Told to isolate - can i collect children from school?

[petitdonkey]

Apologies if this has been done! I’ve just received a notification to isolate for eight days (I went to the supermarket on Saturday and was at work- no other contact!) - my children are at school, perhaps a stupid question but am I allowed to drive to pick up and drop off this week?? I have just emailed work who I guess won’t be thrilled...

What a PITA!!!

@UrbanCorgi

I've had to take a taxi a few times over the past few months for essential reasons. A lot of the taxi drivers seem to have pinned a transparent plastic sheet between the back and front seats and have the windows open to reduce transmission risk. Is that something you could do if you end up having to drive your children?

And the point of doing that with people you live with, would be what exactly?

How on Earth anyone things it’s better for the teens to be in close contact with a friend’s parent, so an additional third party, than to be in the car with their own mother, who they live with and got a lift with this very morning, is fucking beyond me.

EXACTLY this.

I wish the app had informed me where the contact was supposed to have occurred. No close neighbours (we are rural) , if it was someone in school (primary) presumably the school would know. I took the dog to the vet last night but did not enter the building. I can honestly only think of the M&S foodhall!

@ILookAtTheFloor

So glad I deleted that app.

My phone didn't support it. Aw, too bad.

@Wonderbrush

Surely if you have tested positive your children shouldn’t be going into schools. They would have to isolate as well?

Yes, if she had tested positive.

All she has is a message from a crap app to say she's possibly been in contact with someone's phone & the owner of the phone has since tested positive.

That's a long way from 'tested positive'

All the people saying to ignore the app- I’m far too much of a conformist for that and I know my school wouldn’t want me. I might not keep the Bluetooth on after this though! A few people mentioned it’s not legally binding but it’s the nhs app...

It is a difficult one.

I have two young kids in one place and a toddler in a different place and it is a big ask to expect someone else to pick up and drop off (for me it is x2 pick ups and x2 drop offs per day) for over a week.

I'd probably keep toddler home and cobble something together for the older two.

Not everyone has support in place and those who do may not feel able to ask so much of other people [as per my example above]

If you haven't already told your school then more fool you OP if you're going to abide by the app.

If I was the OP, I think I would be picking my DC up from school and would continue to take them to and from school.

If they were younger, so I wouldn't be able to stay in the car, this would be different.

I would have windows open and them masked.

I don't think people should be sharing lifts in general.

The kids don't have to self-isolate and as secondary will be doing lateral flow tests and wearing masks in school.

The app self-isolation is not legally binding like a track and trace call would be.

OP I’ve not read the whole thread so not sure if this has been pointed out but unless you become symptomatic your kids don’t need to isolate they carry on as normal. The test and trace website says ‘any people you live with and any people in your support bubble do not need to self-isolate if you do not have symptoms’

@CovidPostingName - I know my school would not be at all impressed if I chose to ignore the app and risked bringing covid into an environment where we have yet had to shut down a bubble. I was in work on Monday so am very much hoping that I don’t develop symptoms or test positive.

@Wibblewobble99 - thanks, yes I am aware that the children can keep attending as long as I don’t develop symptoms x

@petitdonkey

I wish the app had informed me where the contact was supposed to have occurred. No close neighbours (we are rural) , if it was someone in school (primary) presumably the school would know. I took the dog to the vet last night but did not enter the building. I can honestly only think of the M&S foodhall!

I went to an M&S foodhall on Friday. Even though there was a queue and restricted numbers in store it was really busy and I didn't feel comfortable at all and won't be going again until I've had two vaccine doses.

Honestly I wouldn’t pay attention to the app in the circumstances you describe.

A woman posted before that she got notification to isolate after dropping supplies to the doorstep of a friend who was isolating as positive. Friend didn’t even open the door. Ludicrous.

Is anyone actually paying attention to the app? Op, if you were a close contact to an infected person track and trace would've been in touch with you.

I honestly didn’t think I could just ignore the app which is why I emailed my workplace 🤷🏻‍♀️

No, of course you can't

Well, as much as some hate this on here I would be the only one who could collect my child so I would have no choice.

If you think that brief supermarket contact (with masks and social distancing) is likely to result in infection, then isolate, but I think there is room here for personal judgement.

@FullofCurryandparatha

Can you please explain why public transport for the kids makes more sense?

At the moment they live with, and have close contact with their mum. She has been asked to isolate. Whether or not she sits in a car to drive them, they still have close contact with her (but only her/their household).

If they take public transport then they still have close contact with their mum. But now they're also in a confined space with more contacts. And those contacts will have been in that confined space with many other people; front line workers, people ignoring social distancing, people who could be positive but ignore it etc.

In one situation, the isolating person remains isolated (only in contact with her household) but drops them off so they dont have any unnecessary contact with anyone else.

In the other the isolated person remains isolated but her children DO have contact with lots of unnecessary people.

Pick up your kids and isolate with them!

@UserTwice

And yes, some people really do have zero support and absolutely nobody else able to collect or look after their children.

If they have children at school, then they have other school parents to ask. They may not want to, but the option is there.

This isn't an issue for me as my DC go to school on a bus but if for some reason the bus wasn't available there isn't anyone I could ask to collect them. The school has a large catchment area (rural county) and I don't have contact details for parents who might happen to live vaguely me as I don't know them.

You know what @UserTwice not everyone's life is the same as yours

I've not read the thread but just in case no ones posted this we're being encouraged to get tests WITHOUT symptoms in my area in London

And results back within 24 hours - or 4 in my case

Ideally is there a school friend who lives close? If not when one of my kids was isolating school were pragmatic about the other. Have a chat, see if you can get there early and have DC brought to the car.

You’re a contact, you don’t even have it - yes it’s against the rules to do so but I would continue to drop off and pick up and don’t get out of the car. The risk of more lost schooling has got to be greater than the infinitesimal risk posed by walking from your door to the car.