Matt Hancock finally starts telling the truth

[jomartin281271]

This is an extract from an interview Matt Hancock gave on Radio 1 this morning, when he was reacting to the sharp increase in reported cases.

The health secretary stressed how serious coronavirus can be for young people, even though they are less likely to die or get seriously ill.
"Long Covid is really serious. And people can be in a bad way for months and months and months," he says.
"The second really important message is that younger people spread the disease, even if they don't have symptoms.
"Don't kill your gran by catching coronavirus and then passing it on. And you can pass it on before you've had any symptoms at all."

And now that schools have opened the number of cases has rocketed and children are unwittingly bringing the virus back into their homes, possibly infecting older members of their family. Isn't it about time we had some joined up thinking from this government. It's only a week ago that Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson were telling us that young people were almost immune.

On LBC this morning he said young as in age 17- 25.
Will go and listen to BBC catchup to compare.

There was an assembly that involved hundreds of kids. We are thinking about where we go from here.

Hmm most say no assemblies. That is tough. It must be stressful

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@herecomesthsun the problem is the children who aren't already on plans. School is usually where any suspicions of neglect or abuse is picked up. If these children aren't in school this scenarios won't get picked up on x[/quote]
so let all the ECV families cop it then, so that school can be used as instrument of borderline social policing? that's plain wrong

@jomartin281271

This is an extract from an interview Matt Hancock gave on Radio 1 this morning, when he was reacting to the sharp increase in reported cases.

The health secretary stressed how serious coronavirus can be for young people, even though they are less likely to die or get seriously ill.
"Long Covid is really serious. And people can be in a bad way for months and months and months," he says.
"The second really important message is that younger people spread the disease, even if they don't have symptoms.
"Don't kill your gran by catching coronavirus and then passing it on. And you can pass it on before you've had any symptoms at all."

And now that schools have opened the number of cases has rocketed and children are unwittingly bringing the virus back into their homes, possibly infecting older members of their family. Isn't it about time we had some joined up thinking from this government. It's only a week ago that Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson were telling us that young people were almost immune.

Matt Hancock finally starts saying what you think is the truth.

His statement specifically said 17 -21 years old so doesn't apply to your children.

Post viral syndrome happens after flu as well as after Covid.

Death rates from when we started testing over 100,000 people per day, as opposed to only those poorly enough to need hospital is about the same as for flu.

The rates haven't gone up from schools going back. The rates have gone up from young people deciding they have had enough of their lives taken away for something that is for most of them asymptomatic or very mild. Yes the occasional one will have a worse illness and longer recovery as the occasional one does from flu or more do from Glandular Fever.

The majority of parents want their children back in school because school is important to them now and important to their future.

Re them working - of course it's a factor for both the countries and the families economy. It's no point keeping them at home if lack of income means losing their home or not being able to feed their kids. Those of you complaining about parents needing to work must be very privileged, most people don't have a choice.

I think we really need part time/blended learning, and/or children who can stay at home being supported in doing that .
I know a student back at home with long Covid, it has knocked her for six, even though she is young and was really fit and well, slim, healthy eater etc.
I also know a worrying number of middle aged adults who have been left with serious issues, or who are still feeling rough months later.
I have two children in secondary school , and I am in my mid fifties, plenty of other parents are my age.

@Clutterbugsmum

Rates have spiked not because schools have gone back. Most schools have only been back a few days. And Government and education leaders have proved that we can not provide an adequate education with out children being in school.

Rates have spiked because people went on holiday, packed beaches, pubs and have not followed the social distance rules. The age group is between 20 and 45 that are having spike in infection

I was thinking the same about schools only being back a few days, how can that be the reason of the spike?

Unfortunately the government, much like the country as a whole (including the majority of people on this site), have an irrational dislike of the generation aged 15-30 and are unwilling to treat them with respect.

I thought it was the "young" who said that respect needs to be earned rather than expected when they were talking about adults, police, and other authority figures.

Now it seems they, themselves, expect respect without earning it. Perhaps people would have more respect for them if they weren't going to raves, ignoring social distancing, being too arrogant to wear masks, etc.

How about the young "earn" the respect they crave by following the guidance??

Sick to death of the constant fault finding nit picking every fucker an experts.
There was nothing new in todays statement .

@herecomesthsun but where do you draw the line?
My job has been absolutely horrific to do all the way through the pandemic. I deal with people who have substance misuse problems, mental health issues, domestic violence and children at risk. School, believe me is the safest place for them.
My sisters child is very vulnerable to COVID. She has chosen to keep her at home and home school. She is happy to pay any fine that may come her ways

Can someone post a link to show where the new infections are and age range? Where I live they are actually going down.

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@Boredbumhead because kids need to go back for their education, their welfare, their mental health.
Parents need to get back into work properly to pay bills and put food on the table.
Yes it's a risk but it's a risk many of us have to and want to take.
[/quote]
This is the bottom line. Children need to be in school, parents need to work. There is no choice, we have to live with the virus.

The government learnt early on in this pandemic that the only real way to control people is to frighten them. How do you get people to be more mindful of social distancing? Make the virus relevant to them. Make them scared. We all know young people are largely not at risk from dying so he has to stress Long Covid to get people to keep their distance from each other and slow spread.

Don't get me wrong, I think people do need to be responsible and observe social distancing, it would be better to slow the spread down as much as is realistically possible bearing in mind a vaccine is on its way and we don't want young people to spread the virus to vulnerable older relatives. I also actually take Long Covid seriously - I don't want to risk getting it and I feel very much for anyone dealing with it. But it's also importantly to look critically at these things and ask why he's made this announcement. Long Covid still isn't a risk for the vast majority that get the virus. Losing sight of that is also harmful.

Surely if we are locking children away by not sending them to school because of the risk of long term covid we should also be licking up the over 70s given the risk of actually dying from it though?

The idea that my over 70 year old father should be going to the pub and the bowling club etc since July yet so many on Mumsnet think my 13 year old shouldn’t be going to school? It is never going to seem like a logical response to pandemic that has mainly killed over 60s and I think history will judge us as a nation rather harshly when the long term impacts of not educating our youngesters become clear (and no a 13 year sitting alone in the house doing random worksheets on their own with no support from an adult is not an education! I am surprised by the large number on here who think it is!)

Schools haven't been back long enough to have caused the recent rises.

In any case, do you think schools remaining closed long term is viable? How long would you be willing for that to go on?

The vast majority of young people who get Covid get a mild or asymptomatic version. I would love to know where he is getting his facts. Most long term Covid claimants I have read about either did not have a test or had a negative test. Sure there will be outliers. The fact is Covid was here long before we locked down.

@Qasd

Surely if we are locking children away by not sending them to school because of the risk of long term covid we should also be licking up the over 70s given the risk of actually dying from it though?

The idea that my over 70 year old father should be going to the pub and the bowling club etc since July yet so many on Mumsnet think my 13 year old shouldn’t be going to school? It is never going to seem like a logical response to pandemic that has mainly killed over 60s and I think history will judge us as a nation rather harshly when the long term impacts of not educating our youngesters become clear (and no a 13 year sitting alone in the house doing random worksheets on their own with no support from an adult is not an education! I am surprised by the large number on here who think it is!)

I think we should have choice. I think schools should be open and as safe as possible. I think homeschooling should be an option for those that can. (And our kids would have proper teaching at home)

If there are concerns then social service should support but this shouldn't be an excuse for the ECV to be forced into dangerous situations.

I think history will judge us harshly for not applying our scientific knowledge in a pandemic and having a bloodbath of the vulnerable.

And yes we should prioritise education, and choice, every which way we can

On the Wirral it is generally in pubs, gyms, care homes and also an increase in households, aged 20 to 29
according to radio 4 today

@herecomesthsun
We can't expect young people, many of whom already have (or are well on the way to achieving) unrelated degrees and the associated debt, to be forced into those 2 industries which realistically require skills and attributes that many neither have nor a desire to learn. While both education and health care are worthy careers for those who wish to do them they do require a certain type of personality which many young people don't have (while many others do including those who have already gone down that route) and it is completely unrealistic as well as damaging to expect those with other types of personality to go into totally unsuitable jobs.

"We have done well, we were doing well - but need to stick to the measures to keep doing well."

The highest rates in Europe? In what way have we 'done well'?

Hertfordshire sees house parties over the summer as causing a rise
and could be sustained or could be temporary.

Northampton sees: broader working age, also outside the work place: car sharing, public transport, young female carers, also socialization, i.e eat out to help, and the car sharing involved

@jomartin281271 Your post is one of many here ad nauseum which criticise the government yet don't offer an alternative solution.

What you quoted IS the truth, and it's been known all along. But it doesn't include anything about not going to school.

Maybe you missed the evidence last week which said that pupils and teachers do no spread the disease any more than any other workers.

So by that they mean most other occupations where people mix with others.

People working in shops, on supermarket tills, taxi drivers, nurses, hairdressers, and more....

It's only a week ago that Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson were telling us that young people were almost immune

The risk from children under 11 is almost nil.

Older children pose a slightly bigger risk.

The alternative is to halt education for years or until a vaccine is found.

Is that your proposal?

If you want joined up thinking, what's your plan?

*The highest rates in Europe? In what way have we 'done well'?(

I would always query this. Europe is known for not always being totally accurate with the truth over many figures for all kinds of things.

It is also not just about numbers- it is about population.
We are the most population-dense of all countries in Europe.

"Don't kill your gran by catching coronavirus and then passing it on.

Your government are shouting for us all to get back to the office though. If we all do that then how am I supposed to stop getting Covid? 'Wash your hands' only gets you so far.

@user1497207191 please dont tar us all with the same brush. not all of us are out at raves or ignoring the guidelines. I've seen just as many over 50s not following the "rules" too.

Now it seems they, themselves, expect respect without earning it. Perhaps people would have more respect for them if they weren't going to raves, ignoring social distancing, being too arrogant to wear masks, etc

How about the young "earn" the respect they crave by following the guidance??

I don't know. It seemed to be mainly middle class mothers attending a march of hundreds of people here on Saturday. Without any distancing or masks at all. Some coming from areas under local restrictions where some schools are closing due to outbreaks.
Their march was apparently "for" their children's education.

Ok then.

I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just saying selfishness spans all age groups.