Current rules on isolation are counter-productive

[Warhertisuff]

I can't be the only one who isn't doing lateral flow tests or overlooking mild symptoms because of the consequences to, not just my family, but the school community.

For instance, last week my 9 year old son had a headache and sore throat... nothing serious and a good night's sleep meant he was well enough to go to school the following day, and he was fine in the days ahead. I didn't do a LFT or get him tested as, had he been positive, he, and his entire year group, would have missed the last 10 days of school, with all the activities and end of year shows etc.

I took the view that the possible damage caused by him having Covid - if he indeed did have it which he probably didn't - and passing to other children (and other adults who largely would have had the chance to have been vaccinated) was less than having the end of the school year ruined for everyone.

If the rules were similar for other illnesses, which I'd argue they can be now that vaccines have made the impact of Covid more like the flu, then more people would take common sense precautions about keeping their kids off school if unwell.

I haven't RTFT but I think a lot of people aren't testing anymore, people can't afford to or just don't want to isolate. YANBU OP. There has to be an end point on isolation considering the vaccine roll out - either they work or they don't, which one is it?

My blame lies squarely with those responsible for letting the India variant into the country. Namely those who travelled abroad when illegal and then obviously failed to quarantine on return. I also include the government to some extent for knowing this would happen and not doing anything to stop it.

Before this our numbers were low, vaccinations were going well and things were getting back to normal.

Now we have a bizarre situation where on the one side everything is opening up and getting back to normal with the prospect of not having to isolate or wear masks any more, but on the other side pretty high numbers in some places, and numerous people still having to isolate, the majority of whom don’t have symptoms!

The whole thing relies on honesty and good will of the public to test and isolate. But there aren’t measures in place to support ordinary people to isolate and work places cannot carry on with multiple people off. This will obviously lead to less people testing in the first place. Especially if numbers are currently higher.

@Watermelon221 but at the time the Delta Variant was brought in people were traveling legally. Blame the government if you want for not making India Red quickly enough ( because of Brexit trade deal needed) and then giving people notice to come back so thousands of potentially infected people flooded into the country packed into the airports and likely used public transport or lifts from relatives to get home.

Unfortunately the Delta variant appears to be so infectious that once it takes hold, it's hard to prevent spread without going back to full lockdown.

It was pretty inevitable that a new strain would come along when international travel was allowed. It is something I think the government should be more cautious about, rather than all this mixed messaging, let's get our own country in order before introducing more variables.

@rookiemere

“ Blame the government if you want for not making India Red quickly enough ( because of Brexit trade deal needed) and then giving people notice to come back so thousands of potentially infected people flooded into the country packed into the airports and likely used public transport or lifts from relatives to get home.”

Yes I totally agree with this and they should have prevented this from happening.

But these people were away when it was illegal to travel anywhere (even in this country) apart from a few exemptions. There were thousands of them. Travel abroad opened on 17th May for a few green countries only.

I hope you aren’t customer facing then if you would refuse to test or isolate.

I wouldn't give a shit if someone facing me as a customer wasn't into this whole testing and isolating tripe. I don't think I'm alone in that either.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

Where do you work? Would like the opportunity to blacklist a company who doesnt guve a shit about its customers.

Thanks

You're brave to post on here OP.

I think what you've done is what most people are doing, particularly those who know they've already had Covid.

There's a lot of concern on MN that I don't hear in RL, maybe areas are different, but it's certainly happening at my kids' school, parents are just fed up with the multiple rounds of isolation of healthy kids (some 4 x) and the view is the same as yours.

If it's any comfort, I think it'll all change very soon as it's obvious they won't get most people to comply any longer so need something different.

At the current rate of infection, that phenomenon about 6 degrees of separation would mean that soon everyone in the country will be self-isolating!
So, yes, it is getting ridiculous to have a policy that is essentially about to be 'let it rip' from 19 July but still make people test and self-isolate. No-one will be left to go to work.
They are going to have to reduce it to daily testing of double-vaccinated close contact.

And the same is already happening in schools. So that will have to change by September, when all teachers will be double-vaccinated (if they so chose) and a lot of older teenagers also.

@HeyDugeesCakeBadge

I haven't RTFT but I think a lot of people aren't testing anymore, people can't afford to or just don't want to isolate. YANBU OP. There has to be an end point on isolation considering the vaccine roll out - either they work or they don't, which one is it?

Yes, I agree. The government needs to man and admit that vaccines reduce infection by 80-90% then on top of that reduce transmission by at least 50%, so the risk from vaccinated people is vastly reduced so scientifically they don't need to isolate especially not to protect those that won't vaccinate

The government is trying to have it both ways - we must all get vaccinated, but no benefit must accrue to those that do their bit to get infection under control and stop transmission

Plus some people who currently see no benefit to themselves to feel a bit crap for 1 day if they get vaccinated may well decide to get vaccinated if it means they don't have to self-isolate/quarantine after hols etc.
Some people need to see what's in it for them, so to get these people to have the vaccination the end to self-isolation of double-vaccinated people must start asap.

The point of this post is different though. The child was symptomatic yet still sent in.

@Sweetnessandbite

It’s not always that simple though is it, especially with kids.

I mean, my ds had a sore throat after doing races at school and cheering (probably because of that), gets bunged up and sneezy with bad hay fever etc etc. This happened frequently pre covid and I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. I come home most weeks after a long day at work with a headache, or feel achy if I’m stressed or done exercise...

But now, are we to test and isolate after every little symptom? In which case it could be every week! Or do we have to make our own “risk assessment” based on likelihood?

I still, rightly or wrongly stick with the original 3 symptoms of temperature over 37.8, cough and loss of smell/taste. If there’s none of those we carry on as normal. What are others doing?

@Sweetnessandbite

The point of this post is different though. The child was symptomatic yet still sent in.

No, he wasn't sent in with symptoms... He felt under the weather the night before but was fine in the morning.

And they weren’t symptoms that require testing or isolating!

@Warhertisuff

So what was the point of your post then 🙄

Just to wind people up i take it....

If he had no symptoms why even post about ignoring test and isolation requirements and sending anyway?

And if he had no symptoms why would you need to keep home and test if the was a CEV child in the class?

[quote Covidworries]@Warhertisuff

So what was the point of your post then 🙄

Just to wind people up i take it....

If he had no symptoms why even post about ignoring test and isolation requirements and sending anyway?

And if he had no symptoms why would you need to keep home and test if the was a CEV child in the class?[/quote]
He had a headache and was feeling off colour with a slight sore throat the night before... he was ok the next day. It's all in the OP.

Our school has been hit in the past week. School says one thing, adds the official PHE letter that they must attach, which totally contraficts the school's advice. If PHE is not keeping up to date and sticking to the original 3 main symptoms, no wonder parents are getting confused.

Plus the new range of symptoms are so broad and vague (and easily overlap with hayfever and, any minor ailment) it's a horrible situation to place parents into risking shutting down whole classes/ years and all the disruption that ensues in order to check out if it is just a minor sniffle or Covid.

The whole organisation of the situation id s contradictory mess.

it's a horrible situation to place parents into risking shutting down whole classes/ years and all the disruption that ensues in order to check out if it is just a minor sniffle or Covid

The bubble won’t close until a positive test is confirmed, so parent tests and if it’s negative all is fine and if it’s positive then the bubble or close contacts are contacted as they should be to stop the spread. Hardly a horrible process.

It's a terrible process when you are in period of isolations constantly. Plus the disruption of being to told to not go into school, then told OK, then told ah no, you are now a CC.

And the situation is ludicrous because the rules are contradictory. the outbreak at our local school was driven by a teacher - one case in a teacher took out entire year group (75 kids) as they can work across bubbles even though kids can't mingle. Siblings being allowed to go to school as normal even though PCR results of CC not known. None of it makes sense to me