This paper used by Sage suggested 400 of 1600 positives were false. Still happy to have your school child home under house arrest for two weeks?

[Treesofwood]

Big problem with false positive us unnecessary self isolation for the person rested. Now it can lead to 300 children also being asked to self isolate for 2 weeks. This paper suggests when numbers are low, which they are at the moment, falso positives are a big problem. The more we test, the more we find them. www.gov.uk/government/publications/gos-impact-of-false-positives-and-negatives-3-june-2020
And the more children miss education and even being allowed to breathe fresh air if other threads on here are something to go by.
Obviously this is not a peer reviewed paper, but it is of enough interest and reliability to be used by Sage. Interested to hear thoughts, including if I have actually totally misinterpreted it.

Sweden are doing better. Much better. They have no masks. I

Not all people I'm Sweden are happy with their governments handling of the pandemic.
Some people in Sweden are choosing to,wear masks.
Not all,schools stayed open fully throughout, without safety measures and restrictions.

Dh has family in Sweden.

@IloveJKRowling

In Sweden they have small class sizes, therefore SD and I said it probably wasn't necessary to wear masks if SD in place.

Anyway a number of teachers have been ill and even died in Sweden so it's hardly an example of total success.

The government advice in Sweden is that people with cold/flu like symptoms shouldn’t be going to school or work and should isolate themselves so as not to make others ill.

Somehow I feel that might cause more outrage on MN than the false positives.

Rafals Why would anyone mind isolating if they are ill?

Why would anyone mind isolating if they are ill?

Go and read some of the threads on schools and isolation. There are currently a number covering this exact topic. Lots of 'my child has a cold with a bit of a cough, but it's definitely only a cold so I should send them to school' type threads this week and last.

Lots of people mind isolating if they or they child are ill.

Well I suppose there are degrees of ill. But surely people would be more willing to isolate if they are actually ill than if someone else they may or may not have had contact with may or may not actually have covid.

Not on MN.

There is definitely a culture of presenteeism in terms of both work and school for ‘just colds’.

And there have been a lots of posts this weekend from posters complaining they are having to isolate and can’t send their child into school or nursery because they are waiting for a test when their child clearly just has a cold. There’s usually a very judgemental attitude to taking time off with a cold on here anyway.

FWIW, I think this winter in particular we need to get used to the idea, that if you have a cold you need to stay at home however disruptive that might be. I can’t help thinking there’d be a lot less pressure on the testing system if people hadn’t sent sick children into school.