COVID infected child coming into school

[Dancerinthedark01]

Sorry - rubbish title

But DD11 just came home and says BoyA came into school this morning saying his whole family has COVID. He was late in because he’d just been tested. He then sat there sniffing and squinting his eyes. DD’s description.

Then half an hour later he was taken out of school because test came back as positive.

Is this normal practice now?

I work in a school and have done plenty of lateral flow tests. For about a month I've never felt so ill from coughs/cold/being run down. It's like we've all been locked up and then all chucked back to the germ box of a school and we've been hit harder than ever

My dd's school has just sent word that they've been told not to say when I child tests positive in class nor request children get a pcr test due to being a close contact.

Only test and trace can say that now.

@Warhertisuff

I do think it’s hard for people to get their heads round this. After lockdown and constant isolations.

I agree. I don't think some people have reconciled themselves to the fact that,
short of truly extreme measures, there's little we can do to prevent the bulk of the population from being infected. We can choose whether that happens in the next couple of months, or the next 18 months, but we can't really do more than that. I think most people realise this.... but some holdouts on here haven't.

It’s a flip in messaging (necessary then not now) and yes I agree with you

We now have a different situation.

DS9 tested positive on LFT Tuesday, positive PCR results back Weds pm. According to Govt guidance and the school rules, DD14 was allowed to go to school. Test and Trace confirmed this. PCR ordered and sent back yesterday pm. We await the results.

DD's school have brought in their own rule today. Now they want kids who are close contacts to self isolate until a PCR is done and they have received a negative result. She was sent home at lunchtime, despite testing negative on LFTs and having no symptoms.

My dc are at different local schools, both County schools rather than academies. Both schools are making up their own rules because their cases are so high. My head is spinning with it all.

Boy As results may have come back that fast, we have had children locally go for PCR tests around 9:30am and have the results back around 11am. They do seem to be pushing doing these quickly.

The school followed the guidelines. Even worse, some schools near us have told parents if they /siblings are positive, if they don't send in the child who has no symptoms/negative LFT, it would be put down as unauthorised absence. Even if they were waiting for a PCR result.

This isn’t really new. We’ve had classes full of kids with covid throughout this thing.

The nightmare of having to keep kids off school and daycare with every single cough is also very real when trying to hold down a job (and sanity).

It’s a difficult balance

Schools may not be making up their own rules they may have been advised by DfE or PHE to start implementing their outbreak policy

@toomuchlaundry

Yup we’ve been told to get the kids back in masks, no assembly, masks in communal areas again… the joy

This is living with Covid whether you like it or not. Everyone will most likely get it. Maybe a few times. Probably best for kids to get it when they are younger and immune systems more robust.

Rubbish. Our death rates are nearly three times that of France, Germany and Italy. Abandoning curtailment measures is a national scandal that we have sleep walked into. Not every country considers 40 000 deaths a year the obvious thing to do (this is what it will be at current levels but they're rising so...).

Rubbish. Our death rates are nearly three times that of France, Germany and Italy.

What are France Germany and Italy doing differently ?

@Hellocatshome

Rubbish. Our death rates are nearly three times that of France, Germany and Italy.

What are France Germany and Italy doing differently ?

Vaccinated loads of kids in the summer, masks mandatory in classrooms the 2 most obvious that comes to mind. In DE many schools have swapped timetables around to accommodate smaller classes. Class size is smaller be default. Many have increased ventilation and have hepa filtered air purifiers. They have strick and logical protocols of who can go in and when NOT to go in. It has not changed over and over again. It it is not a suggestion. People are not left to their own common sense (which here seems to be lacking for the majority) but instead were given set of rules to abide by to make sure that the population of an area is as safe as can be. Not the individual, but the small piece of society that they interact with regularly.

Do you need more> Sure if I looked into it properly and not just write what I know from friends living in germany I could find more.

Rubbish. Our death rates are nearly three times that of France, Germany and Italy. Abandoning curtailment measures is a national scandal that we have sleep walked into. Not every country considers 40 000 deaths a year the obvious thing to do (this is what it will be at current levels but they're rising so...).

Aside from the fact that Italy has a higher overall death rate than us over the course of the pandemic, and there have been periods when our death rates were a fraction of mainland Europe, of course, the more you suppress the virus through restrictions, the lower death rates will be, but ultimately all you're doing at this point is dragging out the inevitable unless you favour draconian levels of restrictions forever.

Please remember the poor teachers in all this too. Vaccines do not prevent you getting infected (repeatedly). It’s pretty miserable being a teacher or TA right now. We have lots of staff off withCOVID.

How long would you propose masks in school though? Cases will just rise the minute you stop these ‘mitigations’. What do you think will happen eventually in Spain/France and Italy or do you think they’ll keep these measures forever.

It’s like some people are in complete denial that Covid is here to stay and most people will get it. Once you get your head round that you may view whines differently. You can prolong the process but to what end? We’ve done as much as we can with vaccinations.

You can’t artificially suppress an endemic virus forever.

@Tillysfad what part of my post is rubbish? The fact that most kids over the period of their life will get Covid? Probably a few times? Wake up!

Things not whines!

@PeachesPumpkin

Please remember the poor teachers in all this too. Vaccines do not prevent you getting infected (repeatedly). It’s pretty miserable being a teacher or TA right now. We have lots of staff off withCOVID.

If you've been infected, you've very likely to be immune for the best part of a year and likely to retain a degree of immunity against future infection. But if your take is right, then effectively you're arguing for restrictions forever and ever.

I dont think weve done anywhere near - as much as we can with vax
Az isnt as effective as pz against infection
We are at 6m for many older people yet it is wearing off after 3m.
Then there is vaccinating 5+ if gov authorise that. I imagine that is most countries plan. As they seem tp have more sense and success. Pz is say 80% effective so no everyone wouldnt catch it. Vs here where lots of families everyone has only it so presumably more long covid. But gov arent exactly advertising another mess up

We’ve all got Covid currently. I feel like shit (and am self employed). Youngest child brought it home from a school trip where most of yr7 and yr8 managed to catch it. The local area is now one of the highest Covid areas in the country, presumably because all the families have now got it. My child’s (privately educated - not that it’s relevant) sibling also has it quite badly and is missing a big chunk of his GCSE work a few weeks before his mocks.
This ‘herd immunity’ plan is bullshit. Also we all had Covid last year too.

ultimately all you're doing at this point is dragging out the inevitable unless you favour draconian levels of restrictions forever.

That theory relies on a premise that doesn't seem to be true. Covid doesn't seem to be a virus that you can get it over with. And trying to pretend we're not in a pandemic, doing particularly poorly on most fronts at the moment (both infection rates and vaccination uptake) ultimately lead to more disruption and loss of services than accepting that living with Covid looks different and involves restrictions (with the emphasis on living as opposed to suffering with Covid, living with long Covid or dying of Covid as a scarily high number were still doing on a daily basis). Where you got Draconian from, I don't know. There is nothing Draconian about rolling out a vaccination programme for teens before school starts (as others did) or actually doing something about ventilation. What's the bloody alternative? Let me count the ways.

What we're doing is lazy, slapdash, ill- considered and unfolding into something very unpleasant. But perish the thought we could have something to learn from Germany.

I'm not sure what previous infection rates have to do with it. If you're losing the second half, you re-evaluate and alter course as appropriate, not point out that you were winning in the first half (when it was largely down to luck as we didn't have the benefit of knowledge about the virus anyway). We're having a completely predictable little melt down which is causing serious long term illness and death. The fact that it was completely avoidable is evidenced by those countries who have avoided it by being mildly competent.

@brusselsprout5

I'm a teacher & yes this is what it's like now. Children being sent to school unwell, dosed up on calpol too as their parents insist they are fine but actually even if it's not Covid are very unwell. Parents refusing to pick up children who are complaining about being really unwell.

If schools stopped banging on about 100% attendance then perhaps kids would not be sent in ill. DD2's school had something in the newsletter about attendance this week and I wondered in these times of Covid and cold/flu season if they were on another fucking planet.

If schools stopped banging on about 100% attendance then perhaps kids would not be sent in ill

I highly doubt that many send them in for perfect attendance. It will be for their own personal reasons not because of stats.

@Tillysfad

And this is why we'll be the long Covid kings of the world.

Yes this.

The number of current UK school kids who will have kidney failure, heart problems in ten years' time could be horrendous.

I find it amazing how many parents just do not care that COVID could really affect their children in future.

The risks to long term health is why almost all other countries are taking care - they know their children are at risk of developing health problems. The UK is crackers.

@Hellocatshome

Rubbish. Our death rates are nearly three times that of France, Germany and Italy.

What are France Germany and Italy doing differently ?

Masks, some distancing, vaccinating kids, ventilation required in schools etc.

Generally caring to limit COVID.

UK approach is dreadful, and sadly our excellent early vaccine rollout has tailed off, both boosters and teen vaccinations are going badly.

I am baffled why they would take a pcr test then expect kids in whilst they wait results.
Least 5 or 6 kids pulled out class by teacher and told their pcr test come back negative go home and then parents expected pick them up immediate.
Thats after they had sat next to kids with no mask or distancing.
Maybe they took public bus or train to get to school.

My 15 year old had enough shes so stressed saying they were sat right next to me.
Jabs not until next month.
Would say 50 to 80 one year group have it but there's cases every year group.
No jabs until Nov.
Back to bubble next week.

1 poor girl her parent said shes got covid 2nd time in 3months I thought natural immunity lasted longer than that.
There another student who has covid 2nd time so reinvention maybe more common in the unvaxxed.
So many teachers sick who I presume have been double jabbed and shortage cover teachers so expecting supply to cover 2 classes next door to each other different year groups and different .
subjects.
No teacher turning up at all.
I don't know why the head won't go remote.
Apparently public health are guiding them but the measures don't go far enough.

I do think it’s hard for people to get their heads round this. After lockdown and constant isolations

The local school has over 20 staff off with covid the year 5/6 classes are half full - kids are going in sick and the remaining staff are run ragged with TAs taking classes to keep the kids settled and in school.

It’s not a lock down school want it parents to play their part and test the kids, it the government to help bring in extra measures - opening the windows only goes so far.