Study in the time of COVID-19 (2019/20 intake): online learning, the rule of six and who knows what's next? Anything could happen!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Following on from the previous thread as our young adults start their second year at universities up and down the land (and some overseas too!).

Well I’m glad to see i’m not the only one .

To all those with symptoms wishing you and your family a quick and full recovery. DS1 is a hermit so isolating is sort of a way of life for him , DS2 was put into isolation at school because a lad in his bubble came down (why do we say came down instead of came up since temp goes up?) with a temperature. Fortunately, test came back negative, but not before I had rushed out to fill the house with food because I thought we were all going into quarantine imminently .

DS has been released from isolation today. He and his flatmates went out for a walk at midnight to celebrate, he went for a run this morning and they’ve all gone out for dinner this evening. He says the run was the best ever - he felt free!

My DS has 3 more days in isolation but has had to do it himself without a test, so can't be 100% certain that he has had it. I may get him an antibody test when he comes back at Xmas. DH is back in semi shielding we are in Tier 2 and the infection rate is far higher than last time. Life is becoming dull, as don't have the warm sunny days that we had in lockdown.

@simbobs yes it’s going to be a hard winter for everyone who is semi shielding or isolating. Hope you and your DH manage ok. Not quite getting cabin fever here but it is only day 3 so goodness knows what I’ll feel like next week. I am reluctant to exercise until I know I have a negative test but then I need to be on YouTube exercise class or similar to stop myself going mad!
Going to have to check my vision At a post box late tonight as I need to post a 50th anniversary card to my aunt and uncle!

Wishing everyone with symptoms a quick recovery.

I’m so glad I don’t have a child in halls this year. Hearing lots of stories from colleagues & friends who have kids lin first year. The main theme seems to be not enough food & other things provided One roll of toilet paper per flat of 20. Tiny portions for those who are having meals provided. Supermarkets refusing to deliver if they know the halls are in lockdown. Etc etc.

DD2 contacted by test and trace ,friend at uni covid pos ,contact was on 5/10. She is in a house of 6 and a housemate had a test on Monday 12/10 confirmed pos today 14/10. When should she self isolate from till ? She quizzed test and trace person but they said they did not have a clue ! ( they phoned her back today not sure why )

My experience from school is she backdates it to 5/10.

I'm no expert on this but it seems to me that if your DC themselves don't have it then they will have to self isolate for 14 days after each positive contact, so even if they were isolating because of the first contact this would be superseded by the second contact and they would go 14 days from this one. In theory, therefore, they could be doing this continuously. Much better to actually catch it, methinks.

just quickly dropping to say hi and keep up with news.. Stay safe and well everyone

Just saw a news article suggesting all students will have to self isolate at uni for two weeks regardless of the end of term date & all released to travel home at once on the 22nd December.

I think the 2 week SI was mooted as a way of ensuring that they could all come home. All leaving at the same time would be a bit challenging, though. DD has always been picked up, as can't manage all her stuff on public transport with the need to change trains twice. It has been good in the past as it was a way of also paying a Christmas visit to family. That is probably not going to be allowed this year and it is too far to drive both ways. Not sure how that will work out. DS can manage the train but isn't so far away so could easily be collected.
We'll have to wait and see what happens. If everything is online, and DC have had covid already they should be able to leave sooner, shouldn't they?

Dd finishes at the end of November as she has December off to revise for finals in January. She was planning to stay put for a couple of weeks but if this goes ahead she may change her mind.

@Decorhate

Just saw a news article suggesting all students will have to self isolate at uni for two weeks regardless of the end of term date & all released to travel home at once on the 22nd December.

That won't work, sounds like someone's idea who doesn't know about how universities work. Some finish much earlier-Oxbridge is beginning of December, some will go right up to pretty much 22nd December. And how do you actually force that one in? I'm sure dd will just isolate the last 2 weeks of term (she only has 1 face to face a week) and come home at the end.

Other than the sheer stupidity of putting large numbers of students onto public transport and sending them out round the country...

DD has an exam around 8th December which can be done in her flat or at home. She has work lined up immediately after guaranteed. She's struggling anyway, even when they were allowed out to pubs (Scotland) they wont let them book even though they were a household. She'd happily isolate before (pretty much doing that now other than walks/food shoppers) or travel back end November and isolate here in her bedroom, downstairs loo and dining room. It's just the shower we all need, but I guess we can work around that with cleaning.

I have to say that if they'd imposed SI on students before arriving at uni, the rapid escalation of cases amongst them might not have been such a thing. It makes sense in theory but agree that expecting them all to travel on the same day (imagine the cost with such high demand for travel on the 22nd!) seems ill-thought through.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 most things that the present government come out with are ill thought out! Like the surprise covid testing would increase when schools went back, surprise covid would spread at uni and closing pubs at 10 so that everyone will leave at the same time and get on public transport at the same time

I swear to God that Mumsnetters would make better policies than these supposed 'politicos' can do!

Before Christmas, Dd has only 4 seminars that may or may not be online, with absolutely everything else going online. She thinks some lectures will be repeats from last year. Works out at £80 per hours viewing.

It could be quite hard to enforce a very late end to term for some students I expect. I suppose they could force the universities to throw them off their courses if they go home sooner but it would certainly be very complicated.

The self isolation before the end of term only works for those in Halls anyway - as with all this the focus is on Freshers not those living off campus. I’d like to think our lot will take a sensible approach about coming home. My DD already decided weeks ago to effectively self isolate (not go out from her house) for the last week of term so she is “clean” to see grandparents for Xmas

@Xenia how would anyone know if anyone left early when all learning is online!!

We have experience of this! My son left private accommodation and came home a week after March lock down. His twin came home before that when it was still allowed. In March no one (whether a student or not) could make those journeys unless they had to work or had to move house. I told him not to stop the car once on his drive home and the police did not stop him to ask the purpose of his journey. So he was okay. Had he been stopped he was technically moving home although probably not in the sense the Government intended.

This December we will probably be not in a March style do not leave your house except exceptionally lock down but Manchester Met I think has private security guards guarding and solicitors offering free help to students who are locked up without trial kind of issues as it were and the universities have power - they can say if you break a rule you lose your place.

Despite all that it is extremely likely a student could "escape" during a period when they should not yet have left in mid December IF those rules come in. If people do not want those rules to come in then they need to lobby about it, contact their MP. My (Tory) MP agrees with me on these issues and voted against the Government and for that recent amendment which was rejected.

Re the question of self isolation due to being a close contact of a case outside one's own household, this period of self isolation would expire 14 days after last contact with that person, assuming the contact remained asymptomatic.
Guidance for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person - GOV.UK
www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-personStay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection - GOV.UK
coronavirus-covid-19-infection

However, the confirmed case within the persons own household trigger another, separate period of 14 days' self isolation, because it would now move the whole household into the province of this set of requirements:
Stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection - GOV.UK
www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection
(I think).

School Dd (who is vulnerable) says she thinks her older sister is much safer in private accommodation because her own ‘bubble’ is 120 at school - plus of course teachers, siblings, parents etc etc. She says the rate it’s going through school, by Christmas her sister ought to be isolating from her if anything!

@Zandathepanda, your DD2 is right - school bubbles over 30 are completely laughable. Well whatever the size they are laughable really given that children are travelling to school with others and playing after school/on the weekend