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Original poster

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

148 replies

Warhertisuff · 24/10/2021 20:25

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)

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 24/10/2021 21:52

It depends on where you are in the south west, Wishful which is a rather large area. Some towns and cities have been much worse hit than others.

For example, if you had a 10-14 year old in Cheltenham, you'd expect to notice the impact.

Scrapping the 10 days isolation would be the best and easiest way to support schools...
AlexaShutUp · 24/10/2021 21:59

Fair play, @Warhertisuff. It's nice to see someone admit when they've got it wrong. I respect that.

That spike in Cheltenham is alarming, @noblegiraffe. Shock

WhenSheWasBad · 24/10/2021 22:00

Op you are a rare breed. Someone who is capable of changing their mind. Total respect for you for that.

Wishfulthinking1977 · 24/10/2021 22:00

@noblegiraffe yes that is probably true! Perhaps because I live in the SW and we don't have many hospitals we all know someone who works in the main ones, so am feeling a bit bemused by lumping the SW into one category? Where I am we do have a large secondary school with 0 mitigations and they now have less cases than in May? Also my towns population is 80% over 60 and we have had 0 deaths and 1 hospilsation! I am pleased and surprised but when people say the SW perhaps I'm being too insular?! 😊 X

Piggy42 · 24/10/2021 22:02

I can’t believe 76% of children have had Covid. That seems ridiculously high.

MatildaJayne · 24/10/2021 22:08

I’m in Cheltenham. We’re on half term now but on the last day of school we had more than 250 off with Covid. That’s nearly a third of y7 - y11. That’s what happens when they come back to school after false negative PCRs due to the Immensa lab.

So, scrapping isolation would be a disaster, imo.

Original poster
Warhertisuff · 24/10/2021 22:08

@Piggy42

I can’t believe 76% of children have had Covid. That seems ridiculously high.
It does seem very high... I'm guessing lots of children are just assymptomatic.
OP posts:
Wishfulthinking1977 · 24/10/2021 22:09

Also with Cheltenham is about a 3 hour drive from where I am! Bristol is much closer! I never even thought of them as SW until now! As they don't share hospitals or schools with us I didn't take that area into consideration! Sorry! Being a bit thick!

julieca · 24/10/2021 22:09

You are right that most kids do not need to be off for 10 days in terms of how ill they feel.
Every adult I know who has had it this time round has been fairly ill to very rough and need time off. Schools need staff. Staff will just be off ill.

MatildaJayne · 24/10/2021 22:09

Oh, and I’m over 50 and still a few weeks off being eligible for a booster.

Iggly · 24/10/2021 22:09

Is it 76% have been exposed to covid (but not actually contracted it?)

My DCs have most definitely been exposed - they’ve sat in the same classroom as classmates who’ve then tested positive. It’s happened so many times and they still don’t seem to have caught it.

julieca · 24/10/2021 22:10

Also plenty of people I know are getting it for the second time round.

MarshaBradyo · 24/10/2021 22:12

@Piggy42

I can’t believe 76% of children have had Covid. That seems ridiculously high.
Looking at early twenties can give context. If this age group is reducing it must be very high

So after the last six weeks in schools I think going up from 50% is possible

Original poster
Warhertisuff · 24/10/2021 22:13

@WhenSheWasBad

Op you are a rare breed. Someone who is capable of changing their mind. Total respect for you for that.
Well, it was a thought that came to me a few times that seemed to make sense as most kids don't seem to need that long off school if anything, and none of the adults i know who've had it have been "that" ill it.... so I thought I'd test it out on here!
OP posts:
dementedpixie · 24/10/2021 22:16

I can't see info saying 76% of children have had covid and don't believe that statistic tbh

AlexaShutUp · 24/10/2021 22:17

@Iggly

Is it 76% have been exposed to covid (but not actually contracted it?)

My DCs have most definitely been exposed - they’ve sat in the same classroom as classmates who’ve then tested positive. It’s happened so many times and they still don’t seem to have caught it.

I definitely think 76% of kids must have been exposed. It seems rather on the high side if that's the number who are presumed to have had it. Confused

I get that a lot of kids are asymptomatic, but amongst dd's friends, all of those who tested positive did have symptoms of some sort. Some were pretty mild, others were quite poorly. It isn't that the asymptomatic ones weren't testing, either. They were all paranoid about passing it on to each other and were doing lots of lateral flow tests. Many of them also did pcrs as they were identified as close contacts. I know it's just anecdotal, and our experience might not be typical, but personally I find it hard to believe that large swathes of the under-18 population have had it asymptomatically without ever realising.

dementedpixie · 24/10/2021 22:17

Can you link to the actual page that gives the 76% figure

MarshaBradyo · 24/10/2021 22:18

I wouldn’t say LFT are high. I saw someone say a very low stat after a poll.

And primary won’t be doing them.

AlexaShutUp · 24/10/2021 22:18

@MarshaBradyo, sorry, can you explain what you mean? Not disagreeing with you, but my tired little brain can't make sense of what you're saying?

MarshaBradyo · 24/10/2021 22:19

Iirc it was 50% at start of term - Chris Whitty

Original poster
Warhertisuff · 24/10/2021 22:20

@Iggly

Is it 76% have been exposed to covid (but not actually contracted it?)

My DCs have most definitely been exposed - they’ve sat in the same classroom as classmates who’ve then tested positive. It’s happened so many times and they still don’t seem to have caught it.

It's the % who've been infected according to their report.
OP posts:
julieca · 24/10/2021 22:21

When I google all I find is a medic saying half of children have PROBABLY had covid.
I suspect your statistic is made up.

AlexaShutUp · 24/10/2021 22:21

Oh OK, sorry, yes, I get what you're saying. (It has been a long day).

Yes, I can believe it's gone up dramatically this term. I'm surprised it was at 50% 6 weeks ago, but who am I to argue with Chris Whitty?!

AlexaShutUp · 24/10/2021 22:22

So if 76% of kids have been infected, surely we should see case numbers dropping pretty soon, at least in that age group? Unless some of them had it so long ago that they are now going to get re-infected?

dementedpixie · 24/10/2021 22:23

I suspect its made up too as I can't find a report giving that statistic