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Original poster

Why is Covid affecting schools?

231 replies

2X4B523P · 09/09/2020 17:13

Latest updates are there have now been 421 outbreaks in UK schools. How is this possible? From what the government was implying throughout August was that schools would be safe environments which Covid would be unable to affect. How we was told that children don’t spread the virus.

You could understand the odd case here and there but that seems very high when most schools have only been back for one week. I suspect this number is much higher due to the lag in testing and results and indeed the amount of people unable to even get a test. Also we’ve not had enough time to really see the effect of spreading within schools from asymptotic carriers, just what has been taken in from being caught elsewhere.

We are still officially in summer, what will the situation be once the weather turns colder? Once the community transmission increases with the R rate now above 1?

OP posts:
Chloemol · 09/09/2020 19:30

Schools in England have only just gone back so it’s very likely it was brought in by kids or teachers who got it in the community. Bearing in mind as well lots have not been following SD, or refusing to quarantine then that’s were it might have come from. I would be interested to know where the schools are and if they are near local lockdown, areas of concern etc, and exactly how many cases in each school. If only one or two I would expect a deep clean and it being re opened

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:37

WHY did anyone believe that they would be safe?😂

School down the road. Y8 and Y11 been sent home for 2 weeks isolation.

Posh private school next door. 6th form closed and sent home to isolate.

Yeah, absolutely Covid secure. Headteacher of primary in Nottingham l think in hospital...

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:37

And these cases involved students, not teachers.

MarshaBradyo · 09/09/2020 19:38

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince

WHY did anyone believe that they would be safe?😂

School down the road. Y8 and Y11 been sent home for 2 weeks isolation.

Posh private school next door. 6th form closed and sent home to isolate.

Yeah, absolutely Covid secure. Headteacher of primary in Nottingham l think in hospital...

When did the Nottingham school go back? Usually takes a while to get to hospital stage.

They most likely caught it before school started

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:38

I think there’s 284 schools affected now in the UK

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:42

Actually it’s this many

Why is Covid affecting schools?
TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:43

I meant the cases near me. The Nottingham one l don’t fully know about. But the school has closed

BillywilliamV · 09/09/2020 19:46

And what exactly do you eant to do about any of this? There may never be a vaccine, do we end society here! Children need to be in school, if you dont agree then keep them at home!

Tadpolesandfroglets · 09/09/2020 19:48

It’s highly contagious and spreads very quickly. Lots are asymptomatic so won’t be tested or being staying home . My kids been back a week and there are cases at the other main secondary school in our town.

Tadpolesandfroglets · 09/09/2020 19:48

*or be staying at home...

BillywilliamV · 09/09/2020 19:49

There are 32, 770 schools in the country by the way, so I still quite fancy the odds!

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:51

7 schools affected in my city. It’s not on the watchlist

Foobydoo · 09/09/2020 19:51

Because the government has misled parents. They did not want to spend money making schools safer. It is back to full, overcrowded classrooms. Bubbles are ridiculously big especially in high schools and public transport is packed full of children from multiple schools.

Greenmarmalade · 09/09/2020 19:52

Schools are not remotely Covid safe. It actually makes me laugh to see the signs at school, after being squished in a hot classroom with 30 kids, not remotely distant from each other.

Original poster
2X4B523P · 09/09/2020 19:53

The 357 figure was earlier in the day, it stands at 439 now.

Why is Covid affecting schools?
OP posts:
Terrace58 · 09/09/2020 19:54

Because child transmission was low only because children were at home

Because studies are showing 10year olds and up transmit and catch Covid at the same rate as adults (it reminds me of that Star Trek episode where the Grn-ups caught a horrible disease and every child was doomed
To go through puberty eventually)

Most Importantly because wishing doesn’t make things true

MrsMcMuffins · 09/09/2020 19:55

I think schools are not even trying to be Covid safe from what my children are saying (secondary).

Notfeelinggreattoday · 09/09/2020 19:56

But most schools have only been open days so not many have caught at school
Case near here 2 days after school opened so obvioulsly caught elsewhere the test will be if it stays at one case and if quarantine etc works

TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:56

That’s 80 more in the space of a few hours!

megletthesecond · 09/09/2020 19:58

Because the government don't care / lied.
It was always going to spread around schools.

MarshaBradyo · 09/09/2020 20:00

A case coming into the school is different to spreading around school. It’s too early to tell for the latter in England.

Not sure how Scottish schools are doing.

Sam1515 · 09/09/2020 20:01

I drove beside a senior school at home time today.
What I can tell you is that no matter how the teachers try to separate those bubbles, have one way systems etc, the second they go out the door for home (even with 15 minute intervals to allow pupils to disperse) it is a free for all.
Loads of kids at bus stops, groups at road crossings and street corners waiting to go in to the local shops.
They are all different year groups (identified by different coloured ties) probably waiting for friends from other groups or siblings.
so to be honest, it doesn’t matter what they put in place in school if the second you let them go they are free to do whatever they want.

daisiesflower · 09/09/2020 20:02

If it is true that younger children are less likely to catch and spread the virus, as they seem to have claimed surely older children are no different to grown adults?

Notfeelinggreattoday · 09/09/2020 20:02

They never promised schools wouldnt get it , they can't guarantee that anywhere
But cases in community have gone up in last few days just before school starts , the procedures in place are there for if a pupil gets it and in secondary hard to have small bubbles but they are seperating year groups , which is the best they can do
Covid secure means flowing guidelines not that it will not be transmitted , but potentially with no guidelines at all and going back to just as normal would be higher cases
I think we will see school closures all over especially when normal coughs and colds appear as well

lifesalongsong · 09/09/2020 20:05

@TheLastStarfighter

They lied. They gaslighted. They lied some more.

“Covid-secure” is spin, not a real thing.

No one seriously thought schools would be covid free zones did they? I find that very hard to believe.

Pretty much everyone I know, parents and teacher friends is of the view that we have to get on with it, education needs to carry on and whilst it's hardly going to be a perfect system I'm sure some kind of equilibrium will work itself out, for most schools it's only been a week.

It will very interesting to see the positives rates from all the children being excluded for looking warm or clearing their throat too often.

I think I saw on other threads that positives numbers in Scotland are actually very low