Why is Covid affecting schools?

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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?

Many people mocked teachers, TAs and parents on MN for voicing concerns about the schools guidance. I think we should all be concerned about this as it will impact on community spread. Schools are not isolated from society.

I am disgusted that extremely clinically vulnerable staff and children are being forced into schools with little / no risk mitigation. I’ve seen it firsthand with a colleague who isn’t even allowed to wear a visor in our place. To cap it off parents of ECV children are being fined.

I’m really frustrated that exams are still scheduled to go ahead almost as normal despite concerns from exam markers who say pushing back exams by several weeks will cause huge delays in getting them marked and processed in time before results Surely now the government and DfE need to come up with a better plan for students in exam years and announce it ASAP otherwise we will have a repeat of the exam debacle from this year.

It seems that the government continue to ignore professionals time and time again then make excuses or direct the blame elsewhere when it all goes wrong.

lifesalongsong

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

You should go back and read all the BS on threads from certain posters.

@Sweettea1

2 of r year groups have been told to isolate because there teachers tested positive kids went bk Monday 1 class sent home yesterday 1 today no way did these teachers catch it from pupils on monday an get tested that quick.

So is that somehow the teachers' fault? Should they have spend a fortnight in quarantine prior to the start of term? I can't imagine anyone would knowingly go into a school with Covid.

@SeekingCoffee33

Because they lied

This.

@FrippEnos

lifesalongsong

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

You should go back and read all the BS on threads from certain posters.

Not one recorded case ever of a kid giving Covid to a teacher etc etc.

Even though people are commenting that these cases are likely to have been from community transmission, it will still affect schools as bubbles will shut and potentially a school could reach unsafe staffing levels. Community transmission is on the increase now so this is a concern.

I do believe Covid can and will spread in schools. 30 students in a class sitting shoulder to shoulder facing the front (aka all breathing in the direction of the teacher and TA in the room) with no SD it’s only a matter of time.

Just received an email from my son's college to say someone has tested positive and a whole bubble are to stay away. the college has only been open a few days.

noblegiraffe

Yup, and still people think that schools are safe.

Of course schools aren’t safe, Covid free, spaces. Myself and dh are both teachers. Schools have taken measures to try and reduce the risk as far as possible, but ultimately if kids are in school there’s definitely a risk they’ll catch it and spread it. School can’t eliminate all risk and it’s naive to believe they can.

We are waiting to see if my son's bubble needs to isolate (child sent home but no test result yet). In the meantime I have taken him out of afterschool activities just in case... But I would imagine other parents haven't so can see how it would easily spread. Even if he has to self isolate no one else in our household has too... Which seems daft (I get the chance of infection reduces with each level of seperation) but my son kisses (sneezes!) and cuddles us... I won't stop that....

@walksen

"Secondary was always going to be a shit storm. they should have split year groups so they could distance and have smaller bubbles so whole years aren’t out"

There is a limit to how many entrances/ toilet/ break areas etc schools have. For the vast majority of schools 10 bubbles isn't workable.

That’s why I said part time. If you split the year groups, you’ve halved the bubbles immediately. 2 weeks in, 2 weeks out with online learning.

Yes it’s shit. Really shit. But they might get some consistency, parents have at least a vague idea what’s going on and hopefully it would help limit exposure.

Cases at the schools I know of have been teachers or staff testing positive

Pupils testing positive at our local schools. Most likely, at this point, caught out of school but not brought into school. I guess time will tell if it has spread within schools.

I have been back at work for a week and despite the 'covid secure' school measures I have a really sore throat - if we can't avoid the simplest bugs then its to be hoped those magic covid barriers round schools have been installed already!

Some of these schools are
Special schools with residential children. They might be struggling like the nursing homes?

Our school is so tight on the hygiene
Praying everyone stays safe. We seem to also live in an area where there have been v few cases

Teachers should be being tested every two weeks

The plan is for it not to spread in schools. That's why bubbles are closing. Origin of virus irrelevant. There will be plenty of accidental experiments in seeing how it does spread in schools, let's be glad now that measures are being taken to prevent that happening.

Perhaps good to realise that closures are happening on advice of PHE because they KNOW schools will be spreading it if they don't. Given this information has been in the guidance for 6 months now, you've got to be pretty stupid to not realise that schools are not covid secure, or whatever that bullshit term is. The government relies on potential of people being stupid.

@whattodo2019 there is a fat chance of that when Matt Hancock says this.

Praying everyone stays safe

Yeah that'll work. Archbishop of Canterbury just tweeted that godly activities are coming secure

That's utterly ridiculous YANBU

I remember 1 month back people here were hell bent on opening school. There was no consideration of satey to kids and staff. There was talk about mental health!!

@SisterAgatha

I suggest outside teaching. There’s no reason the school field could not have been commandeered with open side marquees, outdoor heaters, pop up screens and power lines laid down.

They had time.

Thatcher sold off the playing fields

Because it’s a highly infectious, easily transmittable disease. Isn’t that kind of obvious by now?

Because people are more inclined to get a test now so the kids can return to school whereas previously many prob weren't getting tested and it seems like whole families are being tested when one person has symptoms and they are positive and asymptomatic.

Well everyone was told on here that it wasn't safe and the government were lying.
It will only get worse.
England especially were going to have a bumpy ride. Transmission was never really at extremely low levels and the government were happy to see a certain amount of the virus circulating.
What that means is, if there is covid in the community and at growing levels, the schools will be affected.
Children carrying it passing it on to other children, bringing it home to parents and so on.
Parents going to work when infected by children passing it on to children in schools.
Teachers catching it from children then going home and spreading it to family and friends.
The worry for the government is not if you catch it but keeping business running.
Sadly, many teachers will fall ill, some will die. Children will be at school, not at school - learning WILL be disrupted until the situation becomes absolutely impossible and schools will not be able to function. THAT is reality.
You have been lied to.

Because any child with one of the three main symptoms, no matter how mild, is not allowed into school until they have a test. So more testing means catching more of those low-level cases we didn't know about before.
My daughter was back at school one day. Got a temperature and now all of us are isolating until we can get a test result back. (Who knows when that will be).

And yes. They lied. Why would anyone be surprised? Boris has a history for untruths.