Can we unlock the schools at start of Feb?

[MeandT]

I'm totally supportive of the lockdown BUT by the end of next week, case numbers nationally will be the same as they were at end of November. Hospital admissions are falling again.

Rather than going back into tiers with the shops and food pubs open (where all the spreading happened in December), can we not issue all the teachers with N95 masks (and vaccines for the clinically vulnerable), make all the kids wear triple layer face masks all the time, and just get on with the important job of educating this country's kids in person? Starting again 1st of Feb.

AIBU to ask if we can send the kids back as soon as we hit the case rate we unlocked at on 2nd December?

IABU= no way, the cases will shoot up too quickly again, even if they all wear masks all day.

IANBU = yes, get them back before half term, the only reason it went nuts in December was because everyone was out Christmas shopping and seeing family.

@Flinstones

IMBOREDAGAIN Well said & I think your in a position to say

Frontline nhs worker encompasses a broad range of people who by no means experts on pandemic viruses.

YABU to ask this question on here. There will be a bad dose of competitive Pearl clutching.

But marsha, that’s my point; it really isn’t everyone’s priority. There are a lot of people who care more about their livelihood and their future than worrying about other people’s children and an abstract vision of ‘society’. I am a bit of ‘dementor’ who would keep as much closed as possible until cases have really fallen but I do see where they are coming from.

PURPLEDAISIES So the NHS frontline workers don't know what there talking about now?!?!

I have wasn't asking anyone whether a government first duty is to protect its citizens, its a rhetorical question that I know the answer too.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones

But marsha, that’s my point; it really isn’t everyone’s priority. There are a lot of people who care more about their livelihood and their future than worrying about other people’s children and an abstract vision of ‘society’. I am a bit of ‘dementor’ who would keep as much closed as possible until cases have really fallen but I do see where they are coming from.

They may well do but if they are not in a position to do much about it they’ll have to go along with government decision.

Fortunately government seem together on this. Both parties even.

@Flinstones

PURPLEDAISIES So the NHS frontline workers don't know what there talking about now?!?!

They are not necessarily experts on what opening schools will do to case rates in hospitals.

@CountessFrog

YABU to ask this question on here. There will be a bad dose of competitive Pearl clutching.

Along with a double dose of stupid from posters who are bored of the virus now and their children need to go to school.

@Letseatgrandma:

Have most families got devices to work remotely on? Very few workers were provided any assistance to work remotely; of course, some may have, but there is no mandate to do so. No government furlough either. Unemployment benefits at best.

Is there Key Worker provision offered by schools so that many teachers are in the building? Nope. Not offered. There was some early years childcare offered early on last year, but most have since closed. Nor daycares - most remain closed.

What do parents do about work/‘childcare - try to manage to work and home school and raise children of all ages. It is horrendous! I know quite a few women who have had to quit working to manage; others have gone part time, or just about killed themselves trying to do it all.

For my employees, we have been very understanding and given wide open options as needed. Work part time, change hours, take vacation, take unpaid leave, go on unemployment, whatever, In truth, most have just taken a reduced workload and we've limped along. Nobody to blame here.

It is all horrific, and won't change soon, so we just go with it.

I just don't understand why people think we just want are children to go back to school because!!! It's no way to live like this. The children will be fine why are we sacrificing them.

@MeandT can I ask what you do for a living?

[quote mac12]We need to get cases right down and then open with masks, ventilation and possibly rotas. We need this to happen as quickly as is safely possible - for most kids, including mine, in-person school is the best. Kids need other kids, a screen is no substitute.

But we can't just send them back as we were before until the infection risk is under control. This isn't just about the risk to the adults in their lives and wider community. Children are also at risk from Long Covid and a human right to be protected from this:
aged 12-16 it is one in seven chance
aged under 12 it is one in eight

Figures from ONS surveillance survey
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/adhocs/12788updatedestimatesoftheprevalenceoflongcovidsymptoms[/quote]
The definition of long covid for those figures is
'Any symptom' defined as any occurance of the following symptoms, starting at or within 5 weeks of infection: fatigue, cough, headache, loss of taste, loss of smell, myalgia, sore throat, fever, shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain.

I don’t want to totally dismiss long covid but my kids have one of those in a 5 week period virtually all the time in winter. If you look at the graph for symptoms at 5 weeks it’s 3.5% for under 11. If you look at the incidence of any symptoms (eg cough, shortness of breath) after a cold or flu I wonder how many still have some symptoms after 5 weeks

[quote BustopherPonsonbyJones]@SleepingStandingUp
But in the words of the advert, ‘every little helps’ and they will learn very quickly how to use them properly. If the alternative is to keep your child, at home, I think you will soon come round to the idea.[/quote]
Well mines exempt so where would that leave him? In without one or left behind at home?

@Flinstones

I just don't understand why people think we just want are children to go back to school because!!! It's no way to live like this. The children will be fine why are we sacrificing them.

Because society is about more than just children. If our nhs is totally overwhelmed dealing with covid cases and we run out of itu beds, that’s going to be utterly awful.

Flint, sometimes events come along where we all have to simply get on with the hand we are dealt.

Imagine calling for evacuated dc to come back to cities in the war because... Being sent to the country side was... No way to live.

"The children will be fine why are we sacrificing them."

Do you REALLY have to ask this?

Actually in the someone hospitals children's wards are being used for icu covid patients.

It won’t happen not with the new variant having taken such a hold

I am hoping April

[quote ImBoredAgain]@MeandT

It isn’t a case of being at home bored on maternity, I’ve said the same from the beginning - let those who want to carry on do so and let the vulnerable make their own decisions on shielding.

Winter pressures are pretty standard, ambulances queuing outside for hours is pretty standard, ICU’s were massively under filled in the last “peak”

Stop watching the news, the majority will be fine[/quote]
I agree completely

[quote ImBoredAgain]@MeandT

It isn’t a case of being at home bored on maternity, I’ve said the same from the beginning - let those who want to carry on do so and let the vulnerable make their own decisions on shielding.

Winter pressures are pretty standard, ambulances queuing outside for hours is pretty standard, ICU’s were massively under filled in the last “peak”

Stop watching the news, the majority will be fine[/quote]
What variety of frontline nhs worker are you?

@ImBoredAgain, I don't know whether you really are frontline NHS, but if you are, I would imagine that those of your colleagues who've been filmed on the bbc news bulletins this week are probably pretty disgusted with you right now.

If schools do open but insist that children wear masks or they cannot attend what would anti mask parents do?

If it's mask or no school are you prepared to educate your child at home indefinitely?

No point in opening schools to close them again because there is insufficient protection.

Definitely not! It would be a massive mistake! They should have closed them in November then we might not be in such a bad way! X

The X was accidental!