Rates rising > Kids off school > WTF is the plan??

[HoppingHamster]

I want things to open up. I want vaccines to work. I’ve had my vaccines.

But.

There will soon be thousands of kids off school isolating because they’ve come into contact with someone who tested positive. 10 days off school. I already know of about 50 in our local area through various schools.

If June 21 goes ahead. And we can’t slow the spread among unvaccinated people. And the spread is already increasing statistically among children and younger ages (which it is), where is the plan for keeping kids in school?? For preventing more disruption to their education.

How is it possible to let things open up (and let numbers fly over next few months before more people vaccinated) AND keep kids equally in school? Either you open up and lift all quarantine restrictions. Or you have to do something to plot the spread amongst youngsters.

I’m worried this has been forgotten and it’s going to go wrong again.

@itsgettingwierd yup

@Mumdiva99
Nods. Slaps forehead. Accepts I was wrong.

I just know CEV children who want to be in school and can't afford to run too many risks with CV.

What is actually left to ‘open up’ on June 21st anyway?

That was my experience too, we had no cases then suddenly loads. We had to close in the end and one of my colleagues died. You can’t get complacent just because it hasn’t got to your school yet. It just takes one case sometimes.

[quote HoppingHamster]@Sometimesfraught82 have you been double jabbed?[/quote]
Second in 2 weeks

@notonthestairs of course your point is valid.... we should vaccinate to help others.... isn't that why we give the flu jab to kids? (I may be wrong but in most healthy kids a dose of flu is not serious - horrid but not serious - but we vsccinate to stop the spread in the community)

That was meant to be a reply to @mondaywine!

I am in Wales where we don't have a Freedom Day, but I agree with all the posters who say that we (as in whole of UK) should keep the rules each nation has in place until the schools break up. We have all been through so much, why risk everything for the sake of a few weeks?

@LoveNote

What is actually left to ‘open up’ on June 21st anyway?

I wondered that. This is apparantly the plan for England and it seems mad to me tbh:

No limit on how many people you can invite to your home
Pubs, clubs, theatres and cinemas allowed to operate without capacity limits
Sports events able to take place in full stadiums
Nightclubs able to open
An end to limits on guests for weddings and other life events

Agreed @Birdkin. Our staff have been hit hard along with a huge number of positive children. This is a primary school and all staff wear masks. I did not think this would happen now. We were the first in the area. It’s now a pattern being repeated across our local authority.

@Sometimesfraught82 great, so you’ll be ok then.

@NannyAndJohn

I'm afraid this is their plan.

Reach herd immunity as soon as possible by letting Delta rip through schools, not giving a flying fuck about the collateral deaths and the hundreds of thousands of our children who will get Long Covid.

This!

@mondaywine

Agreed *@Birdkin*. Our staff have been hit hard along with a huge number of positive children. This is a primary school and all staff wear masks. I did not think this would happen now. We were the first in the area. It’s now a pattern being repeated across our local authority.

Monday, is it the Delta variant?

Vaccines are working.

Not everyone has been vaccinated or at least not enough for herd immunity.

They need to review the isolating rules. Of those 50 you say are isolating due to close contact - why not OCR the lot of them then the negatives go immediately back. Most of the people off school don't have the virus anyway.

I agree with a previous poster we need to roll back some of the regulations (around isolating) so education is not interrupted too much.

Finally remember covid is not serious in most people

I'm just seeing a lot of "time to let it rip" posts. I know they always pop up before a review.

I think my children (one has SN) would be ok. But I know there are children in mainstream and SEN schools that likely won't just feel under the weather for a few days and they can't necessarily be vaccinated. I feel for their parents.

@Funfortheroad

They need to stop isolating kids. If things are ok enough to open up society and allow travel, festivals and offices, then there's no need to keep isolating children, who aren't even affected by it.

This.

'collateral deaths' - drama much!

Why do people have to go so over the top.

Regardless of what happens now, in 6-8 months the rates will rise again. So there has to be some long term plan. Let’s say they vaccinate secondary aged pupils in the autumn term (subject to supply). Come January/February Covid will be rife again in primary schools. So you can just really vaccinate all school staff etc and introduce mitigation measures. More testing for primary then.
At least, public health are now encouraging all isolating pupils to have a PCR test. And their families.
It was always absurd that 1) people from high risk countries could isolate in households where the rest of the household could go about normal life and travel there on public transport 2) family around a child isolating from school as a contact did not test that child or themselves. Main transmission is in households.
Unless kids as a group start becoming very ill with Covid they need in school education and those vulnerable need to be careful and up to date with their vaccines. Can’t not educate a whole generation for a few, not good for society on a whole level. Of course, there are individual losers to this including clinically vulnerable children. However, you need an educated population to pay for future taxes and a prospering economy and mental health in children is very important too. So they need some normality.
And who is to stay letting it spread (somewhat) in the summer isn’t better anyway- at least hospital capacity better as less flu/other respiratory viruses. So difficult to know and nobody really knows. It is a different situation from 6 months ago both due to the different variant and the vaccines.

None in any of our local schools so far.

They don't give a shit about you or your child!
Thank god we are on holiday in two weeks.
I'm incredibly worried my children catch it.
So far none of my children have caught it or had to self isolate ever from it but that WILL change. No lockdown this time, opening up everything our children will bear the brunt of this as it will be left to run freely through the schools.
I don't have an answer but this is exactly their plan
Just because your child has not been affected ( this is largely because of lockdowns, not necessarily school ones but shops etc) They will not escape being infected for long.

"Just because your child has not been affected ( this is largely because of lockdowns, not necessarily school ones but shops etc) They will not escape being infected for long"

Not necessarily.

We have two colleagues-both of whom are fully vaccinated some time ago (healthcare) who have tested positive this week and are symptomatic. We can’t possibly loosen things up.

@MrsElijahMikaelson1

We have two colleagues-both of whom are fully vaccinated some time ago (healthcare) who have tested positive this week and are symptomatic. We can’t possibly loosen things up.

Have they been hospitalised?

[quote HoppingHamster]@Sometimesfraught82 great, so you’ll be ok then.[/quote]
Even if not - still wouldn’t have any intention to restricting this summer! In terms of seeing friends, family and travelling around as much as possible!

The nearest primary school to ours is closed. Low rate area, a case in the school two weeks ago, by one week ago there weren’t enough pupils or teachers not isolating to keep the school open. It was sudden and dramatic. This variant really spreads fast in primary schools.