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Original poster

Really high cases in my local school

104 replies

CovidinPrimary · 17/09/2021 22:16

In two year groups of my local primary school approx a quarter of kids have tested positive in the last week. Public health are involved.

Part of me expected this, but part of me feels very nervous. My DD is not in the year groups impacted but has likely come into very close proximity of many kids who are now infected and will continue to do so, covid is just allowed to be rampant in schools.

It’s really shocking, I have never seen even a cold virus spread as fast in comparison. School are taking mitigation actions as advised, but these just involve trying to stop the impacted year groups coming to contact with other year groups: impossible for reasons such as siblings etc.

The rationale part of me knows that if DD gets covid he will probs be fine (at least short term who knows long term!) but the scale of how it’s spreading in school is just alarming.

I feel like I have been forced to risk accept my child will get covid and it’s not sitting right with me

OP posts:
Bobholll · 18/09/2021 22:54

I’m glad my daughter gets to start school normally. She’s enjoyed playing with kids she knows in other years, she loves assembly 😂 & she loves her year 6 buddy. I’m sure covid will head our way.. we are at small village school so probably a bit less chaotic than huge schools. My DD has caught the class cold, PCR off today but we aren’t isolating as no actual covid symptoms. Just snotty. The teacher said on Friday a good 80% of the class was snotty & sneezing at the end of the week 🙈 is is covid? Well, maybe I suppose. But it’s probably just a reception version of freshers flu! Colds do indeed spread as fast as covid. Have you ever seen a toddler room at nursery?! 100% of them are full of cold in winter. Sick bug, a good 80% catch it 😷 It’s just, we’ve never paid much attention nor had to isolate for 10 days!

Littlefish · 18/09/2021 23:00

My previous school (I'm a teacher), closed for the day yesterday. They had 60 cases of Norovirus and 30 cases of Covid.

They closed for the day on Friday, at the suggestion of public health England, to create a 72 hour firebreak.

2nd week of term!

LifesTooShortYOLO · 18/09/2021 23:31

@Mybalconyiscracking

You probably have seen a cold virus spread this quickly, you just weren’t paying attention.
This 👏🏻
LifesTooShortYOLO · 18/09/2021 23:37

covid is just allowed to be rampant in schools.
Well kinda yeah, the fact is we need to learn to live with the virus now so inevitably cases in schools are going to go up.
Did we ever count a common cold case in schools? No.

LindaLooky · 18/09/2021 23:39

I have family members undergoing chemo. I am totally unable to keep them safe. What a shit couple of years it's been.

echt · 18/09/2021 23:59

@LifesTooShortYOLO

covid is just allowed to be rampant in schools. Well kinda yeah, the fact is we need to learn to live with the virus now so inevitably cases in schools are going to go up. Did we ever count a common cold case in schools? No.
That's because they are not a reportable disease.
InexperiencedDogOwner · 19/09/2021 00:17

Our school is doing pretty well, just 2 in 1200 pupils last week and this week only 1 positive result.

whittingtonmum · 19/09/2021 02:08

My daughter caught Covid after two days back at school. Then the whole family caught it. We've all been pretty unwell. Not more than 'mild' symptoms in a clinical sense but we are all still pretty unwell 10 days/two weeks on. Crossing my fingers that we can escape long Covid. Both DH and me are double jabbed.

I am really surprised that 18 months on from the first outbreak we're in a position where all we have got is: let everyone just catch it. This is definitely not just a cold for me and I've had flu I bounced back way better from. Even catching Covid in the first wave was more mild than Delta for me. I am shocked that we haven't got a more sophisticated public health response except jab, test, let rip.

I expect there will be quite a few long term consequences and that history won't judge this current response kindly.

MsAwesomeDragon · 19/09/2021 02:30

I've caught it at school, in week 2 of the kids being in. One of my year 11 classes had 10 positive cases last week, with a further 3 testing positive this week. The other year 11 class had 3 positives, they're coming back tomorrow but I won't be there so I still haven't actually met those kids. My year 10 class had 6 positives, year 8 are all in, seemingly very healthy. Year 7 are up to 4 cases now. I only know about cases in the classes I actually teach though, no idea about any other cases in school, so maybe I've just got unlucky.

I feel like shit. I'm double jabbed, and this may have started out like a normal cold but it isn't staying that way. I can't sleep because I can't regulate my temperature, feel achy, and my throat is really, really sore. Normally with a cold I take some medicine and carry on. Today I've been taking lemsip and that's been just about enough to take the edge off. I couldn't carry on about my normal day though, I was up for a couple of hours this afternoon and that wiped me out and I needed another nap.

LonesomeMask · 19/09/2021 05:41

My elderly CV parents had their 2nd jab in early January. That's nearly 10 months ago and as far as I'm aware, the early studies from Israel have shown efficacy to wane 6 months from the 2nd jab. Where are these boosters for our elderly while we merrily throw all caution to the wind?

SonnetForSpring · 19/09/2021 08:36

@LonesomeMask

My elderly CV parents had their 2nd jab in early January. That's nearly 10 months ago and as far as I'm aware, the early studies from Israel have shown efficacy to wane 6 months from the 2nd jab. Where are these boosters for our elderly while we merrily throw all caution to the wind?
They really need to get a move on with the boosters
Choccymumma · 19/09/2021 08:50

@LifesTooShortYOLO

covid is just allowed to be rampant in schools. Well kinda yeah, the fact is we need to learn to live with the virus now so inevitably cases in schools are going to go up. Did we ever count a common cold case in schools? No.
It's nothing like a common cold, I don't know anyone who has died of a cold but I know 2 who have died of covid. Carry on with your head in the sand.
BustopherPonsonbyJones · 19/09/2021 09:25

@MsAwesomeDragon
We’ve had the same experience at my school. My PCR tests have been negative but it feels like Russian roulette. I hope you feel better soon. Don’t worry about your classes, just concentrate on getting well and resting when you can.

boomwhacker · 19/09/2021 17:30

Teachers won't be near the top of the booster programme which will be undoubtedly focused on age again. My family, who are retired and rarely leave the house, will be happy to receive their booster long before I get mine- despite me being in close contact with hundreds of young people each day.

BluebellsGreenbells · 19/09/2021 17:39

Totally agree. In terms of exposure they need to change the order of boosters.

MsAwesomeDragon · 19/09/2021 17:44

Mt parents will get their boosters way before me (doesn't matter now, I've already caught it). My mum goes out to volunteer in a charity shop, and helps at Brownies once a week. Dad rarely leave the house now as his health has deteriorated even more during the pandemic. I'm still happy for them to get it sooner than me though, because I'm confident I'll be ok (after a couple of weeks of feeling rough) whereas I truly believe that if my dad gets it he'll die.

boomwhacker · 19/09/2021 21:05

@MsAwesomeDragon I'm 46 and not so confident to be honest. I had pneumonia a few years ago that was hideous and I suspect that Covid is not dissimilar.

CarryOnNurse20 · 19/09/2021 21:25

We’ve had loads of cases at school. All children v mild symptoms, no parents very ill as far as I know. I think this is just life now to be honest 🤷🏼‍♀️. If the vast majority of people are ok I think we need to crack on as best we can.

BustopherPonsonbyJones · 19/09/2021 23:06

It’s much easier to ‘crack on’ if you are in line for an early booster, you work from home or are under 40.

I’m ‘cracking on’ despite been told that’s another three children in my class have tested positive for Covid this weekend. I’m not sure I’ll be ‘cracking on’ in another two months or so when my vaccine efficacy is waning. The government need to treat school staff as a priority in the same way that NHS staff (even the ones who haven’t been near a patient) are treated as a priority. The useless unions need to start actually doing some of that campaigning the Daily Mail thinks they do.

lannistunut · 20/09/2021 05:16

I think we need to crack on as best we can

FFS, this idiotic phrase drives me mad generally, but especially in relation to a situation where the NHS is cancelling operations and death numbers are uncomfortably high.

Choccorocco · 20/09/2021 06:51

Of course rates are skyrocketing, the gov guidelines are astonishing. No need to self-isolate if you are a child with someone at home who has it, as long as you get a negative pcr test (probably all tested at the same time as the ill child, so of course not showing symptoms yet, even if they go on to develop them!) No need to self-isolate until the actually show symptoms - many don’t at all, others will already have been contagious for a couple of days. No requirement for ongoing tests, no requirement to wear masks. It’s shocking.
But that said, most people who want the vaccination have been vaccinated. We can’t stay locked up forever. Businesses are closing down. People are losing jobs (yes, this is also down to Brexit of course).
Damned if we do and damned if we don’t.
I feel very sorry for people who are immune-compromised. What a nightmare.

SpringRainbow · 20/09/2021 07:27

@Choccorocco

Of course rates are skyrocketing, the gov guidelines are astonishing. No need to self-isolate if you are a child with someone at home who has it, as long as you get a negative pcr test (probably all tested at the same time as the ill child, so of course not showing symptoms yet, even if they go on to develop them!) No need to self-isolate until the actually show symptoms - many don’t at all, others will already have been contagious for a couple of days. No requirement for ongoing tests, no requirement to wear masks. It’s shocking. But that said, most people who want the vaccination have been vaccinated. We can’t stay locked up forever. Businesses are closing down. People are losing jobs (yes, this is also down to Brexit of course). Damned if we do and damned if we don’t. I feel very sorry for people who are immune-compromised. What a nightmare.
This is pretty much it.

We shouldn’t let the virus run rampant but at the same time we can’t stay locked down forever.

Whatever we do there are negative consequences.

This is probably the worse part of the whole thing because this is probably as ‘good’ as it will get.

noblegiraffe · 20/09/2021 07:39

No need to self-isolate if you are a child with someone at home who has it, as long as you get a negative pcr test

There's no requirement to self isolate at all in that scenario. You don't even need to get a PCR test, it's just 'advised'.

Piggywaspushed · 20/09/2021 08:33

The timing of that PCR could be pretty unilluminating too. Too early and you could miss a developing case; too late and you might be at the tail end and isolating when you are no longer spreading, having already spread it! That was why household isolation made sense, in terms of passing the virus about.

Frazzled2207 · 20/09/2021 12:45

absolutely bonkers that the government did not take the opportunity to vaccine teens in August to give it time to work before term started.

Better late than never I suppose but it would appear the government's policy is basically to let it rip through all the secondary (and perhaps primary) schools and once everyone's got it, then there will be a strong herd immunity factor. No I don't agree with it at all!