Guilt Free Railing 17

[WouldBeGood]

Happy New Thread, Railers!

My DSs music teacher does insist on masks and we open the window. I think it's all you can do.

No useful suggestions @mibbelucieachwell but sounds tricky.

Just heard that DS’ music lesson is off tonight and teacher hoping to restart as of Monday

Aaargh, railing against Swinney. He’s been on rafik suggesting their extra measures are keeping us and the NHS safer than the English.

Radio! I was so cross can’t type

Oh course he did @wouldbegood they are never going to admit that actually harsher restrictions doesn't really give any gains over the course especially when they followed the bloody elimination strategy for so long even when told it would not work!!!

I'm railing today about public again going back to blaming others for catching a sodding virus (exception being those who do it deliberately or find it amusing!)
My community Facebook page is like a sodding witch hunt! Doesn't govt not realise that the language they use in addresses fuels some of this?!

I'm completely disgusted by it all! Of course nobody wants to get a virus or stay in the house for 10 sodding days but doesn't justify it at all!

Last term we were mostly mask free with windows open, except for the pupils who had recently had covid who enjoyed a cosy room with the window closed, but now they're probably not immune from omicron either

I really feel for older/vulnerable class teachers worrying about getting covid. Most of the problem for indecisive people like me is weighing the risks of having to isolate and balancing what's best for my pupils. If it were just a matter of possibly catching covid I'd have no problem. The next few weeks when my immunity is highest would be the best time for me to get covid. Another case of the restrictions being worse than the virus, if you're reading this Nicola?

People like my husband who enjoy working from home are blimmin' lucky.

"Greater scale of burden". Uuugh JS.

He was also using old data. And is a fuckwit

Yes, people seem to be more scared of restrictions than the virus now

So JS is claiming that our extra restrictions have put NHScotland in a better position to deal with increased cases of covid when schools go back (than England) So surely to goodness we could manage with the same amount of restrictions as England has now that our health service is so much more able to cope, seeing as that's the supposed justification for restrictions.

Interesting article on the BBC. Highlights lack of data in other 3 nations making comparisons impossible - JS please note.
BBC News - Omicron stats are huge, but look beyond them
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59862568

SG meeting tomorrow pm. Dare we hope for good news?

I think they'll have to adjust the isolation rules as rUK have done otherwise the country will grind to a complete halt. 20k infections today and all household contacts isolating for 10 days regardless isn't sustainable. She won't relax any other restrictions while cases are still rising though, even if they are ineffective, and may even 'strengthen guidance' on household contacts etc. Don't think anyone's listening now though.

Was it rookiemere who said no more health messaging from government? Agree actually as their track record is to muck up every time as far as I'm concerned. Grass roots movement it is then: to get plenty of veg, more movement and some D! Not forgetting that useful immune booster social contact.
I'm recently boosted so see this as not the worst time to be exposed to the virus. Totally see why people with higher risk want to stay out of it.
We are cautious with the grandparents. Didn't travel over Christmas also due to DH working. It is giving me guilt as who knows how long they have anyway. My mum is still fairly independent but frailer. Don't drive, if I visit by public transport I'd need to stay overnight and I risk passing this on..am currently thinking of staying in a hotel and meeting up in short bursts and outdoors.
If there is a big peak in cases and then the sharp fall it would make it less risky as I see it. If it rumbles on with us all trying to postpone getting this to save the nhs (til April/May?) the risk to my mum says the same. Our immunity to covid will actually wane.

Ireland and the US have gone to 5 days. How Scotland can justify 10 days is beyond me.

French travel industry is putting pressure on their government to ease restrictions, Germany end their tomorrow.

The JVXX canny remember the other initials are saying 6 monthly vaccines aren't sustainable. No surprise there

I think they'll drop whole household isolation soon for fully vaxed. They can't reopen services after the holidays without this.
And they can't exempt a whole load of sectors otherwise it's just mixed messaging.
People won't trust that it's "safe" to be out at work if your a supermarket worker, bus driver, health and care worker, teacher etc but "unsafe" for everyone else🤷🏼‍♀️

Hopefully SG will also follow the same science as loads other countries and cut isolation to 7 days for positive cases too

That's encouraging speculation.

I've just given myself a fright misreading an old headline about last year's announcement of a lockdown. That was horrible.

I hope they relax isolation rules. I cannot stay indoors another 6 days with DS (who I think has had Covid too but we are still waiting for PCR results) who ran a high temperature for 24 hours and is now back to normal and bouncing around the place.

As far as I'm concerned it's all a shambles - the entire Test and protect system and testing regime is not fit for purpose. I have had thousands of emails / messages from T&P all telling me slightly different things re isolation dates, and none of it information I actually need/ can't access elsewhere.

LFTs are not sensitive enough to pick up Covid in the early stages. I was certain I had Covid but the LFTs didn't pick it up for days), then we couldn't get PCRs except by post (huge delays in testing)

Then I tried to cancel my booster appointment - only way is to ring in. Then I was told I couldn't rebook online. For some reason they are taking the date I received my PCR test results as the starting date for counting the 28 days until I can access a booster, rather than the date of the positive test. I try to point out the illogicality of this but the poor woman on the end of the phone couldn't see it.

I can see how Covid might be a problem for some people, (ie co-morbidities, older, frail, in poor health etc) but for the vast majority I can't see how it is any different to any other slightly horrible virus I've had over the last 10 years.

Sorry for the rant, I've just been in Covid bureaucracy hell for the past 2 hours

High time for a new strategy - ideally a global one to manage covid variants.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59865108

I have a question where I hope I won't be judged too harshly.
We have had an email from school saying that DS15 must take a LFT before returning and then should be testing twice weekly.
Is it in fact a must - it's a private school if that makes any difference- and how do they prove it ?

Would put money on it being an honours box thing - they make the request but can't think there would be any resource to follow up asking for photos of lfts etc.

It's certainly not a must for state schools but private could well be different.

I don't see how they could prove you did or didn't test tbh.

@mibbelucieachwell

Good morning railers. My rail is about what to do for my work as a private musical instrument teacher. I'm due to restart lessons tomorrow. I do a mix of teaching in my home and going to pupils' homes. From past experience of periods of higher numbers of covid cases I know some parents will prefer lessons to be online, which I hate, especially with the wee ones - it's so much more limited and more difficult and it messes up my timetable. I can also offer socially distanced lessons, which is a faff but would hopefully mean we wouldn't be considered close contacts if we're far enough away from each other and masked (uugh). It's so much better sitting/standing beside each other, especially on the particular instrument I teach but it would be exasperating if it resulted in being a close contact, potentially more than once. And I don't want to give my pupils covid either obviously. I know this is small beer compared to many other people who work closely with people but still, uuuuughh.

Where I work they use Teams / Zoom but are in next door rooms too. The teacher hears the music live but can do close up via camera. Worked well with pipes etc.

I suppose we'll get him to test then, I wouldn't want him to be asked and feel awkward.
I just feel that if the virus is so unnoticeable that one could have it and be 100% symptom free, then how transmissible could you actually be ?

cismyfatarse I'd have thought it would be positively beneficial not to be in the same building room as someone learning to play the pipes .

It is a tricky decision though, mibbe. As you say, going online is the "safest" and least liable to be fucked up by a last minute change in guidance/ rules, but also the worst in terms of actual teaching. My feeling would be that if either you or the pupil has omicron, the other would likely get it, whether or not you'd be a formal close contact, so I wouldn't bother with trying social distancing or masks unless the pupils/ parents are happier with it (assuming you don't teach a wind instrument!). Keep windows/ doors open, maybe?

rookie Yeah, I can't see how they'd insist. I assume if it was clear he hadn't tested because he went around saying he hadn't like a fool they could send him away until he had, but I'm not even sure how that would stand legally. Probably they'd say it was a contract between you when you allow them to provide the education, that he adhered to the school rules, and this is a rule they've introduced... I don't know, though. I don't think it makes a difference if it is state or private. No judgement in any case... This is railing - no judgement here! (I'd wonder the same. Seems very insistent wording for, basically, a medical test... )