Scottish schools opening

[chocciechocface]

I was ready for schools opening, but this new research has given me pause for thought. I think this came out after Sturgeon's decision. What do you all think?

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/31/georgia-children-covid-outbreak/#click=t.co/Y9gSG9zENz

Quote from the article:

"A new report suggests that children of all ages are susceptible to coronavirus infection and may also spread it to others — a finding likely to intensify an already fraught discussion about the risks of sending children back to school this fall.

The analysis, released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, details an outbreak at a sleep-away camp in Georgia last month in which 260 children and staffers — more than three-quarters of the 344 tested — contracted the virus less than a week after spending time together in close quarters. The children had a median age of 12. The camp had required all 597 campers and staff members to provide documentation that they had tested negative for the virus before coming. Staff were required to wear masks, but children were not."

I’ve four friends aged 45+ (MS, severe asthma, HIV+ and transplant list). All have had it and all came through - at home! - in a week or two.

My niece - 25 - no underlying conditions. Sick for over a month including two weeks of temperatures spiking around 40'C. Now has neurological issues which we hope will go away but have been with her for months now.

My cousins daughter - 15 - no health issues. Ambulance called out during peak of pandemic because she was so ill.

DM's best friend, had a kidney transplant years ago, now dead.

DSIS - no underlying health issues - still suffering extreme chest pain. It has been months.

I do know people who have sailed through it, but .

You can't be serious? No suffering? Merely inconvenience? Do you watch the news at all?

I don't believe this is a good faith argument, sorry.

And no one is being asked to "suffer", just to tolerate inconveniences that will allow society to safely open up. For everyone!

The inconveniences aren't equal though. I have ptsd and can't wear a mask and function at the same time. Having been told repeatedly on here that I need to force myself does feel like being asked to suffer, especially since trying almost got me sectioned. I'm not saying my rights for a "normal" life outweighs anyone else's and am staying away from anywhere that masks are mandatory which limits my family's options to the point it mostly feels like lockdown. However I don't see a way in which society can open up for everyone unless we have a vaccine (which I have zero faith in).

@chocciechocface so you want to close society on a potentially permanent basis because “might”? 😒

Real choice is sorely needed, I’d feel very trapped if I was being told it was full time school or homeschool with no extra resources and I had a person in my family in a high risk group.

Some firms have provided extra money for IT resources for wfh, I don’t see why that isn’t on the table for people wanting to homeschool due to vulnerable family. There should be a budget for IT and educational resources, and ideally some teacher support.

As I said before, I don’t see why a vulnerable teacher couldn’t wfh supporting children in the same situation.

This crisis has been a salutary lesson on how hard it is to change anything in the public sector.

I’m able to provide my children with laptops, but to where do I apply for the bigger house + husband who pays the bills so I can fanny around homeschooling?

[quote InsaneInTheViralMembrane]@chocciechocface so you want to close society on a potentially permanent basis because “might”? 😒[/quote]
The opposite actually. I think we should be re-opening and all behaving as if we're in a pandemic.

I think people need a degree of confidence and certainty to be able to plan forwards. From parents to employers and everyone in between.

There's a massive lack of confidence and very little appreciation of why that is.

I don't think instilling confidence is achievable unless a cautious approach is taken to opening up. I feel that obvious measures which should be in place aren't because parents have objected and consequently there's a clash between science and policy. So I don't think it'll be long before schools close down and ALL parents at a school are plunged back into homeschooling. I don't see how this helps the economy or anyone in fact.

Based on my experience of a cholera outbreak in my country, I have a feeling that once a school closes once, even briefly, parents will be shaken up by it feeling they had a 'close call', and children will also be more fearful about going back. Parents at other schools will lose their nerve too. So re-starting will be much harder.

If employers understand exactly what's happening elsewhere - schools, transport, health etc - they can plan too. At the moment, I don't think they can. This is a problem.

But it interests me that people seem to be able to hold only two options in their mind: crack-on as is, or total abject doom and gloom. It doesn't actually have to be either.

@Dinosauratemydaffodils

And no one is being asked to "suffer", just to tolerate inconveniences that will allow society to safely open up. For everyone!

The inconveniences aren't equal though. I have ptsd and can't wear a mask and function at the same time. Having been told repeatedly on here that I need to force myself does feel like being asked to suffer, especially since trying almost got me sectioned. I'm not saying my rights for a "normal" life outweighs anyone else's and am staying away from anywhere that masks are mandatory which limits my family's options to the point it mostly feels like lockdown. However I don't see a way in which society can open up for everyone unless we have a vaccine (which I have zero faith in).

Surely you are exempt from wearing a mask?

300 workers in one factory weren't showing symptoms and didn't know they had it but the owner decided to test them and they were positive.

There will be lots and lots of Covid positive adults and children who don't know it.

Surely you are exempt from wearing a mask?

Yes but the vitriol on local social media coupled with the reasons for my ptsd (not something I want my neighbours knowing) means I may as well not be. Too many people seem to think there should be no exemptions and given I look fit and healthy... even our local minister has made some very "unchristian" posts on the subject.

I think it feeds into how things have been handled. Explaining exemptions and a standardised way of proving it would have helped tremendously. Instead we have endless threads debating who is exempt, challenging people and telling them their reasons aren't good enough and people posting pictures of unmasked people on social media without knowing their stories.

On schooling, I'm reasonably impressed with ds's school. However the entire school roll is under 90 and his class is less than half some I've seen mentioned here. Plus they have staggered starts, breaks, lunches and multiple entrances for different year groups. Less pupils must make things easier on all fronts. Certainly his classroom looks like it was built for considerably more pupils.

I forgot to wear a mask shopping yesterday as was dealing with lack of sleep and massive tantrums! Didn't realise until I'd been around the whole shopping centre nearly! No one said anything at all or even glared at me.
Did you get a sunflower lanyard? I would just say you have asthma if anyone asks. 👍

There are no easy answers but there are definitely better ones than we're currently being offered.
As a PP pointed out, the entire approach so far has been to differentiate between the vulnerable and the rest of the community ... except when it comes to schools.

One of my dc off school already with a high temp. It's made me realise how shit testing really is outside the cities. Dhs hours already been cut down, now no pay for however long it takes to receive a test and send back and get whatever result.

Tests come in 24 hours and results back in 48. I've done a few times, don't worry.

DDs first day back today and she reported:

Clean desks every period.
No water top ups
hand sanitiser every period
Masks optional, a few kids and teachers had them.
Teachers social distancing
one way systems - which annoyed her as the next classroom is round the corner but they still have to go the long way round
Need to eat outside at lunch time, whether in the playground or town centre (she reported zero social distancing in Greggs!)
No drama, instead replaced with an extra period of PE - you'd think they'd do more maths or english considering they've missed 6 months!
Come to school in PE kit as no changing rooms

Classes all normal albeit shorter due to time spent trying to get there and clean desks.

anyone got any tips or recommendations for PE wear that she can wear all day? Don't want her going to school in too short shorts, or too warm joggers. Need to rethink her PE wear now.

Leggings/cycling shorts?

@britINscotland

DDs first day back today and she reported:

Clean desks every period.
No water top ups
hand sanitiser every period
Masks optional, a few kids and teachers had them.
Teachers social distancing
one way systems - which annoyed her as the next classroom is round the corner but they still have to go the long way round
Need to eat outside at lunch time, whether in the playground or town centre (she reported zero social distancing in Greggs!)
No drama, instead replaced with an extra period of PE - you'd think they'd do more maths or english considering they've missed 6 months!
Come to school in PE kit as no changing rooms

Classes all normal albeit shorter due to time spent trying to get there and clean desks.

Well, maybe extra maths and English would be a good idea but the maths and English teachers are teaching their normal timetables. 2 secondary schools affected already, and that's with a staggered start in most secondary schools. I'm not feeling overly safe in my self drawn, 2 metre 'bubble'.

Sam where is the second secondary?

St Ambrose Coatbridge is one school. Pupil(s) in on Wednesday and then tested positive for COVID-19. Another school in North Lanarkshire, same deal. Bit of contradiction between pupil numbers between National and local news. Interesting to hear that pupil’s close contacts have been isolated but risk to school as a whole deemed to be ‘low’. I’d like to know more because how our schools cope with actual cases within schools is a bit of an unknown.

BBC report on schools here for more detail

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-53785732

Thanks Sheesh good grief I hadn't heard about either of those.

it does sound very downplayed to me. Apparently they were only in for a short time and didnt see many people, but schools have so many people so how is that even possible?

@britINscotland others are only considered a close contact if they are less than 2m
for 15 mins or more so they are maybe using that to determine the risk.

[quote fluffyugg]@britINscotland others are only considered a close contact if they are less than 2m
for 15 mins or more so they are maybe using that to determine the risk.[/quote]
Yes I think this is the case and they also have to sit in allocated seats and were told it was for test and protect