The government wants YOU to volunteer as a school covid tester

[noelgiraffe]

The govt have proudly announced that there will be mass testing in secondary schools, colleges and special schools from January.

What the headlines don’t quite convey is that schools will be expected to set up and man their own testing centres and that this make-shift testing of close contacts of positives will replace close contacts having to isolate. The tests pick up about 50% of positive cases so I’m sure this will be fine.

Covidy kids will be getting the bus to school to queue up and be tested by people who have watched a video and a couple of online worksheets.

Even better, they want those people to be YOU!

“The document says that reasonable costs for additional workforce will be reimbursed.

It adds that a school may want to hire temporary staff, such as agency and contract workers, or draw on volunteers such as parents, retired teachers, Red Cross, St John Ambulance and community organisations.”

If you can’t help in person, perhaps you can support by talking positively about this effort on social media and parenting forums?

“Under a section labelled “social media guidance”, the document reads that “consistent, accurate and positive communication about testing activity is essential”.

They want to see “proactive public social media using agreed materials” and schools are encouraged to “monitor your existing social media channels, parents forums etc. and provide any feedback”.”

Come on folks, do your bit!

schoolsweek.co.uk/7-staff-roles-2-hour-training-and-dhsc-sign-off-on-press-schools-given-mass-testing-instructions/

@PrivateD00r I don't need a lecture, all I will say in reply is don't assume a hyperbolic, tongue in cheek reply on a thread like this means I don't know what is involved.

I'm just livid today that our kids and teachers don't get a better solution.

I will of course decide carefully, if and when the time comes.

Part of the process of deciding will be who is doing the test and how effective the test is.

I was phlegmatic about this yesterday. Having read posts from people who know stuff like privateD00r and hospital doc on another thread, I am growing increasingly concerned...

It's more governmental wool pulling, isn't it?

The tests might not be the best nor are they testing in the best circumstances but surely slightly inadequate testing is better than no testing at all. Its a very tiny step in the right direction as opposed to the current head in sand stance of "schools are covid safe that are fully open with no issues at all"

Itisasecret I meant the military could support not take over the testing. No need to be so patronising.
Wouldn't need them if people weren't so dramatic about having a volunteer swab people.
I'm a HCP and I will volunteer as will many of my colleagues I imagine.

To those who questioned my timings
A lateral flow test does take 30 seconds ( for the swabbing) this was in relation to those on this thread that made it sound like you would have to pin down a 6ft 14 stone teen and swab for 5 minutes.
Obviously the paperwork needs to be done but I'm not including that in the actual invasive part of the test. If you can call it invasive. I meant literally the bare bones of the test should take no longer than 30 seconds.

@BungleandGeorge “A childs nasal mucosa is quite delicate, what happens when Kevin’s mum accidentally causes a nosebleed. Does she have medical training? Insurance? What happens when she’s covered in potentially infectious bodily fluids? What happens if child has HIV? Yes it’s an extreme but there is a reason why people doing medical procedures are generally medically trained and insured. Or Kevin’s mum won’t want to hurt or injure anyone and will gingerly swab in a way that’s not going to pick up covid. If you go to the test centre and have the swabs done for you they’re certainly not gentle”

On the HIV thing if this was the case the child would be highly likely taking medication and have an undetectable amount of virus in their blood. Also it really doesn’t do well when exposed to the open air. Then there’s the fact that gloves would be worn. So really any child who is HIV+ is like any other in this scenario.

@Toastybutt

They’ve said you still have the option to isolate instead *@Mummyoflittledragon* - it’s only for close contacts to avoid isolations.

Thank you. I figured it couldn’t be compulsory.

Well, my child would fuck up the whole thing. autism. meltdowns. can't fucking behave even with the experienced teachers at the end of term. had to get them in a head lock to swab. otherwise swab meeting nose was like trying to push two north poles of magnets together. as soon as the swab approached, the nose disappeared. had fingernail marks in my arm for quite a while where they grabbed and squeezed.

not a cat in hells chance of getting them swabbed in school.

@halcyondays

If these tests are less than 50% accurate, their own valid use is mass testing in an area with high cases so you can identify some asymptomatic people and take them out of circulation. But they shouldn’t be used for close contacts in school or for travel purposes.

Even for early release after travel you have to have a PCR test so thankfully lateral flow tests aren't being used for that - probably for a reason as they know how shit they are

Don't you have a job that you need to be at during the school day carrot? I don't see how you would be expected to turn up and just hang around.

This thing might need to be done all of a sudden when a case is confirmed.It's not routine mass testing like at unis. That's' why I am sure already busy school staff will be doing it : and teaching and leanring and otehr necessary tasks will be affected as a result.

I also think we will have even less 'proper' testing of young people now on the grounds that 'oh the school will pick it up'.

@PeppermintSoda

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4848

The rapid test kits most widely used in UK universities, schools, and care homes detect just 48.89% of covid-19 infections in asymptomatic people when compared with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, real world data from the Liverpool pilot have shown.

The Innova Lateral Flow SARS-CoV-2 antigen test failed to detect three in 10 cases with the highest viral loads, in preliminary data released from the field evaluation of testing in asymptomatic people.1

Wow. And this testing is going to override the requirement to isolate as a close contact of a positive case. So the 3/10 false negatives would be given the green light to go back to the classrooms, corridors and buses home.

@3littlewords the low accuracy would be better than nothing if this was being used for mass testing as it would at least pick up some asymptomatic cases.

This is actually being used to diagnose close contacts (where you want the highest possible accuracy) instead of having them isolate. So we are removing the safety of having close contacts isolate and replacing it with a diagnosis from a test that is not for diagnostics and only 50% accurate.

It is madness.

Isolating close contacts and not asking them to get tested (and indeed saying not do unless you have one of the 'three main' symptoms) hasn't reduced transmission in schools.

Giving close contacts the option to take a screening test which has a 50% chance of a false negative rather than isolating will increase transmission in schools.

Extending isolation to the whole 'bubble' or class and telling those children to isolate and offered this screening test to identify asymptomatic positives would be a step in the right direction, but not as effective as actualy diagnostically testing the rest of the bubble which it seems there are the resources just not the political will to make happen.

I would happily volunteer if work could release me for an hour

I’m in the “goady keep schools open” brigade: happy to play my part

Isnthere an agenda to try and get kids to have covid?

In the goady camp here. If it comes to primary schools, quite happy for the school to give me 10 lateral flow tests after a case is identified for me to do each school morning half an hour before school so that my child can keep going. I've done covid tests on my 2 primary aged dc 6 times already, don't see what the problem is.

How else do you suggest they do it?? Multiple thousands for each school to set up a 'site' and employ staff to do 'some' swabs 'some' mornings but let's face it in most schools, most of the time do absolutely nothing? I think you're on a different planet tbh.

If a particular school is having a continuous massive problem with covid cases they need to look at what they are doing as it obviously isn't working. There's secondary schools in my tier 3 area that have yet to have a single positive case.

I would hand in my resignation. No way I would be pushing a stick up anyone's nose to that extent !!! It scares the hell out of me. And I don't think I'd be happy with teachers doing that. Nurses, yes.
It's not just about reimbursement.

I was only half listening. But I’m fairly certain Sturgeon just said they had evidence that teachers and other school staff aren’t at any more risk than the rest of the general population. Was anyone else listening, is that what she said?

How can that be right? I don’t understand.

@Tfoot75

In the goady camp here. If it comes to primary schools, quite happy for the school to give me 10 lateral flow tests after a case is identified for me to do each school morning half an hour before school so that my child can keep going. I've done covid tests on my 2 primary aged dc 6 times already, don't see what the problem is.

How else do you suggest they do it?? Multiple thousands for each school to set up a 'site' and employ staff to do 'some' swabs 'some' mornings but let's face it in most schools, most of the time do absolutely nothing? I think you're on a different planet tbh.

If a particular school is having a continuous massive problem with covid cases they need to look at what they are doing as it obviously isn't working. There's secondary schools in my tier 3 area that have yet to have a single positive case.

You appear to have misunderstood luck.

The schools with lots of cases and the schools with no cases are very unlikely to be doing anything different except for being unlucky.

How are they going to get them all to have it, I know mine will refuse.

@AddisonM

I was only half listening. But I’m fairly certain Sturgeon just said they had evidence that teachers and other school staff aren’t at any more risk than the rest of the general population. Was anyone else listening, is that what she said?

How can that be right? I don’t understand.

This is based on ONS statistics. The data has been questioned a lot and this is their response. Hard to argue with the data although also difficult to believe. I wonder how the data would change if they looked only at cases reported from October to now, rather than since March. As a teacher, I was very protected from covid from March to August and very exposed from September to December.

www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/onsstatementaddressingquestionsaroundtheanalysisofthenumberofschoolworkerskeyworkersandotherprofessionsinenglandwhohadcovid19

Thanks 2020. Very interesting. I’ll have a read

How else do you suggest they do it?? Multiple thousands for each school to set up a 'site' and employ staff to do 'some' swabs 'some' mornings but let's face it in most schools, most of the time do absolutely nothing? I think you're on a different planet tbh.

But this is exactly what is being suggested. By the DfE. Guess it is them who are on a different planet.

I would happily volunteer if work could release me for an hour

It would take more than an hour and therefore, you wouldn’t be asked to do it. Easy to say that you would with a caveat ‘if’ work would let you. Schools wouldn’t need more certainty.

*would

I thought better of Sturgeon than that. Scotland was gathering data on teacher absence in September. Have they stopped?

What she should have said anyway is that there isn't evidence of increased risk. the ONS had to rapidly reword that. And that compares teachers to unspecified other professionals abut also other keyworkers. I think most nurses, pharmacists, careworkers, opticians etc would be surprised to hear that teaching carries the same level of health risk as their jobs , when working in the middle of a pandemic.

In actual fact, it is non teaching schol staff who seem to carry most risk : so the very TAs, admin staff etc. who may well be asked to administer the process , which will DEFINITELY increase risk.