can my kids go to school?

[Fluandseptember]

I have a cold - a nasty one, with lots of snot, headache, coughing (I always get terrible terrible coughs, every winter, and always with a cold), general worn-out-ness. Thermometer is broken, but even if I've had a temp it's definitely not been a high one.

I got freaked out yesterday, as although every bit of me says THIS IS A COLD, various folk pointed out that it's perfectly possible to have a cold AND Covid. So I ordered a home test, which has arrived, but which I can't take until tomorrow. I doubt I'll have results before Wednesday.

Common sense - and not feeling great (and not wanting to spread even a cold!) - says that I should definitely self isolate until I get my results. But what about the kids?

In a non-Covid year, I'd send them to school without a second thought, most likely even if they had the symptoms I've had (I'd have gone to work myself too, though possibly come home early one day).

Everyone who lives with you has to isolate. They shouldn't go to school.

You have covid symptoms, anyone you live with needs to isolate for 14 days or until you get a negative test result.

If anyone has symptoms then the whole household has to isolate, sadly.

No, if you are taking a test everyone in the house has to self isolate until you receive a negative.

Imagine if you got a positive on Wednesday and your children had been at school all week...

Yeah, sorry. If you have a cough then you have to isolate. DS had a temperature with the sore throat/cold that's going around. We've all been stuck home since Wednesday (had a test that day as I'm a nurse so got priority testing through work but no results yet). It sucks, but it is what it is. I wasn't concerned about covid until DS's mate came down with the full set of Covid symptoms a few days later (hasn't been able to get tested) so it is possible he actually had a very mild case. Best to be safe.

If testing was working out we'd all be back at work and school within 24 hours of a test (as long as it was negative, obviously).

Why is this so difficult to understand. You have a cough so you need to get a test, while you're waiting for the test and the results everyone in the household has to isolate.

Households to isolate if you have one of the Covid symptoms has been the rule since March. It's clear on the NHS and Gov Uk websites.

I totally get what you're saying. It's so clearly a cold, and seems so pointless to keep the kids off. But technically to follow the rules, they should stay home with you. You could always phone the school and ask them? I imagine they'll have a lot of families with the same problem.

I'm a teacher and this is what we have sent to parents.

You don't need to ask school
You all need to self isolate (staying in, not going anywhere but house or garden) until you get the results of the test.
If your dc start having symptoms, they will need to self isolate (10 days, from the day they start getting symptoms) and get a test.

@ablisha, I've seen that too... thing is, it's not the kids who are ill.

Honestly, if my family have to self-isolate every time I get a cough, there's going to be no work or school for any of us - I had whooping cough badly as a child and it did something to my lungs, and I cough A LOT.

God it's such an impossible mess. Every single person I've spoken to says nah, you've just got a cold. All the stuff on distinguishing CV and a cold says 'you've got a cold'. I just had a panic and frankly I wish I hadn't, as then they could all just go to school fine.

What a mess this all is... And OH, wouldn't it be so much better if there was sensible locally available testing. Then I could have got a test on Friday afternoon, and we'd all know what was what already.

I think if you're saying you get a cough often, you need to decide if this is a new one and whether it's dry like a cough linked to coronavirus.

You obviously have doubts if you have ordered a test so perhaps this time it's safer to keep them off.

It's a new continuous cough that's the symptom. I cough due to acid reflux, that's not new so I don't have to test (no fever or smell loss of course)

It's not a dry cough, it's definitely a 'productive' one.

Also definitely new (though knowing me, it will probably now go on fairly constantly until April).

And yes, I think you're right about doubts. I just feel I have no sense about any of these things at the moment...

You should definitely isolate as a household until you get the results - as you say it is perfectly possible to have a cold and covid at the same time (being able to have more than one virus at once is why they are majorly pushing the flu jab, you definitely don't want covid and flu together...). If your cough does last all winter you won't need to test again for it as it won't be a new cough.

Imagine sending your kids to school while you wait for test results and it turns out positive!

@stellaGib it is already happening. Our latest bubble closure was an entire family testing, sending kids in for 2 days and all being positive. It has closed 3 bubbles and we are waiting for staff to get tests back as they've gone on to develop symptoms. The symptoms in these kids were all just colds and a bit of a temp, and now we are getting further positives within the bubble of the eldest. Shut down all of year 11 for this family.

Happening at schools all over the north west.