School with possible positive case in the house.

[Nousernameforme]

I have 3 ds
Unvaccinated Ds1 has symptoms started with a sore throat now has high temp and starting to cough. Waiting results from pcr.
Ds1 shares a room with Ds2 if he comes back positive we will swap ds1 and ds3 so ds1 can properly isolate from rest of house.
Ds3 has school Dp has work Dp will continue to work and will social distance/mask up as much as possible. Ds3 cannot socially distance or wear a mask.
If Ds1s test comes back positive what do I do about ds3s school? I know I am supposed to send him but that feels really wrong. I can't afford a fine for keeping him off and a further 10 days of him at home bored will send me round the bend, but I also can't send him off like a little bio weapon ready to infect whoever he comes in contact with.

Sent my dd in this morning, she got a negative PCR yesterday, feels wrong as me and her sister tested positive last Thursday,

[quote Tinydancer321]@Bizawit what do you think the government are thinking allowing house holds to carry on mixing even if positives in the home, baring in mind if under 18 you don’t need to test. “Should”. It’s not safe. I’m not picking by the way. I suppose I can’t see their plan other than to get Covid through the school now rather than later. 🤦🏼‍♀️.
Class bubbles I get why they got rid off (I’m
Highly anxious about Covid however I do understand this abs feel kids need normality). Stopping house hold bubbles blow my mind.
Must be very difficult for single parent families too. If the parent tests positive how do you get the kids to school.[/quote]
Exactly, I’m a single parent, I have covid yet I have to send dd2 in, she’s gone by taxi but if she becomes unwell am I allowed to leave the house to collect her? I have no one else who would be willing to collect a child who could potentially have covid.

@Lovemusic33 I hadn’t thought I’d that as mine go in taxi and assumed I would just send (not single though so hopefully one would be negative). However that’s a very good point . Don’t think they think of single parents. Like do you bring your poorly child at the school to pick a sibling up 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

[quote Tinydancer321]@Bizawit what do you think the government are thinking allowing house holds to carry on mixing even if positives in the home, baring in mind if under 18 you don’t need to test. “Should”. It’s not safe. I’m not picking by the way. I suppose I can’t see their plan other than to get Covid through the school now rather than later. 🤦🏼‍♀️.
Class bubbles I get why they got rid off (I’m
Highly anxious about Covid however I do understand this abs feel kids need normality). Stopping house hold bubbles blow my mind.
Must be very difficult for single parent families too. If the parent tests positive how do you get the kids to school.[/quote]
I understand why they have reduced the requirement for children to isolate if a hh member tests positive, however I do not understand why they are penalising families (fines / unauthorised absences etc) who continue to judge it best to do so, based on their own personal circumstances.

I think it’s ridiculous for people to equate the lifting of restrictions, to a policy of trying to infect people with covid. That is very binary thinking. We don’t have restrictions to prevent the spread of other contagious diseases, that doesn’t mean we are trying to infect people with them. In terms of removing the requirement for household members (double vaccinated or under 18) to isolate, the gov are trying to balance the disruptions to education/ work against the risk of spreading covid. The requirement to isolate with symptoms is still in place, and there is a recommendation to get a PCR in case a household member tests positive. In my view, at this stage of the pandemic, that is a reasonable balance to strike in terms of the mandatory rules. That doesn’t mean I’m hoping lots of children get infected with covid before the winter.

@Bizawit I get your comment and at least that would allow freedom for families to protect their kids, family how they feel best.
Lots of school kids won’t get symptoms so parents won’t know when to test. I feel maybe a way of getting around this is parents doing lft twice weekly so that school education isn’t effected and may make more anxious parents feel more confident

I did what I thought was the right thing - I have a positive pcr but DD1 has repeatedly tested negative including a pcr, so I followed government instructions and sent her to school. I told the HT as thought that was the right thing to do. However wish I hadn't. HT is now inferring I should have kept her at home (despite the guidance about sending them in having come from her own inbox). And telling me a number of the year group (primary) have tested positive, as though I'm responsible.

Honestly, the only take away I have here is next time I wouldn't tell the school a thing.

@TinyTroubleMaker

I did what I thought was the right thing - I have a positive pcr but DD1 has repeatedly tested negative including a pcr, so I followed government instructions and sent her to school. I told the HT as thought that was the right thing to do. However wish I hadn't. HT is now inferring I should have kept her at home (despite the guidance about sending them in having come from her own inbox). And telling me a number of the year group (primary) have tested positive, as though I'm responsible.

Honestly, the only take away I have here is next time I wouldn't tell the school a thing.

Omg that is so unbelievably unfair 😡. Parents are in a completely impossible position.

Personally if I or one dc was positive I would not send in the other. I would feel awful if it was passed on and had bad outcomes. Feel so sorry for schools in this

@Wingingit15 your right it’s crazy.

Unfortunately I think that is going to differ massively between schools/LAs etc. It’s really unfair though, to call people ‘selfish’ for not following the current rules. Not every one has the option to isolate if there is a positive case in the house. Also, children have missed so, so much school already. If they test negative and are showing no symptoms it’s a really hard call to keep a completely well, Covid negative child at home.

I also don’t understand though, what single parents who have Covid, or a household with both parents positive are supposed to do about sending negative kids to school. It’s all very well saying get someone else to take them, but not everyone lives somewhere where this is at all realistic (rural for example) or has the support network where they would feel ok to ask.

@hopingforabrighterfuture2021 exactly my older 2 get a taxi, my youngest I drive. How could I ask a family to drive her to school knowing I could be giving them Covid 🤦🏼‍♀️

@Tinydancer321 do you tell taxi firm though?

In reality society has always isolated for new illnesses until they know more. Small pox resulted in isolating, goods grom infected ships were distroyed rather than risk spreadung the illness.

But Covid isn't smallpox, which had a 30% fatality rate.

@Wingingit15 I expect I would. Mine are not positive I am actually skiving them off as have 9 days till due date and pooping catching Covid before. 🤦🏼‍♀️.
Parents are positive in younger class, eldest a child is positive and middle I wouldn’t know unless the kids show symptoms.
I don’t know if I could send them if I was positive. I don’t know. 🤷🏼‍♀️. It’s tough.

@Warhertisuff although I wonder if we didn’t have breakthroughs in health care since small pox what the survival rate would be?

@Tinydancer321 sorry I misread. Good luck on the next few days - don’t blame you at all for keeping them off!

@Bizawit

I don’t agree at all that the plan is to infect children with covid.

Maybe not an active plan with infection targets, but it's surely the inevitable result... Besides, how can we realistically stop almost all children from getting Covid in the years ahead?

I broke the rules and didn’t send my children in when I tested positive despite their negative pcrs. I was going to give it a couple of days to see if they developed symptoms.
Within 24 hours of the pcr negatives both of them tested positive on LFT and then pcr and I am SO glad I followed my instinct and not the rules.

[quote Tinydancer321]@Warhertisuff although I wonder if we didn’t have breakthroughs in health care since small pox what the survival rate would be?[/quote]
Well the case fatality rate was about 0.5% - 1% back in March 2020 when we didn't have any medicines and we didn't really know how to treat (ventilators were shown to be useless in many cases), so it's bad, but was never going to be in the same
League as smallpox.

I'm not sure what the big issue is... Covid is going to go through schools regardless given the way society is now open. You're not "stopping the spread... All you're doing is "delaying the spread somewhat".

The only caveat is additional testing should a child in a class be CEV.

@Frogsandsheep

I broke the rules and didn’t send my children in when I tested positive despite their negative pcrs. I was going to give it a couple of days to see if they developed symptoms. Within 24 hours of the pcr negatives both of them tested positive on LFT and then pcr and I am SO glad I followed my instinct and not the rules.

Ok, so the children who would have caught it from your kids get Covid in the a couple of weeks... sadly, Covid is endemic now, so all these efforts to stop the spread are pretty futile.

If you can keep him off, keep him off. It's a dangerous rule.

@beentoldcomputersaysno

If you can keep him off, keep him off. It's a dangerous rule.

It's not "dangerous". It just means the average child will get Covid by October half-term, rather than by Christmas.

@Warhertisuff
I don’t think you can limit to class though surely on cev grounds.
What about all the kids in the assembly hall : dining hall/ playground now bubbles have gone? Teachers, TA etc
Poor schools, I’d rather be ignorant if parents in ours are sending in kids from a covid case household but the teacher will undoubtably know they’re in the front line.