Scrapping the 10 days isolation would be the best and easiest way to support schools...

[Warhertisuff]

The disruption this causes is considerable, and massively outweigh the benefits. I'm not really sure what the benefits are actually!

Of course. If you're too ill to be at school for ten days as a pupil or teacher that's fine, but the vast majority would be back within a few days if they even needed to be off at all! We must be losing 10s if not 100s of 1,000s days of schools unnecessarily, whilst not really preventing much infection ultimately (virtually all children will be exposed to it some time this year)

@noblegiraffe

This just happened in the South West didn't it? People with covid weren't isolating because they were incorrectly told that they didn't have covid.

And now rates there are sky high. Lots more kids missing school than they would have done because they've got covid from a classmate who should have been isolating.

And I suppose you think those kids would never ever have got Covid had that cock up never happened?!

We will all get Covid multiple times in our lives. When will people wake up to this!

And I suppose you think those kids would never ever have got Covid had that cock up never happened?!

That is rather the point of rolling out vaccinations to that age group isn't it? To reduce the number getting covid and to reduce the number of transmissions if they do get it.

Or do you think the vaccine contains water?

1 is now long term asthmatic

What's a short term asthmatic?

If you are isolating because you are positive, it won't happen again soon, it will be one off(hopefully). Just because you feel fine even you are positive so go to school, you may spread the virus to other people.
You don't need to SI anymore as a close contact if you are under 18. So only case you would be isolating is if you are positive or you have symptoms.

What do you want to happen?

What do you want to happen?

Infection rates to soar, apparently. Because that's what happened in the SW.

I totally get where you are coming from actually.
All I hear is prevent the spread. Ok fine if this was before vaccinations or was deadly to a high number. But everyone bar a few hermits are going to be exposed to covid this year if they haven’t already. Many won’t know it as their body will have fought it off. Some will get ill because they haven’t had the vaccinations and a few will get ill despite having been vaxed
Reinfection is actually not that common- it’s pretty rare and certainly after catching covid and having the vaxx this year immunity will be high for this winter at least.
When every child and the teachers have been exposed in a school surly that it going to be it for this winter? I know that’s definitely been the case in both my kids schools this term.

That suggestion appears to fail to comprehend that there is a difference between everyone getting covid eventually and everyone getting it at the same time. One version is manageable, the other potentially overwhelming. It’s a colossal risk just to let everyone behave as though covid no longer exists at all.

I understand where you're coming from too. I can't think of another disease where we have a set quarantine period. Chicken pox is until the spots have scabbed etc. With Covid you could test positive asymptomatically (testing due to contact) then start 10 days isolation. Symptoms might be days 5-8 but the clock is from the positive test. Or someone else could start counting their 10 days from start of symptoms because that came before the test. So it's all a bit arbitrary anyway!

OP, we are buying time did more medical advances on CV19. Hopefully soon covid would just be a viral illness that can be sorted out with few antiviral pills which they are working on.
If we let covid burn through the society today, we will end up with deaths through the roof and long covid patients right left and centre. And the poor CEV families who would normally have had a normal life prior to covid and you wouldn’t even know they were vulnerable until covid, because they pretty much lead a very normal life like everyone else, would die. NHS would be done, and you wouldn’t be able to access your hospital for anything minor.
This is not news. Have you been living on a deserted island and just made it to modern society?

Can I just ask why people think rates are 'soaring' in the SW? Because I live in the SW and according to our schools and hospitals they aren't! We have a couple in our town (less than January) Hospitals according to friends that work there and family members using them are very quiet, A&E busy but according to the staff that's because our GPS still won't see patients?! The only issue we see (living here) is the false negatives have now been rectified and they are being added to our numbers in bulk rather than gradually which artificially makes it look like we have a massive spike which if they had been added when they were confirmed would of course made a less large amount at one time?!

Op- scrap it all, I’m right, I don’t care what you think.

Everyone else- erm no you’re not.

And repeat

We will all get Covid multiple times in our lives. When will people wake up to this

I’m still off work (teacher) 5 weeks after catching covid and have two more weeks left on my fit note. I don’t want covid again thanks.
I am CEV and caught it within 7 working days of the start of term, from school.

So OP, do you not actually care about all of the CEV teachers/children/family members? Or is it simply that you haven't really thought about them?

We need more protective measures in school, not less. My dd and I were both lucky to escape covid fairly lightly. Neither of us were seriously ill and neither of us are struggling with long term effects. Many people are not so lucky. What you are suggesting is utterly irresponsible. And illogical too, because schools will have to close down pretty quickly if there aren't enough staff to run them.

My my you really are full of great ideas and solutions op! You're wasted on MN but I'm sure you'd fit in well at the DfE.

@Warhertisuff

The disruption this causes is considerable, and massively outweigh the benefits. I'm not really sure what the benefits are actually!

Of course. If you're too ill to be at school for ten days as a pupil or teacher that's fine, but the vast majority would be back within a few days if they even needed to be off at all! We must be losing 10s if not 100s of 1,000s days of schools unnecessarily, whilst not really preventing much infection ultimately (virtually all children will be exposed to it some time this year)

Eh? You really can’t see the benefits of keeping your covid ridden kids at home? You do realise some of the children that would catch covid from your kids have vulnerable family members at home? And even if they don’t have vulnerable members no one really knows if you will have a mild or severe case. There’s plenty of fit healthy young people that have been completely floored with the virus. And further overwhelming the already overwhelmed nhs is a brilliant idea because as long as you or your kids don’t need their services it’s ok? Have you thought about the staff at your kids school? Would there be any point in sending them in if the teachers were all absent and random cover/supply ran the school. During the first and second wave, we had lots of teachers absent with covid at my kids secondary, they took months to return!

We quarantine because we have to slow the spread. It would be insane to drop the isolation period without decent vaccine cover.
Yes, children are statistically likely to be ok if they get it. But the vulnerable adults who they may spread it to won’t be.

Not sure about scrapping it

But 76% of children have been infected according to Cambridge uni... is interesting, it won’t be far off slowing down

@Iggly

We quarantine because we have to slow the spread. It would be insane to drop the isolation period without decent vaccine cover. Yes, children are statistically likely to be ok if they get it. But the vulnerable adults who they may spread it to won’t be.

No, and if they all need hospital beds at around the same time, we'll be a bit stuffed.

However, it doesn't appear that the OP is too bothered about the vulnerable. She just doesn't want her own kids to have to isolate.

Can I just ask why people think rates are 'soaring' in the SW?

Because that's what the data is showing.

"We are starting to see the impact of the false negative scandal in the numbers,” said Professor Kit Yates, a senior lecturer in mathematical biology at the University of Bath.

“Part of this may be due to people finally getting retested, after receiving a false negative result, but it’s extremely likely that a large part of these rises are a result of the fact that people were encouraged to go into work or school falsely believing they were not infectious, with the result that they ended up infecting their friends and colleagues.”

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-cases-south-west-england-lab-latest-b1941189.html

[quote noblegiraffe]Can I just ask why people think rates are 'soaring' in the SW?

Because that's what the data is showing.

"We are starting to see the impact of the false negative scandal in the numbers,” said Professor Kit Yates, a senior lecturer in mathematical biology at the University of Bath.

“Part of this may be due to people finally getting retested, after receiving a false negative result, but it’s extremely likely that a large part of these rises are a result of the fact that people were encouraged to go into work or school falsely believing they were not infectious, with the result that they ended up infecting their friends and colleagues.”

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-cases-south-west-england-lab-latest-b1941189.html[/quote]
Thankyou! Was just curious as living here we aren't seeing it! I suppose it's the same for everything at the moment! The data tells us so it must be true! As I said us living in the southwest really aren't seeing it!

Cool idea OP They can sit in school and educate each other whilst their teachers are all off sick. Not disruptive at all.

However, it doesn't appear that the OP is too bothered about the vulnerable. She just doesn't want her own kids to have to isolate

None of us want our kids to miss so much education but that’s what happens in a pandemic. Honestly, I swear people have forgotten that.

Thanks for the responses... Given current case numbers are as high as they are, pouring more fuel on the fire by removing the ten day isolation probably isn't the best idea. Too many teachers off at once could result in schools being shut, and a surge in cases would result in hospitalisations being excessive, so I'm persuaded.

@Schulte

And another

You’re missing a massive bit of detail which is that a huge group of high risk parents such as myself were vaccinated 6 months ago but are yet to get the booster. So by all means send your covid ridden child to school, but for fucks sake do it when the booster programme has finished!