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?

@toomuchlaundry

Private schools follow PHE advice too. If some schools are asking household contacts of positive cases to not come into school, then in a boarding school that would entail putting the boarders into isolation from the rest of the school

They tested the whole school, they brought classroom masks back, and one boarding house is in isolation.

@TheSunIsStillShining totally agree.

LEA used to take top slice of funding, usually about 10%, which you didn’t really get any benefit from.

Clearly not true. Without an LA there would be so many statutory duties ignored. Very unsafe and excluding for children.

Why do you think that some masks and sanitising will be enough to beat Delta? Given it won't, and you don't favour endless lockdown, the unfortunate reality is that children will get it. Trying to stop Covid is as futile as King Canute trying to stop the tide

1. Trying to stop it all together and doing everything possible to minimise the opportunity to get infected are 2 different things.

Why do ppl think we should just put up our hands and let it rip? We do have mitigating measures we could be doing. Why are those not options?

1. I hate the narrative "unfortunate reality is that children will get it". They. don't. have. to.

This is my whole problem. But obviously you don't get it.

@RichTeaRichTea
There are other things that we know for sure cause long term problems that are a more immediate risk to my children

Please list all that fulfill the criterias realistically:

• could do something about it personally
• the community could do something against it
• gov could do something against it
• but all 3 groups above CHOSE not to do something about it

So, yes, there are a lot of things that are a threat to childrens' long term wellbeing. But on many levels there are mitigations in place as much as possible.
Think car seats, no buying of alcholol/tobacco under 21, traffic lights, ....
And there are some I probably haven't considered, given the topic is covid and not "all things that can harm children"

they have other priorities which you may not understand or want to think about
Okay, I get that there are other priorities, so help me see: what other priority could be for a parent than to make sure that their kid is safe from harm now and of future damage whilst getting the best opportunities they can both academically and physically?

Because when this is not the top priority, then pls. let's bring back the good old days when kids could be sent to work in mines, etc.

Then there is also the hypocrisy that adult workplaces have to have mitigations in place but for kids we can skip them.

And without any sarcasm - could you give examples of what you think are more important priorities that stop parents (en masse) to stand up to schools/LEA/gov and demand better "working conditions" for their children? I cannot think of any, but am genuinely curious as to how others think.

If we’re going with anecdotal evidence then every single child (and there’s been many) I know that has had Covid has had it very mildly. Zero long term effects. No long Covid. Not denying long Covid but i worry about other illnesses for them more than Covid. Meningitis for example or glandular fever.

My eldest son has had one vaccination. What do I want for my children? Well neither have had a day off sick from school and have very robust immune systems so I have no reason to think they would suffer badly from Covid. An ideal situation would be they get a mild case and then have lots of antibodies.

I’m resigned to the fact they’ll get it soon. Eldest DS’s school had one third of the year off last week. They were off for a week, mild symptoms at the most and then back in.

ps.
some masks will not do shit. Proper masks all the time worn by everybody will make a difference.

If Covid is circulating every year then I don’t think it’s stretching reality to think your child will get it at some point. What’s the % that have already had it?

@TheSunIsStillShining sorry but getting Covid is the least of my worries for my children. As it is for most people I know. (Many whose kids have already had it).

‘Safe from harm’. Realistically my child is probably more likely to be attacked on the way home or be in a car accident than suffer serious long term affects from Covid. It’s all about accurate risk assessment. Covid really isn’t the biggest risk to kids out there at the moment.

@toomuchlaundry

Where academies are concerned I think people forget the LEA used to take top slice of funding, usually about 10%, which you didn’t really get any benefit from. Not saying all Academies are better but the previous situation wasn’t great either

So schools never need anything spend on their estate? And the admissions process is carried out by volunteers etc. etc.?

Academies simply buy in the services that the LEA before (often from the LEA!). There are advantages in that an academy has more choice than it did before, but you don't get the economies of scale that you had before.

[quote MarshaBradyo]Not children in New Zealand though.

How will it be stopped?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/07/new-zealanders-should-plan-to-encounter-covid-before-christmas-expert-warns[/quote]
Vaccination, isolating contacts, masks etc. All the things we know work to control infection and keep cases low.

New Zealand has the lowest covid mortality rate in the OECD, with a stable economy and employment. They've spent very little time in lockdown, and New Zealander's have mostly been able to live normal lives during the last 22 months of the pandemic.

To maintain that they'll need high vaccination levels and infection control measures.

Vaccinating with the recommended 3 week interval will help. I believe they're aiming for 90% of the population over 12 double vaxxed within a matter of weeks.

@TheSunIsStillShining

2. I hate the narrative "unfortunate reality is that children will get it". They. don't. have. to.

I don't like it either. I don't want my children to get Covid. But you're living in a fantasy if you think anything other than eternal lockdown will ultimately prevent them from getting it.

You may be able to delay, but that's it. It's just facing the unfortunate reality that there's nothing we can do to stop it from coming endemic now... I wish that wasn't the case, but it is.

@Warhertisuff but surely a lot of that should have been provided without taking it from the fundings for schools in the first place. I bet the Government quoted the figures given to schools before the top slice was removed

@Delatron

If Covid is circulating every year then I don’t think it’s stretching reality to think your child will get it at some point. What’s the % that have already had it?

Around 50% of teenagers was a figures mentioned by Chris Whitty a few weeks back... Clearly with each passing day that number increases sadly.

[quote toomuchlaundry]@Warhertisuff but surely a lot of that should have been provided without taking it from the fundings for schools in the first place. I bet the Government quoted the figures given to schools before the top slice was removed[/quote]
Perhaps but then schools would just get a lower amount accordingly... Also, it is all part of the cost of running a school. Taking your position to the logical extreme, schools should just receive teacher's salaries as everything else is purchased from somewhere.

Thanks @Warhertisuff

Unfortunately it does seem inevitable. It has taken me many months to shift my mind set. I was so focused on getting double vaccinated and hitting herd immunity and Covid disappearing. It’s very hard to think it’s here to stay and I understand many people just can’t accept that.

Unfortunately New Zealand are only just beginning this journey. Having finally realised zero Covid won’t work they are going to struggle with allowing it to circulate. It’s great though that they are so isolated and have such a small population that they could shut their borders. Let’s hope they crack on with vaccinations. Though as we’ve seen here vaccines don’t stop the spread.

Safe from harm’. Realistically my child is probably more likely to be attacked on the way home or be in a car accident than suffer serious long term affects from Covid.

This is a false narrative imo. You can do things against these within your abilities: take another route, carry a pepper spray, walk in groups, buckle up, drive safely, etc. All up to you.
Going into a school where covid is rife: what can a kid do realistically? Nothing. Also they are in a position to have no power. Eg.: can a kid opt to not go into class where nobody has a mask on, no ventilation is in place? No. They have to, otherwise they get a detention.

Also, about 10-30% who have covid are said to get long covid. Let's go with the 10%. What you are saying is that you are okay with putting kids in a position where there is a 10% chance (given everyone will get it) that they will suffer for their whole life.
Just for fair comparison: what % would you give to them getting harmed for life when they get in the car? Or when they walk home?

Safe from harm’. Realistically my child is probably more likely to be attacked on the way home or be in a car accident than suffer serious long term affects from Covid. It’s all about accurate risk assessment. Covid really isn’t the biggest risk to kids out there at the moment.

Even if you were right about no parent needing to worry that their children would be adversely affected by having Covid, you can't consider your child's well-being in isolation. (Yes, you didn't say no parent but I'm presuming you think it won't be your child.) They will be negatively affected if you're ill, if their grandparents or teachers are seriously well, if anyone at all is unable to access services they are are likely to need, if they're unable to travel because the UK has such a poor infection rate, if they require access to SS or mental health services but can't get it due funding diversion to Covid, if they need elective surgery, if they're persistently unwell with recurring Covid (as sadly it's not like chickenpox).

That's without considering that children do get long Covid, a significant number of children are vulnerable or from communities that are more vulnerable to Covid, and that many of these children will be child bearing adults before very long with an increased risk. Covid can affect different organs in the body and we don't know long term outcomes. This let it rip, there are other things on my mind is an incredibly short term solution for a problem that is not going away.

Just out of curiosity I looked up some stats.

On average about 1,700 children aged 0-15 are killed or seriously injured in road accidents per year in England.

So far, based on ONS survey results there are about 34,000 kids with long covid in the UK. (Aug, 2021)

Yes, second stat is for a wider population, but the number is so much bigger, it doesn't make a difference when making a point.

There are about 14m school aged children in the UK if I remember correctly. Not correcting for England and age (0-15 vs 5-16) even without doing any maths it is quite obvious that objectively the potential for a kid to be injured in a car accident is minuscule.

(yes, it grows if you actually have a car and use it daily, or live in an are where you have to cross heavy traffic roads ,etc, but let's not get hung up on details)

I don't want anymore lockdowns or school closures. We cannot stop or eradicate Covid but we could delay it for some children with some minor disruption to students. Which could well help their outcome as we are getting more and more knowledge regarding treating it. Some people are very flippant about their children catching it. We are a family of 6. All had Covid. 4 mildly 2 were really quite unwell with lingering symptoms for months. One was (very fit) me and the other my super fit, sporty daughter. She didn't need hospital treatment but was the illest I have seen her and had breathlessness for months afterwards.

We reduce the number of car accidents/injuries/deaths by mitigating factors eg speed limits, seatbelts, safety features in cars etc. Maybe we should take them away and then it could be a fairer comparison! I am sure most parents wouldn't want that.

It’s an endemic virus. That means it won’t be going anywhere. Do you think it’s just going to disappear next year? How will you prevent your child from getting it? 50% have already had it.

Yes it’s shit. Obviously nobody wants their child to be ill. But looking at the stats and from my experience of many children here who’ve had it. It’s not a massive worry to me and I worry about other things far more for them. That’s my personal view. (And weirdly the same view of everyone I know in real life).

'This let it rip, there are other things on my mind is an incredibly short term solution for a problem that is not going away.'

This. We could apply the 'doesn't matter' to everything. We have gone further than doesn't matter and are putting in place a scenario where we help school communities get infected. Some are still holding assemblies!!

@Delatron and everyone who thinks that way....
I am truly happy that it is not a worry to you. But did you ever consider that there are a lot of ppl out there who have ongoing health issues already, might be immuno-compromised, etc?

To me this argument is almost equal to "I can drive however I want, because I know I am in a tank and won't get hurt."

Personally I don't think it will disappear in this country ever at this rate. But we can see in eg.: Japan, other European countries that there is a lot that can be effectively done to minimize the chances of catching it.

Again: no, it is not a god given must that all children need to get it. Why are people trying to force this when it is so obviously untrue?

Why is it so obviously untrue?

It’s highly transmissible. Level 4 lockdown has not stopped delta in NZ

If delta can pass through a class in say a month with mitigations what delay does masks and ventilation bring?

3 months? A year?

Children playing together outside class without any mitigations and in it with some possibly.

How much flatter is the curve

The crux is @TheSunIsStillShining you want long term (permanent) mitigations? What does that look like? How long would you have children wearing masks to school? What age groups?

It’s obviously awful that Covid is here to stay. And that herd immunity isn’t possible. That people get reinfected. Measures need to be proportionate to the risk and not just target (and have an impact) on certain groups (e.g children)