.

That poor boy should not have been without MH support.

We can't just keep schools fully open come what may.

We have to do better to support the vulnerable young people.

We can't trade these deaths for those deaths.

I don't get the masks need to be worn everywhere theory... France have one of the strictest masks policies In Europe... Fat lot of good that has done them!

OP what part of the U.K. are you in to feel so panicked? Yes, many of us are watching carefully and monitoring the numbers but your post is quite alarmist. Where are you getting your news? Are you an anxious person normally? Completely understand a level of nervousness - I’m quite twitchy as I’ve had 2 off school with colds last week (in UK not England) but your reaction needs to dial down a notch. Of course it’s concerning that numbers are on the rise but there’s no benefit to be gained from instantly catastrophising. Apologies if your reaction is affected by personal loss during lockdown - I hope this isn’t the case but might explain your level of worry. Is that the case OP? If it is, it might be better to step away from the internet and choose one or two sources of news - 1 of which is local - so you are not steeped in worry. At the moment the numbers are small. React accordingly when the time is right, take precautions as advised now and assess your personal risk.

Completely agree. I can’t believe we aren’t learning from other countries again.

I think the UK are.

Those other countries are all showing a pattern of rising cases but minimal serious illness and death.

And that’s not just about infecting younger people. In Ireland (for example) the data quite clearly shows older people are being hit. There are even clusters in nursing homes. Yet deaths are on the floor.

Ireland has had strongly rising cases for about 8 weeks now. We had four deaths in all of August and 6 people in the entire country in ICU as of now.

There would be a simple solution
1. get secondary school kids to online learning = more space
2. get primary kids back into the extra space with real and proper SD AND MASKS all the time

Yeah, let's sacrifice the education of a huge number of secondary school children and expect 5 year olds to wear masks and socially distance instead. Makes perfect sense 🙄

Yes it's maybe time to stop the self flagellation about UK being so much worse than the other European countries with their proper lockdowns. Fat lot of good it seems to have done them, in terms of current infection rates.

But for whatever reason, thankfully at the minute it does not seem to be resulting in a corresponding rise in hospital cases or deaths, and I think in some countries we'd be seeing a jump in hospital intakes by now if there was to be one.

I do think at some point ( ideally 4-5 months ago) there needs to be strong encouragement for the elderly to reduce their chances of catching the disease through limiting contact and reducing shop visits etc. I know it's a hard thing to do, but my DPs in their 80s have been in one shop and the bank for the past 6 months. Obviously they don't need care so it's easier in that respect. We have been seeing them since we've been allowed- but I could do short garden visits again.

and @TheSunIsStillShining , tell me the plans for university?
i do agree with what you have said.

@Worriedmum999 The jump in cases has nothing to do with schools being back for a couple of days.

It's due to younger people (teens and 20s) not social distancing, breaking rules with parties, mixing with more than one family inside etc etc.

Most children do not get Covid. If they do, it's rare. A report last week showed that transmission in schools between children and adults is no worse than anywhere else.

You only have to read some threads here on MN to see how so many people have been breaking the guidelines for months, and take a very blase approach to social distancing.

Use you anger against them.

get secondary school kids to online learning = more space

I still can’t believe the numbers of people on here advocating for 11/12 year olds to stay home alone for 40 hours a week or whatever.

Isn’t that neglect?

@Pluckedpencil

If anyone thinks the cases in the UK are caused by returning holiday makers, they need to take a drive through Leeds city centre and see twenty people in a barber shop without masks sat next to each other, people wandering around without masks in shopping centres, packed playgrounds, cafes with staff with no masks, Marks and Spencer staff with no masks...all things I've seen while back in the UK and I have not seen since Jan in my own European country.

yes, why dont M & S staff have masks?

I imagine it is because they have their temperature taken on going to work?
anyone know?

Who are teaching the primary school pupils in this extra space then?

I really don't understand why it's seen as a good thing that older pupils education is sacrificed for those younger?

You do know that herd immunity HAS NEVER BEEN ACHIEVED NATURALLY in human history, right?

If that was true we would be suffering pandemics every other week. You plainly don't understand herd immunity.

Today’s cases are not due to schools it’s too early and a lot of schools are not even back yet.

I don’t know what is behind today’s cases but it would be worth looking to see if it was a sector actually open when the surge took place eg hospitality? Leisure? Returning holiday makers? And restrict that rather than education.