Son has to self isolate but not daughters, confused.

[PurpleThistles84]

We are on the way to collect my son from school after a classmate tested positive for Covid. The school states my son has been identified as having been in close contact with this pupil. He now has to self isolate for 14 days.

I have two older children that attend the same school, share the school bus and so forth, I’m confused as to why the email I’ve just been sent says they don’t need to isolate? They have obviously been around their brother who has been in close contact with covid. Is it not sensible to isolate them too?

I believe they will need to isolate if your son starts showing symptoms. It's the pupils who are most likely to be in direct contact with the identified case that have to self isolate.

Nope. No one else in the household has to isolate unless the child in close contact with the positive case starts displaying symptoms

No. It would be completely unworkable to get all indirect contacts to isolate. Additionally in most cases the people advised to isolate will be told to do so before they are likely to be infectious and once they are told to isolate they shouldn't be coming into close contact with anyone including those that they live with.

They have obviously been around their brother who has been in close contact with covid

Say everyone has 10 close contacts. One person tests positive, their 10 close contacts isolate (e.g. your son), if each of their contacts also has to isolate (e.g. your daughters) that's 100 people. 90 of whom havent been close contact with a confirmed case. It is unnecessary and would soon bring the country grinding to a halt if contacts of contacts had to isolate too.

Because his siblings haven't been in contact with the positive case.

The way it works is:

• Student A tests positive
• A's household has to isolate for 14 days
• Students who have been in contact with A isolate for 14 days because in that time they might develop symptoms and isolating reduces the risk of spreading the virus
• If a student (B) who is isolating develops symptoms then their household isolates

The benefit here is that B hasn't been in contact with other people outside their house since they got infected.

I contacted my other sons primary school and they have said my other son needs to stay home. Yet the high school says different. I think we will all be staying at home, other people can do different but I don’t personally feel comfortable with keeping one potential covid child at home but letting the rest that have been around him and share a room with him, attend school. Thanks.

OP I'm wondering if our DC are in the same school!

We were called to bring DD1 home after lunch because her classmate tested positive. But her twin sister is in a different class so had to stay in school until normal finishing time.

DD1 will be isolating for the next 14 days, but DD2 can continue to attend school as normal, unless DD1 develops symptoms. I'm wondering about keeping DD2 at home regardless.

Self isolation means separate bathroom and bedroom

Wiping surfaces if they use the kitchen

It’s doesn’t mean carry on as normal mixing in your household

@BluebellsGreenbells

Self isolation means separate bathroom and bedroom

Wiping surfaces if they use the kitchen

It’s doesn’t mean carry on as normal mixing in your household

Are people seriously doing this. My 12 & 8 year olds were only back in yesterday after being sent home for two weeks. I didn’t banish them to their bedrooms for a fortnight!

Self isolation means separate bathroom and bedroom
Wiping surfaces if they use the kitchen
It’s doesn’t mean carry on as normal mixing in your household
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

And back in the real world where kids share bedrooms and houses only have one bathroom and parents work so kids get their own meals ......

So are all the spare bedrooms and bathrooms being sent along with all the extra laptops for schools?

@BluebellsGreenbells

Self isolation means separate bathroom and bedroom

Wiping surfaces if they use the kitchen

It’s doesn’t mean carry on as normal mixing in your household

Well, gosh. How does that work on the Normal People Planet?

They are supposed to isolate properly though, otherwise yes your point would be valid about the siblings since isolation means not being in contact with anyone else.

So your son shouldn’t be mixing with his siblings. Youre supposed to try to keep them in one area and everyone else in the house stays away from them.

I think the point is that's what self isolation is. So if you can do self isolation no one else needs to isolate. Realistically we can't in my house so we'd all need to stay home.

I think the issue is that at the moment lots of people are isolating who don’t appear to be ill. So you feel they should mix at home. Would you feel the same way if your child had been in contact with a case of Ebola or some other disease? I suspect in that case you’d keep the other children well away from the quarantined child

No chance of self isolation in this house. 3 bed house, five children, two adults, one bathroom. Its just not possible, especially with two autistic children that would not cope with an change of sleeping arrangements for 14 days and a developmentally delayed baby that still wakes in the night. Basically if my son comes down with it, we all come down with it.

Elements, I’m in the highlands. Think my sons whole class was sent home.

That sort of isolating is when you have symptoms or have tested positive. This kind of isolating is just from anyone outside the household.