If they open up schools all at once, I'm done with every other precaution

[BettyBoomerang]

If the 'leak' is true and they are stupid enough to open up all schools to all kids at the same time (thus leading to uncontrolled transmission of variants and increased risk of vaccine escape, further lockdowns and a redo of the vaccination programme) then I'm done with any kind of compliance.

I'm not staying at home like a fucking stupid sitting duck, waiting for my kids to come home with Covid anymore. The kids can see their friends, have sleepovers and we'll go out and about and visit friends and relatives and do the maximum we can.

You can pile in and call me selfish or whatever - I genuinely don't care anymore. I'm not putting my life on hold just for the government to fuck the recovery up again. I'm the most compliant of pretty much everyone I know but this is it for me, and many others I suspect (most of whom are already doing way more than me). If it's safe for my kids to go to school, then everything is safe.

This isn’t how it works. We can afford a certain level of transmission for hospitals not to be overwhelmed. We cannot afford a greater level of transmission. Opening schools will produce a certain level of transmission, which is projected not to overwhelm hospitals. That doesn’t mean we can go off and do other stuff which will raise transmission further
This. 100%.

I think schools should be open with appropriate measures in place for students, staff and the community, and I don't want a free for all in schools on 8th March.
But I have no words for anyone deciding 'if the kids are at school then I'll do what I like'. It's like fools acting in a way to prolong lockdown so they can have a cuppa with friends.

I think a lot of people are too quick to throw around the term “selfish” when actually it’s people being disappointed that the announcement seems to be “schools are opening in a Big Bang approach with no real relief for any other area or group

Well if the OP was disappointed with the approach and thinks it’s wrong she could simply have said so

Instead she chose the approach of saying fuck it, if schools open like this, I’m going to do whatever I like. Which is, clearly, selfish

You can’t get offended if people are reacting to the actual words you have used

@catlady3

Yup, you're stupid. You can still catch it. You can still die. If you think the government is irresponsible - don't follow their advice. Be more careful. And then vote them out.

More worrying is that not only catch it, they could pass it on, spreading infections more than if they didn't break the rules, possibly causing others to be off work losing money, or seriously ill, or even die.

It's about chains of infection. The fewer people you come into contact with, and for the shorter time, then the risk of catching it, passing it on, and being seriously ill with it, are greatly reduced.

Not rocket science!

(To be fair to the OP she hasn’t said she’s offended, it’s others doing that for her)

But I have no words for anyone deciding 'if the kids are at school then I'll do what I like'.

It's going the other way too anyway.

When half the class is allowed at school anyway, parents are less and less stopping the ones not allowed at school to see their friends.
Why should kids be penalised because their parents don't qualify, or most likely don't abuse the key-worker system?

They should all be at school anyway.

When there's no proper lockdown and half the population carries on as normal using the "bubble" card for everything, it's an open door to any excess.

Either have a lockdown, and a real one, or open the schools. Just call it "education bubble"

Education is of course a priority but there are plenty of other groups of people besides children who have had an awful year. I am single and childless, unable to see my family (who don’t live locally) or friends, and haven’t been to work since March 2020. It’s a hard pill to swallow to see schools opening with no restrictions and everything else once again has to wait.

Education and children SHOULD be a priority!

You forget that the adults are living in the exact same restrictions are you are - unable to see their own friends and family too.

Granted, it's not lonely with a 5 year old, but it's hardly the same as a social life!

We need restrictions so at least the schools can open. Kids (and teens!) need a social life a lot more than we adults do.

@BettyBoomerang

Good luck out there infecting each other. I'll just wait here and stick by the rules - I've been alone for almost 12 months so reckon I can hold on a bit longer.

settles in and waits for lockdown #4

Exactly. You can settle in and wait for lockdown 4 or you can crack on with your life.

FFS @BettyBoomerang - there will be no need for lockdown 4 if we open things up gradually! What part of that don’t you understand? @Quartz2208 has put it in a nice simple way in her earlier posts - I think even you might get it! You might not agree with the way the Govt are opening all schools at once but it’s not really surprising. They have always said re-opening schools would be top of the list.

Sadly though I don’t think you will be alone in your selfishness and plenty of others will follow suit. If that then leads to another lockdown you will absolve yourself of any responsibility and blame the Govt!

@therealteamdebbie

Education is of course a priority but there are plenty of other groups of people besides children who have had an awful year. I am single and childless, unable to see my family (who don’t live locally) or friends, and haven’t been to work since March 2020. It’s a hard pill to swallow to see schools opening with no restrictions and everything else once again has to wait.

Education and children SHOULD be a priority!

You forget that the adults are living in the exact same restrictions are you are - unable to see their own friends and family too.

Granted, it's not lonely with a 5 year old, but it's hardly the same as a social life!

We need restrictions so at least the schools can open. Kids (and teens!) need a social life a lot more than we adults do.

Yes in my post I did state that education should be a priority of course, and nowhere in my post do I say we shouldn’t be opening schools. What I am saying it it’s not unreasonable or selfish for people to be struggling with the idea that schools are opening in an un-staggered way leading to a massively increased amount of mixing, whilst nobody else is allowed to see even one family member indoors or make a choice to go to a gym alone to improve their mental health (for example).

I’m not against the opening of schools but I am against this new stance that seems to have come about that nobody is allowed to want anything other than the absolute bare minimum without being considered “selfish”. Today a lot of people are going to watch the PM state that thousands of young people can now start mixing in schools, meanwhile isolated adults must remain exactly so. It’s not selfish to be angry or upset about this and the desire for a “social life” (which now seems to include going to work, gym alone, seeing any friends or family and entering a shop other than a supermarket) is not unreasonable.

I really don’t get how they are prioritising people. Surely it should now be teachers front of queue? Have I missed something?

Sorry I meant to get the vaccine

The woman across the road said the same to me today: she was abandoning all social distancing rules if kids go back to school.

I raised an eyebrow. They have had kids dropped off for playdates, parents popping inside, family over at Xmas. it's an excuse to do what they like which they are doing anyhow.

I agree with opening schools. It's not the children of most MNetters who aren't getting enough food or supervision. The country needs to protect and nurture the kids in the way we kept the old protected before the vaccinations.

Did you think that once the numbers started coming down again the gov would suddenly announce "Yay! All fixed! Everything can open again now... off you go, back to normal...?" Because clearly even if the numbers reached virtually zero that would be complete lunacy.

Obviously it was going to be a step by step process. Open one area of society first, monitor the effects, and if numbers stay manageable over the next few weeks, move on and open something else up.

So what do you think should have been first to open up again, if not schools? Pubs? Nightclubs? Holiday resorts? They'll all get their turn if numbers stay manageable but they are right at the back of the queue, where they belong. If we all try not to sabotage the route out of lockdown, maybe we'll get there sooner.

Opening schools will certainly lead to an increase in transmission of the virus. But arguably this increased risk is "acceptable" given the "reward" is children being back in much-needed full time education at school.

However, the main consideration here is how much additional risk we can absorb as a society at any one moment in time before the virus runs rampant in a way that impacts hospitals/other services etc.

Hence for the moment, we can only absorb the risk of schools opening. Then, in several weeks, a bit more risk can be absorbed as the vaccine programme rolls out. A few weeks later, we can absorb more risk. And on and on. That's the reason not everything is opening at once, and why when schools return we need to minimise other transmission risks in line with the timeline/advice so that these carefully calibrated stages can actually work.

@therealteamdebbie

But I have no words for anyone deciding 'if the kids are at school then I'll do what I like'.

It's going the other way too anyway.

When half the class is allowed at school anyway, parents are less and less stopping the ones not allowed at school to see their friends.
Why should kids be penalised because their parents don't qualify, or most likely don't abuse the key-worker system?

They should all be at school anyway.

When there's no proper lockdown and half the population carries on as normal using the "bubble" card for everything, it's an open door to any excess.

Either have a lockdown, and a real one, or open the schools. Just call it "education bubble"

I agree. And it's not hard to figure out that key worker children (ones whose parents work frontline NHS and in supermarkets for example) are far more likely to bring the virus into schools than children whose parents work at home so never come into contact with anyone else anyway.

It astonishes me that people can't see why re opening schools is a priority over and above re opening other things and relaxing other restrictions.

I don't quite understand the negativity on this thread. Everyone (who didn't refuse) in groups 1-4 has been vaccinated and we know this hugely reduces the risk of hospitalisation and death. The risk of dying or being hospitalised if you are a school teacher and catch covid after March 8 is just really really low.

In fact, by March 8 almost all (or maybe all?) of groups 5 and 6 will have been vaccinated. It is true that this won't have come fully into effect but as the weeks go on it will.

Teachers who are not in groups 1-6 are at a very low risk of serious illness from covid.

The number of cases is falling quickly and by March 8 should be down to levels not seen since September 2020.

Isn't it something to celebrate that our vaccination system has been so effective that we can reopen schools without causing a high risk to teachers?

FFS here we go again. staggering return to school by a few days will make NO difference whatsoever to whether it's sustainable in the long term once they are back. they're either back, or they're not, get on with it.

I can't support your decision OP. The government are initially opening up schools and nothing else so they can isolate the effect of schools on the R rate. How can they measure the impact of this (and decide on future steps) if people don't comply with the other measures

@donaldbump

I really don’t get how they are prioritising people. Surely it should now be teachers front of queue? Have I missed something?

School staff as a group aren’t forcing up hospital numbers and also children would still be going home to their parents/families so I don’t know how much vaccinating school staff would actually affect community transmission. Those of us who are likely to get ill will be vaccinated in the other groups. I would like school staff to be vaccinated with other public facing key workers once the current groups are all done, but not before then.

Really stupid post.
Being at school poses a risk. Having sleepover doubles that risk. Don’t you get that? We have to accept some risk for children being allowed back to full education. But why would you purposefully double that risk? That’s stupid!
The point of lifting restrictions in stages is so they can add to the data as to ‘what is making infections rise / not making much different’ and also so it doesn’t go out of control so quickly.
Everything is a risk. Which is why you do it in stages. That’s logical sense.
Those who think that any lift of restrictions gives them the green light to do what they want are the ones who mess with the recovery.
The government doesn’t force the virus to spread, therefore ‘f* ing up the recovery’, movement of people makes the virus spread.

pinkhappy
In fact, by March 8 almost all (or maybe all?) of groups 5 and 6 will have been vaccinated. It is true that this won't have come fully into effect but as the weeks go on it will.
pinkhappy please read your last sentence from your quote here three times aloud. If schools opened 20 school days later, after Easter, then a lot more people would be safe and happy to go back. Have you older teenagers? A lot of those parents fall into Group 6. They are very nervous going back. One student near us gave it to his mother and grandmother. The grandmother died.
Why can’t they just wait a few weeks more? They have only just started doing Group 6 here.

People in group 6 won’t be fully vaccinated until mid May.

@oldwhyno

FFS here we go again. staggering return to school by a few days will make NO difference whatsoever to whether it's sustainable in the long term once they are back. they're either back, or they're not, get on with it.

Yes, this, 100 percent. Staggering is just the performance of moving slowly to appease a vocal minority. The priority is to get all the kids back in to school. It's time to get on with it.

@BettyBoomerang

As far as I’m concerned, the government has squandered my caution and sacrifice for a year now. They’re about to squander all the gains of the last lockdown and the vaccine programme because they’re giving in to pressure groups and extreme back bench opinions. I’d have to be a mug to now sit at home yet again not seeing family and let them do it all over again.

Don’t your family get a say? Or are they like you?

It would be nice to read about how the government has made changes in schools to keep school staff safe, wouldn’t it?