Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

The government is encouraging covid spread in schools

826 replies

noblegiraffe · 22/11/2020 02:02

Bear with me, because if they're not, you have to explain this:

  1. Schools will stay fully open end of. Even when they're not.
  1. No masks allowed in classrooms where teachers and pupils spend the most time. The expectation that they would be mandated in corridors is fudged at the last minute to lockdown areas only.
  1. Pupils are not allowed to be tested for the symptoms that kids are most likely to get.
  1. Teachers (who in secondary will teach all bubbles without masks) are not to self isolate if there is a case in a class they have taught.
  1. Fudge any data that may show teachers getting ill at a higher rate than the general population and Chris Whitty lying about it
  1. Fudge data that may show school pupils having a higher infection rate than the general population
  1. Not permitting / trying / mass testing in schools where there have been cases in case they find out how bad the spread is.
  1. Actually sending letter to parents to tell them to stop getting kids tested.

9 Fine parents who try and keep their kids off when in contact with a known positive case.

  1. Launch a propaganda campaign to convince parents that schools are safe using data from schools in lockdown, which every news outlet dutifully publicises. Continuing that propaganda campaign by releasing a video of socially distanced school kids wearing masks in classrooms.

  2. Hide Gavin Williamson in a cupboard so that no journalist can accidentally ask him how his aim to reopen schools safely is going.

  3. Announce that one of the school safety measures will be children in bubbles which will burst when there are cases. Stop this midway through September and start sending home as few kids as possible. Remove the schools remit from PHE control and put DfE in charge to enforce this.

  4. Produce a Tiered system of responses to infection levels (rotas, masks, closures) to reassure parents, and shut the unions up. Then never mention them again and in fact state that they are not to be used.

  5. When Hull begs for rotas due to imminent collapse of system, send a letter to all local authorities re-iterating NO ROTAS

  6. Have some strange control over the media so they don’t mention any issues, or if they do, it must be accompanied by a picture of a jumbo classroom containing max 5 kids.

  7. Tell teachers to ignore the app when it tells them to isolate, or to turn off the app completely

  8. No funding for schools to implement any covid safety measures

Any other explanations for this list?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
17
TheHoneyBadger · 23/11/2020 07:49

Yes I thought but thought no can't be because she was a teacher in a private school who would walk out if children were muzzled not a Covid nurse on maternity leave from school and moonlighting on a Covid ward with a new born baby.

RedToothBrush · 23/11/2020 07:53

Do they have the testing capacity for this? There have been days when my school has had close to 1,000 students off isolating. If all of these needed testing instead, is that even doable? And if we can do it for one school, can we really multiply that up all around the country?

Of course they don't.

Can you imagine the chaos of 1000 kids all trying to get an appointment before school or after school? Or yeah during school.

Its hotair to satisfy restless back benchers.

But they will bring in the policy and it will be a car crash in practice.

WhyNotMe40 · 23/11/2020 08:17

Remember how the system fell over in September when rates were much lower?
That, but more so

Piggywaspushed · 23/11/2020 08:25

Different people on the thread honey

IloveJKRowling · 23/11/2020 09:35

Children and young people are not idiots and can see the truth.

They see the adults in positions of responsibility lying and trying to avoid taking responsibility. Look what's happening in Hull - entirely predictable.

Adults - MPs - who do nothing are complicit in deaths, it's as simple as that. They'd do far better to put the money they'll need for extra testing for contacts into safety measures and testing in schools. But they won't do that because that would give less profit for their chums.

It doesn't make logical sense - you'd be far better doing group tests of classes in schools on a regular basis. Then you'd have some chance of picking up asymptomatic cases and stopping spread before it starts. If you have a contact of a positive wandering around, what does regular testing do? It's really not going to stop spread if they don't have to isolate until they test positive.

False negative rates are really high early on before people are asymptomatic - the WHOLE REASON sars-cov-2 has spread around the word is because people are contagious BEFORE they get symptoms. For several days.

So contacts will be going around spreading it, testing results take days so they'll be spreading it when contagious but with no result, likely in the most contagious phase. It's laughable - has any other country done this? I doubt it.

Herd immunity doesn't work, in Manaus Brazil where they 'let it rip' they're having a second wave despite something like 66% having it in the first wave (and needing to dig mass graves - is that what the government want here?).

Even if you don't care about the deaths - which our government don't seem to - they're subjecting vast tranches of the population to chronic, long term disease which will massively affect productivity - and a vaccine is so close. It's clear and obvious madness.

(article about Manaus and Brazil more generally if anyone interested)
foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/29/brazils-first-wave-not-over-yet-coronavirus-pandemic-manaus-bolsonaro/

echt · 23/11/2020 09:38

If Susanwouldntlikeit had been around this boards for longer and read the range of threads about schools and Covid, they might have a more nuanced, AKA informed view.

CallmeAngelina · 23/11/2020 09:47

@echt, perhaps she's name-changed.

NuttyinNotts · 23/11/2020 10:31

There's some sense in the rapid test instead of quarantine idea, because we know many people fail to properly self isolate. However in the case of schools all it does is massively increase risk, because as things stand kids can't turn up to school when their bubble is closed and in schools that only isolate close contacts you would hope it would get spotted when someone turns up who is supposed to be home. I personally wouldn't do the rapid tests if it meant I could keep my child at home instead of having to send them in to mix with possible presymptomatic spreaders.

IloveJKRowling · 23/11/2020 11:03

If they've got the money for all this 'close contact' testing, why can't they just do pooled testing of classes every week? That SURELY would cost a lot less and would pick up asymptomatic cases before spread is underway.

This government is doing everything wrong, everything.

Well, unless their aim is to enrich their chums while the rest of us are abandoned and forced to take our chances.

StripyHorse · 23/11/2020 11:37

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55040992

"The government said workers in food manufacturing, staff in prisons, and those delivering and administering Covid vaccines will also be offered weekly testing from December."

Great that there will be regular testing for these groups.. but nothing for school staff!!! It makes me so mad. The 'lazy teacher' narrative is wearing ... when teachers, TA's, catering, school office staff, caretakers, cleaners (and anyone else working in schools I may have missed) just want to be SAFE!

VulvaPerson · 23/11/2020 14:59

I really do not understand why some are so against schools being made as safe as possible? Is it because..if the measures don't work/don't happen, there is a chance, however small, that schools may have to close again? I sort of get that, though I would still prefer school staff were as safe as possible, I have not that much concern about the kids, as stats say they are pretty safe, but staff..are a different matter entirely. Plus families of the children could be vulnerable too. Surely its best all round to reduce the spread as much as possible? Yet for some reason, asking for safety is heard as 'close schools'?!

countdowntonap · 23/11/2020 15:16

In the TES today www.tes.com/news/urgent-warning-over-misleading-teacher-covid-data?fbclid=IwAR1WHfiamA8MQU82OEmmiWZIGLCRkHq9koCbOiboQvYJOYdyvJV7MiQBSkI

“ “The authors of this analysis almost certainly knew that this characterisation would be held up as evidence that teachers were not at any additional risk.

"But if one looks at the only component of the data with enough power to be conceivably capable of generating evidence, the precise opposite of this message is true: a 28 per cent higher infection rate for teachers is a substantial effect size.”

EndoplasmicReticulum · 23/11/2020 15:36

Meanwhile, a friend's son in year 11 is just starting his 3rd lot of 14 day isolation. He was supposed to be doing mock exams this week. GCSEs still fair, are they?

WhoWants2Know · 23/11/2020 15:51

Year 5 DD just came out of school and announced that her classmate had vomited right in the middle of the group shortly before. They were all gathered around a table watching a group project. (Social Distancing?)

She vomited again in the doorway right as they were all leaving, just in case anyone missed the first round.

But it's not a testable symptom for COVID so presumably she'll stay off for 48 hours and then come back. Meanwhile the rest of the class carries on as normal and the parents are dreading Noro AND Covid.

Bobtheshark · 23/11/2020 16:08

Not true in our school. Kids wear masks everywhere. Everyone who has been in contact with a positive case self isolates, that’s kids and teachers. We’ve had no letters telling us not to get tested. My daughter is a teacher and has had to self isolate once.

IloveJKRowling · 23/11/2020 16:19

Bob if only everywhere followed suit - sounds like your head is sensible and bravely going against DfE advice. Not surprising there are lower cases if they're wearing masks everywhere.

I had a letter via the school and it very clearly said ONLY to test if high fever, continuous cough or loss of taste / smell. It was VERY clear that for ANY other symptoms parents should not test and the very strong implication was that parents were essentially breaking the system if they did.

noblegiraffe · 23/11/2020 16:35

@Bobtheshark

Not true in our school. Kids wear masks everywhere. Everyone who has been in contact with a positive case self isolates, that’s kids and teachers. We’ve had no letters telling us not to get tested. My daughter is a teacher and has had to self isolate once.
That means your school is going against government guidance.

They say that masks in classrooms should be avoided, as few people sent home as possible and that children should only test for the main 3 symptoms.

OP posts:
Feministicon · 23/11/2020 16:40

I got an email after school saying DD has to isolate but no one told them and they still went and played after school sport 😱

ChloeDecker · 23/11/2020 16:43

Not true in our school. Kids wear masks everywhere.

Is this a school you teach in or your kids’ school? If your kids’ school, how could you possibly know for sure?

IloveJKRowling · 23/11/2020 17:00

Sorry should have put the headline.

'Two primary school teachers fighting for life in intensive care with coronavirus'

Viral load. Viral load. Viral load. Viral load.

Masks reduce viral load.

Teachers and children should be wearing masks all the time except eating - as they do in so many other countries.

CatMuffin · 23/11/2020 17:06

Oh no. I hope they recover. Sad

Aragog · 23/11/2020 17:09

Hi and thanks for the thread with the key points highlighted.

I returned to work today after several weeks off following catching Covid at my infant school.

I have now discovered that it wasn't 11 staff who have tested positive in that time, it's was 20+ (more than 2/3 of the staff) plus several parents and a handful of children. Another class adult tested positive today so that class is now self isolating for the fortnight, for the second time. We've also sent home some children today who have possible symptoms.

I'm really hoping I have some immunity!!

LastGoldenDaysOfSummer · 23/11/2020 17:11

Awful what teachers are expected to endure.

Hoping for a good recovery for the two teachers in ICU.

I hope those hell bent on forcing teachers into unsafe conditions are rethinking their position.

starrynight19 · 23/11/2020 17:21

Imagine being that primary school with two members of staff in icu , just horrendous Sad