More protections needed in schools?

[RocketFire7]

Zubaida Haque from independent sage is now reporting that covid is sending more DC are being admitted to hospital than ever before. She believes this is due to the lack of protections and mitigations in schools.

twitter.com/zubhaque/status/1489599939353186311?s=21

Do we now need to implement better protections in schools to keep DC, staff, parents and communities safe? There is also of course the risk of long covid.

Should we be looking to make N95 masks compulsory from age 5 (as many US states have done), air filtration units, rota systems so that social distancing can be maintained and sending home whole year groups when there is a positive test?

[quote RocketFire7]@ShallWeTalkAboutBruno

What we do know is that tens of millions of DC are wearing N95 masks all day every day across the US in order to keep themselves and others safe.

That is happening with no issue so it seems like common sense to me to apply the same approach here given that schools are currently hotbeds of infection.

It would also be common sense to me to implement a rota system, to allow social distancing in classrooms. Why not have half the class in Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday for deep cleaning and teacher planning, and then the other half in Thursday and Friday?

DC could do blended online learning for the other half of the week.[/quote]
You’ve overegged the pudding a bit there, OP.

Presumably the air filter business isn't such a handy way as LFTs to siphon taxpayers money to their mates though? I'm assuming, given the actions taken.

And as far as other clubs for kids go - every single club my kids go to has better covid mitigations (mainly much lower class sizes, more space and ventilation) than most schools. They've been pretty pro-active about putting in place protections presumably because they want to keep operating and actually DO care about children.

The data is fairly clear that kids are catching it in school - when schools are open the rates in children go up, and when they have holidays the rates go down. Not to mention the huge outbreaks in schools that every parent must be aware of by now.

At this point, I think that the thing I'm more concerned about is what this says about the government's willingness to invest in state education than anything else. It's fairly obvious given the reluctance to fund even the most basic of measures (co2 monitors, air filters, proper ventilation) that they don't really want to fund state education at all and they don't care about the wellbeing of children at all, they just want childcare so the peasants can work.

One of the teachers on another thread told me funding is being cut for fire safety measures in schools too.

New Jersey are dropping mask mandates next month. Other states will probably follow.

The problem is that the debate about N95 masks is frankly a distraction when we have schools without decent ventilation and air filtration - both of which only have positives and no negatives. And, as a bonus, will help reduce children being off with other airborne illnesses too.

Bang on. I dunno whether OP is on the wind up or not, but Indy Sage aren't. Their members should use the platform they have to push for better air quality in schools, not indulge themselves calling for obviously deranged ideas like putting fitted masks on 4 year olds.

N95 masks won't just keep out covid, but other viruses and bacteria too. This is NOT a good thing. Children's immune systems need to be challenge, to encounter pathogens like coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, flu, chicken pox etc. So that they build up some immunity at an age where those diseases are mild.

Covid was so dangerous because it is new and our bodies haven't encountered it before. Wesring N95 masks on school will mean kids don't encounter normal childhood illnesses, when they're adults how do you think that will go when they get them all?

No, no and no.

In general I've been a fan of Indie Sage - if nothing else they're transparent which is a refreshing breath of fresh air compared to the government - but on this I do think they're getting it wrong. "Better is the enemy of good" etc.

State schools have a lot of problems. They're aiming for perfect here (from a covid point of view alone and not balancing all risks & benefits to children - particularly being out of education) and it's a distraction from something that would be good and achievable.

Having said that, Indie Sage have platformed a lot of experts in air filtration and ventilation and given many schools the tools to find out how to make their indoor spaces safer, so they are still a good thing overall I think.

@RocketFire7

This centerfordignity.com/state-by-state-school-mask-mandates/

Sets out the mandates in the States. 16 currently do with at least 2 dropping soon (Delaware and New Jersey) and New York's is being challenged so certainly it isnt without issue

Air filtration - absolutely. Although we’d never get the funding.

Masks - no. We know that the masks help but they do not use them properly. They drop them, use them to mop up liquid, share them etc.

Our school has less than 50% of students in at the moment so it feels like something needs to be done but I’m not sure what.

I read a great tweet earlier saying - “just because most kids are in school buildings, doesn’t mean this year is normal.”

A lot of people were calling for schools to reopen as the kids are suffering but they don’t seem to care that they’re still suffering.

Schools are definitely driving infections. Our local Secondary is partially closed this week as they are seriously short of staff.
Dd1 in year 13 Chemistry Teacher is on Week 4 of COVID absence along with about 20 other staff in a small Secondary. The other Chemistry Teacher is maybe covering half the lessons now after 3 weeks of no Teacher contact.
Roll on Half Term.
Not sure what else is feasible tbh. Certainly air filtration and regular masks are ok but not N95.

Certainly air filtration and regular masks are ok but not N95.

N95/FFP2 masks are no less comfortable than regular masks in my experience... But I wouldn't want my children wearing either in school. At least there's a point wearing a N95 mask... a cloth one js little more than for show.

Our school has less than 50% of students in at the moment so it feels like something needs to be done but I’m not sure what.

If mainly they're off with Covid then there's nothing to be done... They'll be back in a week or so and the wave will have largely passed through.

@DockOTheBay

N95 masks won't just keep out covid, but other viruses and bacteria too. This is NOT a good thing. Children's immune systems need to be challenge, to encounter pathogens like coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, flu, chicken pox etc. So that they build up some immunity at an age where those diseases are mild.

Covid was so dangerous because it is new and our bodies haven't encountered it before. Wesring N95 masks on school will mean kids don't encounter normal childhood illnesses, when they're adults how do you think that will go when they get them all?

Agree with this.

I don’t think children should be wearing any masks in schools.

Covid was so dangerous because it is new and our bodies haven't encountered it before. Wesring N95 masks on school will mean kids don't encounter normal childhood illnesses, when they're adults how do you think that will go when they get them all?

It works if we wear masks forever... which is basically what some of the mask advocates would seem to wish would
happen. As Covid will never completely disappear, I don't imagine they'll ever want mask to.

If mainly they're off with Covid then there's nothing to be done... They'll be back in a week or so and the wave will have largely passed through.

That’s what we all said about the staff but there seems to be a very high re-infection rate.
We had 3 go home today all of which have had it once before since coming back in January.

We had 3 go home today all of which have had it once before since coming back in January

All confirmed positive? All with a less than 5 week reinfection time?

@treeflowercat I haven't worn one so I don't personally know but my friend who is a nurse has shared photos off her face after wearing them and it looked proper sore.

Air filtration/ventilation and vaccine option as the bare minimum. This govt has treated schools appalling throughout and shows no desire to change.

[quote Tynetime]@treeflowercat I haven't worn one so I don't personally know but my friend who is a nurse has shared photos off her face after wearing them and it looked proper sore.[/quote]
You possibly mean a N99/FFP3 mask, which is fitted to the face? They're the top grade. N95/FFP2 are the type you can get from Boots.

Link

@BeenToldComputerSaysNo Thank you so much for posting that link. Difficult to watch, but so important to watch.

[quote RocketFire7]@ShallWeTalkAboutBruno

What we do know is that tens of millions of DC are wearing N95 masks all day every day across the US in order to keep themselves and others safe.

That is happening with no issue so it seems like common sense to me to apply the same approach here given that schools are currently hotbeds of infection.

It would also be common sense to me to implement a rota system, to allow social distancing in classrooms. Why not have half the class in Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday for deep cleaning and teacher planning, and then the other half in Thursday and Friday?

DC could do blended online learning for the other half of the week.[/quote]
You could be on to something here OP. In fact, why do any face to face teaching at all? I reckon if we invest a bit now, we could move to full online learning taught by machines, no human interaction at all, but the start of the next academic year.

If we also move all extra curricular activities to online and encourage zoom play dates we could prevent children seeing any other humans and they’d be much safer.

No

We had 3 go home today all of which have had it once before since coming back in January.

All the more reason just to crack on. It’s just a cold now.

@Wnkingawalrus Take it you didn’t bother to watch that video then?

For anyone else who won’t bother, it’s interviews with 2 children, both previously healthy with no underlying health conditions (10 and 11) who have long covid, talking about how their life has changed.

Recommended viewing for those who say “it’s just a cold” or “long covid is just a sniffle for a few weeks” or “it’s just anxiety” or even better “it’s because of over-anxious parents”.

Not entirely sure that doctors and physios hand out morphine and wheelchairs like sweets just become of over-anxious parents or a sniffle.