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.

@Skyla2005

Why wouldn’t parents send their kids to school ? School aged children are not getting ill from it No we arnt fucked atall. We have to get on with it sooner or later we are all going to get the virus and the vast majority or us will survive. We can’t all stay indoors for the rest of our lives

The people who are less likely to survive and the kids who are less likely to survive do not want to catch this. It might mean the loss of a life or the loss of a parent for the child. So, for a short while, it would make sense to plan our lives to avoid this. And it can be done.

Shockingstocking as an ITU nurse she had likely already been exposed to the virus many times over, I’d be more worried about my child sitting next to a child that have had family hiding at home for months.

@tigerlilly22

I'm willing to let my school inform me if my kids should be kept off. We have to live around this virus for now. Not a chance will I be keeping mine home unless I'm told to.

I feel like I have no choice (not on my own obviously). DS starts his GCSE's this year. If I kept him off I'd be wrecking his chance of an education. It doesn't stop me wanting to cry because I just want to protect us all.

AlandAnna, few people were proved to have been infected and sick twice. They tested a different strain of the virus on the second infection. I think one of the proven cases was in Hong Kong

If the OP or close family are in one of the high or very high risk groups in respect of the potential effects of Covid, I can quite understand her concerns, and she is not alone.
The selfishness of those unlikely to be badly affected is placing us at greater risk, and is totally unnecessary. Life hasn't got to end, people can still go about pretty normally providing sensible precautions are taken. But masks only prevent people passing the virus, they don't protect the wearer from those choosing NOT wearing masks.

Coming back to this, as i think it is possible that there are different meanings of 'schools being closed' that may be leading to more heat than light.

One type of school closure is proactive - as part of an overall lockdown strategy, a school, schools in a particular area or nationwide will move through the 'tiers' that we announced by the government just before the bank Holiday (Tier 1 - current situation of all schools open; Tier 2, secondaries blended learning, primaries in; Tier 3, secondaries full home learning, primaries in; Tier 4, both primary and secondary schools home learning). As no particular triggers for each 'tier' were announced, then these decisions are essentially political, though based on public health.

Another type of school closure or part-closure is reactive - in response to actual infections within a school, whether of staff or students, a group, a class, year group or school are sent home to self-isolate for 14 days.

There are yet further closures that are consequential - where, due to cases in other schools or elsewhere in the community, insufficient staff are available to run the school because so many are isolating.

As I understand it, I don't think that anyone is arguing that reactive closures shouldn't happen, in order to curb the spread of the virus following a confirmed case or cases. There is some discussion / disagreement about the number of cases that trigger the closure, but I am not sure that anyone, faced with multiple cases within an environment like a school, is advocating carrying on exactly as normal.

Consequential closures are difficult, because they are hard t avoid or plan for. A large number of the closures just before lockdown were consequential as well as reactive - we had a couple of cases amongst the staff, and many amongst student families, around that date, but a much larger number of staff and students were absent because they were isolating with family members..

The disagreement is, I think, about whether any proactive closures are advisable - and to what extent they will become indistinguishable on the ground from a very large number of reactive closures.

"As I understand it, I don't think that anyone is arguing that reactive closures shouldn't happen, in order to curb the spread of the virus following a confirmed case or cases. There is some discussion / disagreement about the number of cases that trigger the closure, but I am not sure that anyone, faced with multiple cases within an environment like a school, is advocating carrying on exactly as normal"

There's a thread right now where people are arguing exactly that. A bubble isolating due to confirmed cases but it is mad to isolate x00 kids on the" off chance" they are infected.

I know there is disagreement on whether it should be confirmed close contacts, whole classes, or bubbles of multiple classes.

I do think there is sensible discussion to be held around that.

I don't think anyone has suggested that a school should remain fully open to everyone, however close their contact with the infected person, if there is a cluster of confirmed cases?

@Nearly47

AlandAnna, few people were proved to have been infected and sick twice. They tested a different strain of the virus on the second infection. I think one of the proven cases was in Hong Kong

But they weren’t ill the second time? Or have you seen a different reference to me?

@cantkeepawayforever

I know there is disagreement on whether it should be confirmed close contacts, whole classes, or bubbles of multiple classes.

I do think there is sensible discussion to be held around that.

I don't think anyone has suggested that a school should remain fully open to everyone, however close their contact with the infected person, if there is a cluster of confirmed cases?

Yes I wish this would be discussed. Atm it feels a bit like the 111 triage back in March. Quite severe. It may be the case it’s necessary but it should be assessed.

There are a lot of all year classes sent home. We need the data on who gets it from single case. I think Israel school had stats on this.

. Those most at risk will be retired and at home, and can adjust to the new infection rates by having shopping delivered, and SD
@Friendsoftheearth
Many ont the extremely clinically vulnerable list have jobs and children you know. Dh is extremely clinically vulnerable and we have 3 kids in bubbles of 90, 70 and 150. Getting our shopping delivered which we do is really not hoing yo cut it

Im a parent of a non GCSE taker this year, no prom etc and a year 9 parent. Im just hoping we get to half term as my 13 year olds grades will be dramatically affected by being off unless the high school do a virtual classroom like the primary schools are having.

Oh I’m so god damn bored of this seriously.

Who says you can’t get a test either? I’m confused?

People blame gov but I think public health England has a lot to answer for.
I'd love a proper table on other counties pinned to ours...

@wildchild554 I hope he gets a negative result.

You can't get a test where I am. No drive through appointments ANYWHERE for a week and no postal tests available to be sent out...

Don't forget those that die from covid on average would only have lived for another 6/12 months

Wrong more like over 2 years. Possibly nearer 4 to 5 if remember correctly.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8249077/Coronavirus-killing-victims-13-YEARS-died-naturally-study-finds.html

Sorry Mail

I remembered incorrectly.

Schools shutting across the board again is far more of a concern to me than any family member getting the virus.

There are 8 schools around by my area that have positive covid cases!

metro.co.uk/2020/09/04/children-stress-going-to-school-13207543/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.link

@aivilodraw
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/08/why-is-there-a-problem-with-getting-a-test-for-covid-19-in-the-uk

@Emeraldshamrock thankyou, me too :)

Schools only went back around here last week. It is reported that (local newspaper) "The number of people on ventilation in the region's hospitals has risen from 15 to 77 in the last 24 hours." That wasn't caused by schools going back last week. Infections in the community were rising before schools went back due to people not social distancing, not following guidance, etc. Schools being affected is the consequence not the cause.