Latest ONS random sampling data shows that secondary school children in Y7-11 are now the age group with the highest infection rate in England, overtaking sixth form and university students.
In Wales "Schoolchildren are more likely to catch and spread coronavirus than previously thought, experts have warned... It was also discovered that while children were far more likely to be asymptomatic and not become seriously unwell, they were more likely to be the first positive case in any household."
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/schoolchildren-more-likely-catch-spread-19275959?fbclid=IwAR0kpoikv0D_nkwHx3lVyQX_cyDj6Ycy1d6gE3aRx6syxUKzFQsYzMDSqPw
English boffins are a bit slower on the uptake though
"SAGE’s report found that prevalence of Covid-19 in school-age children had “risen significantly” in the first wave, and that the rise in prevalence was “first visible around the time that schools reopened”.
However, it said that while this “may be indicative of a potential role for school opening, causation, including the extent to which transmission is occurring in schools, is unproven and difficult to establish”.
schoolsweek.co.uk/child-infection-rate-rise-began-when-schools-reopened-but-direct-link-unproven-says-sage/
It must indeed be difficult to establish whether there's transmission in a high risk environment where kids are packed in like sardines with no mitigation measures. A real head-scratcher. Especially if you spent the whole summer insisting that it would be fine because the kids are facing forward.
What do we want? Well, one of the major teaching unions has called on the government to:
- Demonstrate that they are following the scientific evidence and advice.
- Strengthen the guidance to schools and colleges on ensuring COVID-safe and COVID-secure working practices.
- Secure the updating and publication of health and safety risk assessments and equality impact assessments by school and college employers.
- Publish weekly data on positive cases of COVID-19 infections of school/college staff and pupils by local government area
- Ramp up inspection and enforcement measures in schools and colleges, including more comprehensive use of spot checks and visits by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Take swift action to protect public health in the event of an outbreak.
- Protect vulnerable teachers and support staff and pupils.
- Strengthen the guidance to insist on effective social distancing in schools/colleges.
- Establish a national plan for remote education/blended and distance learning.
10. Provide significant additional financial support for schools and colleges urgently to ensure the safety of staff and pupils, including extra funding for cleaning, personal protective equipment (PPE) and supply teachers
www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/plan-to-keep-schools-safe-during-pandemic.html
Oh OP I knew this would be you yadayada...yeah that's why I chose the same thread title as before etc etc.
Why do we need another thread blah blah: it's because secondary school kids are now infected at the highest rates in the country. This has implications for lockdown. How effective will it be if the most infected subset of the population are mixing freely? And it's also the first hint from scientists that they might have been wrong about exactly how safe schools are. There's also a strong suggestion that kids are bringing the virus home from school which parents should be aware of.
It's also causing chaos in schools, but there's another thread about that.