If the school class/year group has to self isolate, do the kids drip back in following Negative test or have to sit out the whole fortnight

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Just hypothetical here.

A boy in Dds class did not attend Friday as someone in his household has symptoms. I've no idea whether it's him or someone else.

If it is him and he is positive school will send the whole class home to self isolate for 14 days.

As it has been 5 days since he saw my child, and probably most if not all of the kids in the class, can the students return before the 14 days, pending a negative test?

Also, is it 14 days from his last day at school or 14 days from the results coming back?

I don’t know. This actually is a real situation for us.

The school flow chart saying test and trace will contact “close contacts”. So I don’t know.

I’d have thought the school would say the bubble needs to isolate. But I don’t know if it will.

common sense would tell you 14 days from when the last child was at school. But who knows in the real world. If he does test positive and the HT suggests 14 days from a positive test I would query this if the child was not in school in the intervening period.

Symptoms can develop within 14 days so they have to stay off as I understood. Youre not supposed to test if no symptoms.

I thought if you had close contact with a positive test you had to isolate for the 14 days regardless of a negative test result, due to the potential incubation period?
Makes sense that it’s 14 days from last contact with the positive case, rather than 14 days from the positive result though.

I think it's 14 day from when the child first had symptoms, or when he had a positive test if he didn't have symptoms.

actually reading your post again I don't think there will be a bubble closure if a family member of the boy tests positive. Obviously the kid stays off school. But the fact that a family member has tested positive ought not to mean the bubble necessarily has to isolate until/unless the child himself tests positive.
But it is all a complete joke as nobody can get any tests anyway .Our HT says that he is bound by the advice of public health teams. Not his decision.

It is 14 days from that one positive result.
There’s no point testing the others due to the incubation time.

However, different health authorities seem to be advising schools differently

If identified as contacts (as would be the case if they were sent home from school to isolate) the children must isolate for 14 days regardless of any test results (and should only be tested if they themselves develop symptoms). The only exceptions to this will be the child who tested positive who could technically return after 10 days (although it is unlikely the school would be willing to take such a child for practical reasons), any children who subsequently test positive who must remain in isolation for 10 days after symptoms start and any children where a family member later tests positive who must remain in isolation for 14 days from the start of the family member's symptoms. In some cases where a child in a bubble had been away prior to the positive test for an unrelated period of isolation and had therefore not been a recent contact they would be allowed to leave self isolation in line with the original case but it is unlikely the school would have any resources to teach such a child.

School should work it out.
If it is him
It's from when he first had the symptoms.
So school should work out when the kids can come back.
Your kid cant go back earlier than when told because there wont be any classes running, esp if the teachers are also self isolating.

Ah ok that makes sense
So no need to test classmates unless symptomatic. Everyone I c teacher off for 14 days.

Mad to think that on day 11-14 another classmate could test positive from the initial perspn but would then the class be allowed back as they won't have mixed with child2?

Yes, if a second child tests positive on day 12 it is irrelevant for those children who are not experiencing symptoms as they won't have been in contact for the preceding 11 days and therefore there is no risk of onward transmission from this second case. Unfortunately that particular child will have to remain off school for another 10 days.

I would imagine class will be invited back minus the newly poorly one. If they have isolated properly no one else should be at risk.

@EvilPea
That is not right as people can’t even get tests let alone results. The 14 days will be counted from when that child was last at school.

The person with the positive test needs to isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms.

Contacts have to isolate for 14 days from the onset of the positive person's symptoms. A negative test doesn't reduce this.

This would be the same for any T&T contact.

In many schools the teacher won't actually be told to,isolate though. Schools can, and are, telling them to come in. They are then providing remote home learning for the isolating bubble. Some are in other classes teaching. Apparently teachers are supposed to be SDing so no need to isolate,

Mad to think that on day 11-14 another classmate could test positive from the initial perspn but would then the class be allowed back as they won't have mixed with child2?

No, it's not mad, that's the whole point of self isolating, to minimise the spread.

Tomorrow my son goes back to school after it was closed for 2 days following an outbreak among the teachers. It then re-opened for 1/2 the school for 4 days and the other 1/2 (including my son) for the next 4 days.

3/4 of his yr7 peers were in contact with one or more of the staff who tested +ve and so have been self isolating.

There will only be a very few yr7s back tomorrow.

DS was told to start self isolating on Tuesday last week as one of his bubble (240) tested positive. DS had a test on Thursday as he is part of a study, even with a negative result he can’t return until Tuesday next week as he could still be incubating the virus. It’s frustrating as it seems he didn’t have any contact with the child positive child.

[quote Frazzled2207]@EvilPea
That is not right as people can’t even get tests let alone results. The 14 days will be counted from when that child was last at school.[/quote]
I know it’s not. But it’s what some schools have been told and subsequently telling parents.

It's 14 days since they last saw him. Negative test doesn't mean they can return. They need to wait the full isolation period in case they are incubating

In this scenario our school has sent out a message that there will be no availability for the school to offer home schooling. Somehow that pisses me off the most. If anyone tests positive for covid - home schooling is available. If we’re all sitting around kicking our heels for 14 weeks and feeling completely well - school washes their hands of you. Marvellous.

*14 days

It's absolutely fucking insane.

4 class bubbles hace collapsed local to me. All have to be off for 14 days. They aren't encouraging testing unless you have symptoms

Well if the teacher is busy teaching the rest of the class then it will definitely be difficult for him/her to 'home school' the poorly child. That said as a minimum i would expect them to send some worksheets etc home.
One teacher i know who teaches as a sixth form they are only having 50% of the kids in any one week as they are so large. Children will rotate weekly and the other half will be zooming in as all lessons will be 'broadcast' remotely for them. So this means minimal impact for any lone children suddenly isolating.

can the students return before the 14 days, pending a negative test?

No.

If you are symptomatic and have a negative test, you do nit yave itnand can return immediately.

If you are self isolating /quarantining, you are not symptomatic yourself, but have potentially been exposed. You could be incubating the disease and the incubation period is 14 days. Testing before the incubation period is up is a waste of time. Because it does not release you from the requirement