Up North

[stressedsloth]

Where I live we've either been in lockdown or tier 3. Our numbers have remained low and still are in comparison to the south who were left open in tier 1 and 2 for far too long.

Everybody is blaming the schools but our schools have been fine where we live.

I'm just wondering if most of the posts with great concerns are down south?

We're in the South West (South Devon). Just moved into tier 3 but rates are - and always have been - low in our area. They are increasing though so I think it's wise to be cautious.
I don't think schools are a problem here. Although they've had cases, I've not heard of any cases spreading through the schools, just isolated cases where the kids have caught it elsewhere.

In also in the north (South Yorkshire) and our area is nothing like yours. DDs school had the whole 7 years off on 2 occasions between September - December and at least 1 class at a time.
Our hospitals are packed full, some patients are being treated in ambulances outside.

Yes ditto.

I hear talk of covid ‘ripping through schools’ and I don’t recognise it. We were t3, now t4.

One case in the local primary (year group closed, nobody else caught it). A few cases in high school, close contacts isolated, nobody caught it.

I do know a few people who’ve had it and been fine. I know of three deaths, only one local to me and that was an nhs colleague

When thing are bad up north (like in autumn), it's reported as regional problem. When there bad in the south it's treated as national disaster. Though unfortunately many of them decided to spread their mutated germs across the country for Christmas, so it will be everyone's problem soon enough.

It is very annoying, but not really relevant to school opening. We were able to suppress infection rates of the older varient without shutting schools, it's much harder with the new more transmitable type.

@SendHelp30

In also in the north (South Yorkshire) and our area is nothing like yours. DDs school had the whole 7 years off on 2 occasions between September - December and at least 1 class at a time. Our hospitals are packed full, some patients are being treated in ambulances outside.

Have you always been in tier 3 like I have?

@ForeverBubblegum

When thing are bad up north (like in autumn), it's reported as regional problem. When there bad in the south it's treated as national disaster. Though unfortunately many of them decided to spread their mutated germs across the country for Christmas, so it will be everyone's problem soon enough.

It is very annoying, but not really relevant to school opening. We were able to suppress infection rates of the older varient without shutting schools, it's much harder with the new more transmitable type.

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like this. The areas where the numbers are increasing fast are where they chose to stay in tier 2 for too long. I think it's madness they're blaming schools.

It's proven if they'd gone in tier 3 early on like a lot of us that it wouldn't have affected the schools in the way it currently is.

Whatever they’ve called them at the time; we’ve been in constant restrictions, yes.

@SendHelp30

Whatever they’ve called them at the time; we’ve been in constant restrictions, yes.

Tier 2 or tier 3?

Lincolnshire. Going on local gossip...
Secondary kids have been like yoyos. But it's been a lot of isolations, rather than a lot of cases.
The Primarys have had d one or two cases each. Majority of kids have been in school the whole time. One exception has been the Junior School. They weren't able to stop it... It's the only primary school in the area in a historic building, not really suitable as a modern school.... Tiny classrooms, narrow staircases, small hall, hardly any outdoor space. And cramped toilets as the only place for running water.

So the rhetoric of schools being unsafe isn't held locally. Of course, it may have been luck last term.

I’m in the North. Tier 3/now Tier 4. We have had over 100 positive cases in school since October. Some students have had 3 or 4 periods of 14 day isolation out of school.
4 friends/colleagues have lost loved ones.

We are tier 4 London borough and like a pp my DD's schools seem to have been pretty unaffected (pupil wise) until last week of term. Around 6 cases since September in an 1800 pupil secondary. Think there was a few the last week though. Primary had its first case last week of school before Xmas.

We’ve been in constant tier 3 (now 4 as of yesterday). The highest rate our small town got to was 200 per 100k. Now at 65 per 100k.
I agree with the London thing. When the north was suffering with really high case numbers, the south were happy to go about their business while saying it was a regional problem and the tier system was appropriate. As soon as numbers rose in the SE the calls for national lockdown started.

Oh and we’ve had two cases at school, both teachers.

@MistletoeandGin

We’ve been in constant tier 3 (now 4 as of yesterday). The highest rate our small town got to was 200 per 100k. Now at 65 per 100k. I agree with the London thing. When the north was suffering with really high case numbers, the south were happy to go about their business while saying it was a regional problem and the tier system was appropriate. As soon as numbers rose in the SE the calls for national lockdown started.

Yes absolutely this. I'm in Gtr Manchester and this reflects my experience. High rates were just our problem until they affected London and now the whole bloody country has to go with the treatment that they need

It didn’t feel like a national problem @ForeverBubblegum when London and the SE was dumped into tier 4 for Christmas and the rest of the country could still see their family.

Though unfortunately many of them decided to spread their mutated germs across the country for Christmas, so it will be everyone's problem soon enough

I think you meant to say when many northerners decided to spread their germs by travelling across the country. It will have been people from outside London who either work there or now live there who travelled out. Londoners would have nowhere to go!

The last minute Christmas 'cancellation' was horrible for London and SE. It might have been avoided if London hadn't been treated as special and put into T3 earlier when it's cases were higher than the non-SE areas due to weak excuses like 'hospital capacity' to appease big business. So now, normal Londoners, whether born or from elsewhere, are paying the price. And it's clear it's spreading outwards from the SE. (Except the magical force field around Rutland).

Hospital capacity... Yes it's lower 'Up North'. I was hopeful that would be highlighted and maybe have investment going forward... But it seems that will be the Norths fault as well.

I'm in Cumbria and we've gone from tier 2 to tier 4, due to a recent spike (the root cause being people from Blackpool coming over here when they knew that they weren't well. )

The schools aren't bad here either. We have had a couple of whole classes sent home but not whole year groups at the secondary I work at.

In a way I'm glad that we are in tier 4 though as it means that Londoners who usually come up for holidays/to escape the tighter restrictions down South probably won't come up here because there is nowhere for them to stay and not much to do.

I'm in the West Midlands.
One y10 child has had six self isolations since September and a dose of Covid, along with 20% of his form.

My other year 10 child has had 3 self isolations. His school shut before Christmas.

Both schools have had more than 100 cases. The one child has not managed more than 10 days continuously at school and has had more than 40 days at home. Its been a disaster.

I also work with a number of primaries and secondaries with lots of cases, colleagues in hospital etc.

We are tier 4 but were tier 2 til November. Nobody talks about the West Midlands though, only north and south.

In Kent and our rates went absolutely mad in December, from 70/100k to 800+/100k. Hospitality was never reopened here after the November lockdown as we were in Tier 3 - most cases I heard of were linked to schools. It does seem that the new variant is significantly more transmissible in schools as otherwise our rates wouldn't have risen throughout lockdown and Tier 3.

Tyne and Wear. Both my childrens schools (primary and secondary and in different areas) have been relatively unscathed last term, certainly no closures or 'ripping through school'. Still think keeping schools open is madness though. If our numbers are slightly lower surely its better to stop it in its tracks now? But that would make to much sense for our government

I’m in the South and in tier four but our little market town has very low rates and the primary school at least has had no cases.

North east. Local secondary school has had 60+ cases, years in and out like yo-yos. Every year at the primary school has isolated at least once; year 2 twice.

Herts. My kids senior school has definitely had a lot of cases but I don't know actual numbers but many cases of kids isolating

@Fieldofyellowflowers the infection rate in my area of Blackpool is very low. We too have suffered from visitors bringing the virus with them. We have had mass testing at large employers and no positive cases identified at any of them.

@BlairCorneliaWaldorf have you considered the possibility that people from London might have family or friends to visit elsewhere? It's a bit disingenuous to say Londoners would have no were to go. (Unless you truly believe that life does not exist beyond the M25)

Although the timing of the pre-Christmas announcement was unfortunate and no doubt dificult for those of you who followed it, it only happened at the last minute because they had held out for too long already and that's when it reached crises point. I suspect they were hoping to be able to ignore the new variant until after Christmas, which is a big part of why were so much in the shit now. If the new variant had been detected in Northumberland instead of Kent, they wouldn't have hesitated to lock down the north weeks ago.