Ending school isolation - The Guardian

[Bobholll]

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/28/ministers-set-to-end-automatic-isolation-for-pupils-in-england

These things are usually leaked & true, so fingers crossed this close contact isolation for entire year groups & bubbles is coming to an end 🙏🏼

My DC school has been trialling this. No self isolation for close contacts- instead daily testing and still going to school.

I haven't seen the data from the trials yet, in terms of spread of infection in the trial schools, despite them having been ongoing for quite some time - has it been published anywhere?

@poshme

My DC school has been trialling this. No self isolation for close contacts- instead daily testing and still going to school.

And supposedly nowhere else

Our local primary bubble 8 children out the same class came down with it.

So it seems it does seem to have a purpose- although it can't continue forever

I agree. I really don’t want a third academic year to be ruined if the hospitalisation and death rates remain low.

From September???? Why not from 19 July on line with the rest of the restrictions being lifted???? We break up on 22 July and are supposedly going on holiday on 23 July (UK), but I am dreading getting "that call from the school" which will put the kibosh on the whole thing.

I’ll be bloody delighted if this is true !

I think it is a necessary step for next school year once all adults have had the chance to be vaccinated. The negative impacts of repeated isolations would outweigh the benefits.

It still raises a lot of questions for me though. If they are saying testing would replace isolation, who would have to test - those who sit near them, whole year groups? And what about primary age who haven’t been routine testing? Will secondary still be asked to do LFT twice a week? Can schools operate normally without staggered starts and lunches?

If they're going to do this they need to pay for decent tests e.g. the saliva ones not the shit LFTs they paid billions for that are only 50% accurate and unpleasant for kids to do properly.

I agree, my DS is sick of the LFTs after doing them twice a week since March, and they’re not nice.

Further questions that occur to me based on that! Would they be allowed to live normally as a contact if testing, ie do out of school activities etc? And what if they refuse to test, do they have to isolate as before? In which case there will still be huge disruption

How does lft fit in with Andrew Marr saying he had two negatives closely followed by a positive PCR?

School want my sons entire school bar two classes to do a PCR today via post ready to return on Monday after close contact. Its borderline delusional that logistically that can be turned around.

Sorry two negative LFT tests followed by a positive PCR

LFTs done at home I think are often just not done properly.Many times I'm not that confident in them when I've done DD. One time I stuck the swab up her nostril - she pulled away (so it DEFINITELY touched the sides / possibly outside of the nose) and sneezed continuously for about a minute. There was no chance she was doing it again after that.

I still used the swab but really, what's the chances it would have shown positive even if she really was?

I really have to suppress my own gag reflex to do the tonsils swab - the kids just start gagging straight away. I'm sorry, they're just not accurate. It's a distraction. And the suggestion that you not touch the tongue or other parts of the mouth when doing kids is ridiculous.

Decent, relatively accurate saliva tests would be so much better in every way. So why aren't we getting them, Sajid Javid?

Is it just some Tory donor is making millions off the current LFTS which have been banned in the US for being totally shit?

Given past facts about this government I'm assuming my theory is correct unless proven otherwise.

I think as parents we really need to complain about this. Also, what about younger children? Are they still going to have to isolate or are we going to be expected to swab the tonsils and upper nasal passages of 4 year olds because I really think that would be very difficult on a regular basis - it's hard enough doing a PCR once or twice on a little one - they do remember negative experiences and quite actively avoid them the second / third time in my experience.

It's very clear from policymaking that the people in charge have no clue about children.