Is covid ripping through your school?

[whattodo2019]

Both schools my DC attend and the school
I work at now have numerous covid cases for the first time!!! Is it just inevitable
that under the current guidelines, all these kids are going to get covid? The staff feel like ticking times bombs despite being vaccinated.
Like many establishments, we have newly
of staff, vulnerable staff, staff with vulnerable family members, very anxious older staff.... It's nerve wracking waiting for it to hit!

@QueenofKattegat

Is it just this particular virus that "rips"? The dramatic choice of language only ever seems to apply to this virus. It's weird.

We say "spread like wildfire" for alot of viruses in schools, hosptals, carehomes etc; norovirus, chicken pox, seasonal flu, impetigo. Rips is similar.

I read somewhere that the R rate for Delta is 5-7 so each person with it is thought to infect another 5-7 people. I think that anything so highly contagious justifies the use of "rips through".

Well, before this term at my DD's school the kids stayed in the same classroom all day, windows open, masks on even during lessons, same year outdoor bubbles at breakdown. Close contact meant a student had to self isolate. Very very few cases.

This year all that is gone and cases are through the roof. We aren't told about cases anymore, all info comes via parent WhatsApp groups and reports from kids. But we've been told that from next week all kids will have to wear masks anywhere indoors including classes and we will be receiving a letter about it all this coming week. So I'm guessing it's all gone to shit really.

Breaktime, not breakdown! It's me having the breakdown due to ongoing covid.

"Cases are dropping even though the schools are back"

Cases in kids make up a lot of current cases and rates in late primary and younger secondary aged kids are are climbing quickly. ( 7 day doubling apparently) Strange that seeing as community cases and prevalence are indeed falling ....

Cases in kids make up a lot of current cases and rates in late primary and younger secondary aged kids are are climbing quickly. ( 7 day doubling apparently) Strange that seeing as community cases and prevalence are indeed falling

Schools have an insane testing policy so they are going to be disproportionate amount of the tests. Not really comparable is it?

Imagine if people had to follow the same sort of testing regime in workplaces ….

Yep. It's awful. Constantly having to get PCRs and lots of other illnesses too

Well, before this term at my DD's school the kids stayed in the same classroom all day, windows open, masks on even during lessons, same year outdoor bubbles at breakdown. Close contact meant a student had to self isolate. Very very few cases

Not sure any of that beyond good ventilation makes much of a difference. Masks in the real
world don’t work. And that isolation policy is way too impractical.

"Schools have an insane testing policy so they are going to be disproportionate amount of the tests. Not really comparable is it?"

Ah trump's test more find more attitude.

How would you explain higher positivity rates and ons survey results which are not affected by testing rules?

In my experience many many parents don't test at all. They keep kids home with"colds", tonsilitis etc until symptoms pass. Schools cannot and never have been able to ask for test results and lft numbers do not compare to march.

Kids are unvaccinated with no real mitigations, other than opening windows. Of course cases are increasing in schools.

Yes i am in West Wales and my childrens primary school has so many cases my daughter caught it from school there is at least 5 in her class and so far there is one in my sons class but about 6 waiting on results including my son,

Yes about 10% so far … small primary.

Mitigation’s are back (bubbles) for two weeks. Do you think that will be enough time?

We have a child off in every class, except Reception, having tested positive. We have a few double vaccinated staff members at home feeling rough. We had to send a whole class home for a week. I have been coughed on repeatedly last week. I've done two PCR test this term, am currently waiting for results. The class teacher and I feel quite uncomfortable, but we have been told we can wear masks if we're being coughed on. It's quite unsettling, having been told to stay at home, to know be told go for forth and mix, and not to worry. I know it's the right way forward, but I fell we need some sort of debriefing or something, after being shouted at to stay at home, to save lives.

Very weird as none of my grandkids schools have been hugely impacted by covid. You would think it has all but disappeared to be honest. Must be area dependent.

@LemonSherbetFancies

Very weird as none of my grandkids schools have been hugely impacted by covid. You would think it has all but disappeared to be honest. Must be area dependent.

Most schools are being extremely cagey and not communicating cases. No news is not good news. A parent remarked how great it was that we have no cases. I didn’t call their attention to the 5 staff and multiple child cases reported just that day but very specifically NOT mentioned to parents.

Our school primary have been open in that they state a case and what year they are in. No drama just the facts. No idea if it's the same for staff in the school

10 cases in my 5yo school.
4 in my 12yo class, but another class in his year has 18 at the moment
9 in my 14yo class

Yes, we are part of a year 7 outbreak, I know via dd there's approx 8 ish at least but the teacher literally told me she wasn't allowed to tell me the number.

They don’t have to tell us, so they don’t.

I know a lot of children are off sick but have no idea with what. Round here people seem to have stopped testing their children if they have a cough or temp, so basically I don’t see how it can be avoided. Someone is going to bring it in if they haven’t already and then it will rip through the school.

I’m so, so cross that they stopped keeping bubbles separate at school. It’s so easy to do. Our head is joyfully doing whole school assemblies and talking about “Now things are back to normal”. Parents at kettled together by bollards at pickup to keep us away from teachers but ensuring that as soon as one parent has it, we all will.

It’s like no one knows winter is coming 🤦‍♀️

@walksen

"Schools have an insane testing policy so they are going to be disproportionate amount of the tests. Not really comparable is it?"

Ah trump's test more find more attitude.

How would you explain higher positivity rates and ons survey results which are not affected by testing rules?

In my experience many many parents don't test at all. They keep kids home with"colds", tonsilitis etc until symptoms pass. Schools cannot and never have been able to ask for test results and lft numbers do not compare to march.

Kids are unvaccinated with no real mitigations, other than opening windows. Of course cases are increasing in schools.

Higher positivity rates than who and by how much?

The point is that children who have no symptoms should not be regularly taking this test! It’s insane that otherwise healthy children are taking tests twice a week, maybe additional tests if they were in close contact with a + case.

That’s a hugely skewed denominator. We don’t ask adults at the workplace to follow this, imagine the disruptions if we did.

‘Colds’ in quotes as if a slew of other common viruses aren’t going around (or I guess, it’s not important to you)

Kids are not like adults, they really don’t need the vaccine or NPIs to safely go back to everyday life.

@FuckingFabulous

10 cases in my 5yo school. 4 in my 12yo class, but another class in his year has 18 at the moment 9 in my 14yo class

How many were symptomatic? That’s the only number people should care about.

Yes loads round here, unusually high.

We've had 3 cases since September. Secondary, 10 form entry. School have been sharing numbers weekly so no reason not to believe them. The upper school was decimated by covid last autumn and then year 7 and 8 were badly affected in spring. So I hope that's the reason why cases are low for us. Those with schools now massively affected, unfortunately it's just your turn. And in my view, bubble/ isolation/ mask mitigations will ultimately prolong the disruption.

Why should we only care about symptomatic cases?

Asymptomatic people are still able to spread the virus.

"Higher positivity rates than who and by how much?"

Go educate yourself about the data dashboard.
If you were in an adult workplace in a room with no SD you would be recommended to take a PCR. If you are a kid in a class doing the same you don't even know about it.

Whether you agree with tests or not, population sample testing such as the ons survey shows kids are indeed catching covid at a rate higher than other age groups at present.

The point of this thread is is covid ripping through schools. It is. Is this a problem? Most people in govt think not. Will it continue for long? Probably not. Will school be disrupted this half term and maybe next? Definitely.

Kids do not have to do tests unless the parents wants them to, as it is only advice.
Primary kids don't need to do them at all. Testing policies are also largely dictated by the govt and phe not schools.

13 year old dd has 15 off in her class, all tested positive. More in her year have tested positive this weekend.

@walksen

"Higher positivity rates than who and by how much?"

Go educate yourself about the data dashboard.
If you were in an adult workplace in a room with no SD you would be recommended to take a PCR. If you are a kid in a class doing the same you don't even know about it.

Whether you agree with tests or not, population sample testing such as the ons survey shows kids are indeed catching covid at a rate higher than other age groups at present.

The point of this thread is is covid ripping through schools. It is. Is this a problem? Most people in govt think not. Will it continue for long? Probably not. Will school be disrupted this half term and maybe next? Definitely.

Kids do not have to do tests unless the parents wants them to, as it is only advice.
Primary kids don't need to do them at all. Testing policies are also largely dictated by the govt and phe not schools.

The data I had seen was a percentage increase of positive cases, which is kind of meaningless unless you test the same amount in other age groups, no? If testing regimens vary wildly between age groups, you wouldn’t get the complete picture.