How will they test school children

[Londonr]

Secondary school children are meant to have lateral flow test on returning to school. How can they do this if there are no testing kits?

My understanding is that schools ordered these a few weeks ago so they are likely already delivered

Schools had them before we broke up for Christmas.

I assume schools already have a stash of them. Or have been prioritised for LFT stock over the next week.
I maybe naive about this level of planning though.

We have been told to test at home. School aren't doing testing.

Ours were due to arrive before we finished on the 16th. They hadn't 🤦🏼‍♀️

Well if they dont have them they wont and if they do have then they will its not rocket science.

Our school gave out kits just before school finished in December as they do them at home in Scotland

Meant to does not mean it will happen, sadly. I can imagine children making excuses as it is an uncomfortable process, or parents objecting and claiming all sorts of excuses.

As for the current shortage in some areas, it is not a surprise that there was a higher demand at Christmas time. You could have predicted that months ago.

Our school ordered them 2 weeks before we broke up… phew! And kids coming in twice to do 2 each before allowed in lessons so online learning for the first week

Sent a box home before Christmas and told to for return to school testing.

@EmmaGellerGreen

Oh wow our school always does in person testing at school

Tbh Most of DS class have had and so not eligible to be tested. last I heard they only had to test 2 from his class and that could have changed over the holidays. They also gave each child a pack as they left and had enough delivered to test those eligible on return.

My DD got a pack from school the week she broke up for Christmas. I think a lot of secondary schools in the area were handing them out too. If anyone is struggling it's worth asking the school if they have some spare.

There seems little point in testing. Let Omicron pass through the school naturally - it will done well before February. Those pupils who are CEV or live with CEV relatives can study online whilst this happens - they'd be far safer in the long run as Omicron will pass through schools regardless of a start of term LFT test, or even mandating masks again.

We didn't get any from school last term.

@treeflowercat

There seems little point in testing. Let Omicron pass through the school naturally - it will done well before February. Those pupils who are CEV or live with CEV relatives can study online whilst this happens - they'd be far safer in the long run as Omicron will pass through schools regardless of a start of term LFT test, or even mandating masks again.

What's your scientific background for so confidently stating this?

A start of term LFT will be about as effective as spraying the streets with anti-bac spray. It's Covid theatre giving false assurance to those that are nervous or need protecting.

@MadMadMadamMim

What's your scientific background for so confidently stating this?

Omicron's R is between 3 and 5. With 2-3 days between being exposed and getting symptoms, it doesn't take much maths to realise that a single infection in an unmitigated environment would lead to very rapid spread. Take an R of 3 (likely to be a very low estimate in a school
environment, and 3 day to becoming infectious (again, being conservative), that's 729 infections in 18 days, which is about the number of schools days in January!

And once you've been infected with Omicron, you're going to keep that immunity for many months, so cases will fall as fast as they rise as the number of pupils.

Attempts to suppress infection will be futile. They largely were with Delta so they definitely will be with Omicron. All you will do is delay the inevitable...

@Londonr

Secondary school children are meant to have lateral flow test on returning to school. How can they do this if there are no testing kits?

I think a lot of schools handed some out before the end of term, though how many of those will have been used up by now I am not sure!

@treeflowercat

Shall we just say the same for hospitals and that then?

Guessing you don’t work in a school as usual that do want a bit of protection…!

Who will teach these children while the infection is running rife? People still seem to be forgetting that teachers and other staff ( plus their own children) will get ill too.

Schools were told about the back to school testing and sent a link for ordering in the first week of December. They were given about 48 hrs to get their orders in.

Ds' school say that kids have to get them from the head of year. Ds barely remembers his coat and bag, let alone to make a trip to the hoy office at lunch time. Seems a bizarre way of doing it.

@olivo

Who will teach these children while the infection is running rife? People still seem to be forgetting that teachers and other staff ( plus their own children) will get ill too.

That will be a problem with current isolation rules... if the isolation rules didn't exist then given that Omicron is no more than a cold for most then lessons could continue in most cases....

But this isolation or not, the problem doesn't go away with LFTs... it just elongates the period of disruption, and rather than allow this period to be short one through which those with, or have household members with CEV, can home learn, they either need to "take their chances" or be away from the school environment for a long period.

It is entirely misguided and counterproductive to think that if only we had more testing, more masks and
more ventilation that we'd be able to stop Omicron from spreading through schools...

There are a lot of latter day King Canutes it seems that think they can hold back the tide. We can't, we can manage it to minimise the impact, but futile measures are pointless and counterproductive.

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@EmmaGellerGreen

Oh wow our school always does in person testing at school[/quote]
Our schools test when they return to school after that they send test kits home.