School covid outbreak WWYD?

[Halloweenrainbow]

For context I'm a single parent with limited resources and support.

Due to work commitments, DD (6) is collected and watched after school by DM (75) who has several covid vulnerabilities and has not yet received a booster (due to a temporary health issue) . Just found out that there is an outbreak in DDs class involving 2 children and 1 teacher. These are my options :

A- Keep DD off for a week hoping that it doesn't spread anymore and DD doesn't catch it and pass on to DM.

B - Carry on as normal hoping that the vaccine holds.

@noblegiraffe

Won’t half term have provided a bit of a fire break? Maybe see if there are any new cases tomorrow?

I arranged alternative childcare in this scenario. If that’s not possible then are there any precautions your DM could take? Mask? Stay outside? (maybe not in this weather). Can you LFT your DD?

We just had a message to say there has been a dramatic increase in Covid cases reported today at our primary school. There were no outbreaks before the half term break, so it seems that the break has actually made things worse here!

Regretting my decision to send DD in this morning. Just got a call from school to say the other (job share) teacher is covid positive too

DS year had an outbreak and it spread quickly but took around 3 weeks to start to stabilise so a week simply wont do it Im afraid.

If you are group 6 you can booster surely?

It is a tricky one but one I think you need a 3-4 week plan for and prepare for the fact that there is a high chance she will get it

How does your dm feel about it? We had an outbreak in the primary school I work in before half term and it went on for several weeks. If you take your child out now, there's a good chance the outbreak will worsen and she'll be home for quite a while. It's really tricky, I feel for you.

@jackiebenimble

One year group in my kids school had multiple kids test positive so they rebubbled and put in extra precautions. It lasted less than a week as there were no new cases:

I guess im saying its lovely you want to protect MIL but it could be a lot of hassle for a futile act.

Your daughter is already risking her by mingling with her daily after being in covid soup. And in reality there is little change in this situation.

This is what happened in DD's class. 6 children tested positive, though at least two had caught it from older siblings rather than in school.

The year group became a separate bubble for 10 days and there were no further cases.

If you are (extremely) vulnerable then get hold of FFP2 or better still FFP3 face masks. Boots and Superdrug sell FFP2 ones. They’re not cheap but they offer more protection than home made, fabric or disposable medical masks.

There are some re-usable FFP2 masks, but expect to pay £25+ for one. (Cambridge Masks.)

Half term seems to have made things worse at ours too. Some have been on holiday abroad. I don’t know if they actually have covid or are isolating as a result of international travel. No restrictions on travel or numbers in venues etc so not sure it’s been anything of a firebreak

Year 6 class started with one or two and nearly the whole class by end of half term. Just started in other year groups - it take weeks to go through a class.

OP, if your DD has to travel in the car with your Mum, I would set out some clear ground rules, ie that your DD sits on the passenger side of the rear seat so that she is as far as possible from your Mum, and has the window wide open whatever the weather. I think it would also be sensible to ask your DD to face towards the open window while in the car. I'm assuming the journey is too far to walk?

It would be best if your DD could spend as much time as possible in a different room from your Mum while she's at her house. If this isn't workable due to your DD's age, at least have a think about how to maximise distance between the two, even if it's one of them sitting on the sofa and one in the armchair rather than snuggling up on the sofa together. If your DD does get Covid, these things will make a difference to how much viral load your Mum is exposed to.