Kids, covid, Scotland

[JollyHolyMoly]

Disclaimer: I am in a mad state about the recent news re kids being more affected by the new strain / full wards in hospitals:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/01/covid-wards-full-children-first-time-pandemic-warn-nurses/

I know this is England and the government hasn't bothered to comment yet but do we think Nicola will address this? Normally I'm rational, I don't feel like that anymore. My kids are meant to go into nursery on Monday. I don't know what to do for the best anymore. I don't know who or what to believe. Sorry, I'm probably hysterical. Slap me.

If one of the parents is at home and not working I don't think they should have a place, ours wouldn't allow that

Ah ok thanks for clarifying. Mine are in secondary so just going by what I’d seen on fb etc.

In fact the school have this am sent a message pleading with people only to use the service if they have no option.. In a school of 240.... 190 have applied for their children to go

I would want to see some proper stats before I got concerned.

To me it seems that this is manipulation. Many want all schools to close and pulling at parents heart string is a good way to achieve than aim.

I'm not saying all schools shouldn't close, but it needs to be decided on facts.

I don't know whether to send mine or not on Monday. Mine go to nursery so the cohort is quite small but I don't want to take any risks. My partner and I both work full time though and having them at home will be so difficult. I don't know how we'd manage. Work is intense. It's a rock and a hard place.

I agree @Wakeupin2022 - I want those facts! Without them we're all just in an uninformed panic, quite naturally!

Have the nurseries been open? When was your child last there? Have the nursery given an idea of cases? Just because some have cases doesn't mean yours has been affected

I read about this just before bed last night and am also feeling a bit of hysteria now! My daughter has a place at school as I'm a key worker but now (perhaps irrationally!) really worrying about sending her.
Will be keeping an eye on the data over the next wee while I think!

@Norah8

In fact the school have this am sent a message pleading with people only to use the service if they have no option.. In a school of 240.... 190 have applied for their children to go

That's insane! Don't both parents have to be key workers to get a space? That cannot be the case. Some people are selfish bastards.

@dementedpixie they were last there on Wednesday. No cases reported at the nursery. They're due to go again on Monday. I felt fine about it until this Twitter storm last night. Had a look at travelling tabby and cases are certainly accelerating scarily but obviously nothing like London areas. I think we are half as bad as the least bad London area. But still...

What manipulation?
Who wants schools closed?
If only teachers/ management/unions had that kind of power!
We have been saying that schools have been unsafe for a very long time. Noone has listened!
Only with the advent of a new more contagious virus is it now being addressed.
The only manipulation that has gone on is the media silence on schools and how many cases that have actually been in schools, especially secondary up until now.
Its all coming out in the wash now!
It was reported that EVERY SINGLE Secondary in Scotland has had Test trace and isolate in the school.
I have two relatives that teach in primary. Both have caught the virus in school.
You have to question how many children you know are not susceptible to other viruses? It's nonsense that children don't spread it. 2 metres we are expected to stand from children in a school. Of course they are!
However it will be interesting to see the stats. Agreed.
They have of course been manipulated in the past too
Worth bearing in mind.

Of course there will be cases in schools if there are cases in the community, nobody said they'd be immune to it. Just because there are cases doesnt mean schools are driving infection.

DS has had to isolate once as a contact. Dd hasn't had to isolate at all.

My personal thoughts as that any increase is made up as follows:

1/ Covid is rife. Any increase is because so many more people in the community have the virus and as a result more people including children are hospitalised.

2/ if you are admitted to hospital you are tested. More virus in community means more asymptomatic infections which would be identified if a child admitted for other reasons

3/some children will catch it in hospital

4/ more people are admitted to hospital in December compared to earlier months due to respitorary infections. This includes children.

Do we know what the rates of children in hospital have been in previous years.

For I didn't say schools are safe & I also didn't say they shouldn't close...........

If school shut it needs to be because children are spreading the virus and giving it to teacher / taking it home to family.

I don't think there is evidence available yet that children are suffering more from Covid now and I cannot abide by scaremongering.

If it is the case that children are suffering more from the virus then I would hope that measures would be extended to keep the kids safe.

I have the same niggling doubt about whether we should send our child to nursery next week, even though we have secured a place. I'm 90% sure the Scottish government is overreacting in shutting down nurseries, but there's still a sense of unease, so this morning I read the PHE technical briefing on B117. It's a pdf you download, but essentially B117 does seem to be more transmissible (as reported) but a matched cohort study of patients with the old and new variant showed no difference in disease severity or death outcomes. There were actually fewer hospitalizations with the new variant, but it wasn't a significant difference. Looking at the age profile, there also does not seem to be a greater proportion of children affected than previously, which is reassuring. My guess is that secondaries (and now primaries) are being shut in high incidence areas of England because of a higher need to control spread rather than an increased risk to children per se. I think I remember Chris Whitby being asked about schools actually, and him making clear that children weren't at increased risk.

Also worth noting that nurseries in England are open in tier 4, so they have no concerns about children's safety.