Are parents going to lie about symptoms to avoid having to test/isolate?

[Concerned7777]

Theres so many posts on here about the lack of testing available, and children not being allowed to return without a negative result, not to mention the added disruption to the rest of the family having to isolate.
Are parents going to be tempted to hang on to see if symptoms persist before informing schools? So many threads have said their dc symptoms are now non existent and its unlikely to have been covid but they still need to stay home for 14 days if they cant get a test in time.
If dc start showing symptoms at home like a mild cough or spike in temperature, would you be tempted to tell school that they are being kept off for other reasons like a sickness bug for instance to bide some time ? And possibly send them back in a few days later if they recover.
Of course its morally wrong to do it but I can totally see why some might given how hard it is to get tests at the moment.

@BKCRMP

My DD had a very snotty nose and a temp for about 6 hours Sunday. I WISH I had kept my mouth shut. This is a nightmare.

Same here. My DS1 has a cold. Very snotty and sneezy. I rang school to ask if he could come in and they said yes it's fine to come in with a cold. On way to school he was teary and said he felt poorly so we went home. Checked his temp and it was 38. Rang school and said he has a temp so wont be coming in, have had to keep his little brother off and he only started reception yesterday. Now his temp is Down to 37.2 so not even high and he hasn't had calpol. Luckily I've managed to get a test for this afternoon but feel so sorry for his little brother, he's gutted. My DP been sent home too from work. It's a nightmare. Wish I just said he has a cold and won't be in today.

I am a self-employed single parent. I just make ends meet every month in normal circumstances and during Covid I've lost approximately 35% of my income. I've also just had to take a week off work due to DD having chicken pox.

Even though my finances are precarious I still wouldn't send DD to nursery if she had one of the three Covid symptoms, even if I thought there was another explanation.

However, I do think that the government need to put something in place to cover the rent of parents who work on zero hours contracts if they have to isolate as I can see that they may have no other choice but to send a child to school in order to keep their roof over their heads.

At least being for me being self employed there are some elements of my work I can do overnight if DD is unwell enough to need constant attention during the day.

I'd be astonished if some don't. It's not uncommon to see a child in school that you know (from fb or speaking to the parent) that was vomiting several times the night before. On the basis this is potentially 14 days rather than 48 hours if anything I'd expect more to lie.

Yes, and they'll be the first ones to moan when we're in another lockdown too. It's infuriating.

Some people can't see that they are prolonging the restrictions and the suffering by not taking responsibility for their actions. The "I'm alright Jack" attitude is not going to work with this.

I don’t want to go in to it as I don’t want to put anyone off. The first test I had was fine.

I’ve got tonsillitis and have a temp as a result. I can’t get a test. I am not keeping my kids off school for two weeks when I know exactly what is wrong with me.

@BunsyGirl they should put you at all the testing centres. Diagnosing Covid without a test is quite a skill.

@ChronicCovid I suffer repeated bouts of bacterial tonsillitis. This is approximately the 10th episode this year. This has been going on for approximately 10 years so, yes, I do know what is wrong with me.

@BunsyGirl the problem is that you cannot 100% say you don't have bacterial tonsillitis and Covid. That's why they recommend a test every time you have symptoms. The reason why there shouldn't be any discretion is because not everyone will be right every time about these things.

[quote ChronicCovid]@BunsyGirl they should put you at all the testing centres. Diagnosing Covid without a test is quite a skill.[/quote]
She’s not diagnosing Covid... the opposite in fact. She’s diagnosing tonsillitis.

Yes I will.

@kaktus it's still a pretty useful skill to have, wouldn't you say?

@BunsyGirl I get where you're coming from, but I've heard so many people say they definitely haven't got it and then its turns out that they have. Just be cautious I guess. Hope you feel better soon. (Might be worth getting those tonsils out?)

[quote NerrSnerr]@BunsyGirl the problem is that you cannot 100% say you don't have bacterial tonsillitis and Covid. That's why they recommend a test every time you have symptoms. The reason why there shouldn't be any discretion is because not everyone will be right every time about these things. [/quote]
Of course you are right BUT there aren't enough tests to go round. In the current circumstances it seems justifiable that she doesn't have a test as it is 99% likely to be tonsillitis, thus leaving tests spare for people who may be say 50% likely to have covid after having had contact with a case and then developed symptoms/ in a hotspot. It isn't BunsyGirl's fault, it is the system in disarray which is at fault.

Look, I would bloody get a test if I could get one but I can’t and my children are not being removed from school because of that. I have classic bacterial tonsillitis. I know the symptoms, this has been going on for a decade and the fucking NHS won’t do anything about it. If my children isolate for two weeks now, I will most likely have it again in two weeks time and the two week isolation will start again. My children would never be in school. That’s simply not happening.

I also think that wearing a mask is aggravating the tonsillitis situation for me. I am so prone to bacterial infections and it is easy for the mask to become contaminated with bacteria even though I am scrupulous about washing and changing them. I try to avoid going anywhere that I need to wear one but my DC’s school require me to wear one at drop off and pick up so that is unavoidable.

And now Wanksock has admitted there isn’t enough testing capacity so tests are having to be ‘prioritised’... fucking shambles.

I've posted this on a couple of other threads but it's worth a look if you haven't seen it already - kids' symptoms are often more like a cold, according to the Zoe Covid research app.
Not sure where that leaves us when you can't get a test for love nor money.

https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/back-to-school?fbclid=IwAR3cFgCRpHoIY8HW0QE6vv_GFVPtuVRNh1xQ5z6WIcardDMpwauEy5E9tUY

I do agree @BunsyGirl and @JS87 the system is a shitshow. I just hope they are able to sort it out so people can get tested when they have symptoms like how it was over the summer.

@Krook

I've posted this on a couple of other threads but it's worth a look if you haven't seen it already - kids' symptoms are often more like a cold, according to the Zoe Covid research app. Not sure where that leaves us when you can't get a test for love nor money.

[[https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/back-to-school?fbclid=IwAR3cFgCRpHo]]IY8HW0QE6vv_GFVPtuVRNh1xQ5z6WIcardDMpwauEy5E9tUY

But looking at that a runny nose is definitely not one of the main symptoms. If you child has a streaming/blocked nose but a minor fever/minor cough should they get a test on the off chance they have a cold and covid. Ideally yes, at the moment- I'm not so sure it's possible.

@Kaktus wanksock 😄😄😄

The problem here is that the government is simply not holding up its end of the bargain with society on testing.

Given how often families with young children will have a member with a Covid symptom during the winter the only way we can repeatedly asked people to isolate is if they can very quickly test and get results and resume normal life where it’s not Covid. It’s simply not feasible to expect families to isolate for 14 days over and over when chances are they don’t have it and as a result people will ignore the rules or be generous with their interpretation And lie about why a child was ill.

So by all means try and stop frivolous tests taking place but everyone must be able to test quickly and get results quickly. Otherwise it will be game over on halting the spread.

Wanksock!! 🤣🤣🤣

What an utter shambles though... Prioritised how exactly?! Medical staff? Sick patients needing ops? The elderly? Vulnerable? Teachers? Children needing their education? People who need to work to pay their mortgage? Who decides who is a priority or not?

Shambles shambles shambles...

I saw that @Krook. The most recent data doesn't tally up with the government's guidelines... Everything is so delayed when the government are involved, they need to catch up and quickly.

From Zoe: The top five symptoms in school aged children who test positive for COVID are; fatigue (55%) headache (53%), fever (49%), sore throat (38%) and loss of appetite (35%).

This was different compared to the App’s data on adults; fatigue (87%), headache (72%), loss of smell (60%), persistent cough (54%) and sore throat (49%).

In addition to this, research from the app has also found that one in six (15%) children who test positive for COVID also present with an unusual skin rash."

It is all wildly inconsistent. Get a test, no, don't get a test, old people need the slots. Keep them off with a cold and get a test, no, send them in.
I heard today that diorrhea may in fact be added to the symptom list for children. In which case the testing system would completely collapse.

I’ve said this on another thread but my child’s main symptoms were a really runny nose and a hoarse/croaky voice. Occasionally coughing and no temperature.