Positive lateral flow now whole year group isolating

[Iamsodonewith2020]

If child in your class has a positive lateral flow does the whole year group have to isolate immediately or once positive PCR confirms covid??

Primary: yes while the results of PCR are awaited.

In my DC’s primary it is the whole class that isolates while awaiting PCR. In my secondary, only ‘close contacts’ (according to seating plans) need to isolate.

Sorry I should have said whole class and other close contacts not whole year group

Whole bubble - which in our case is a class of around 23 children. While we wait for PCR result. Would only be a LFT done by an adult though, cos primary children don't do them.

Yes all sent home to isolate until the PCR is back.

Although I have heard this will not be the case from the 19th

It’s a lateral flow by a 10 year old. 100 children isolating now. Have no idea why parents did lateral flow test as child had been at school all day

Perhaps they have a vulnerable relative so do them regularly? Maybe parents jobs require them to take tests? One of family had symptoms? There could be any number of reasons

That’s true Badlydone

We are a four-form-entry primary and had a positive this week. Whole class was immediately sent home. PCR test was done but negative, so they are all back now. Our classes don't tend to mix inside. They wear masks when moving around the building. Staff wear masks and the majority are vaccinated.
On the other hand, DS is currently stuck at home because his nursery has gone back to a "free-flow setup" where children get to move freely between rooms. Due to a positive test by an adult, the entire nursery (about 100 children) had to be sent home. Our summer holidays start tomorrow and most of the families had holidays booked. To say several of the parents are utterly pissed off is putting it mildly. (We aren't going anywhere but I'm annoyed that the person was not vaccinated, despite having had plenty of opportunity, and wasn't wearing a mask when interacting with the children from various groups. This was avoidable.)

Oh, and our kids are tested twice a week at school...not at home. Anyone not tested at school needs to bring an official negative test result not older than 48 hours.

Similar situation here…3 forms one bubble..all had to isolate.

@Dizzyhedgehog

We are a four-form-entry primary and had a positive this week. Whole class was immediately sent home. PCR test was done but negative, so they are all back now. Our classes don't tend to mix inside. They wear masks when moving around the building. Staff wear masks and the majority are vaccinated. On the other hand, DS is currently stuck at home because his nursery has gone back to a "free-flow setup" where children get to move freely between rooms. Due to a positive test by an adult, the entire nursery (about 100 children) had to be sent home. Our summer holidays start tomorrow and most of the families had holidays booked. To say several of the parents are utterly pissed off is putting it mildly. (We aren't going anywhere but I'm annoyed that the person was not vaccinated, despite having had plenty of opportunity, and wasn't wearing a mask when interacting with the children from various groups. This was avoidable.)

Even if they were vaccinated they can still test positive and mask wearing doesn’t stop bubbles isolating. The DFE aren’t bothered about masks when you ring to report a positive. All they want to know is who has been potentially a close contact and they have to isolate. Masks make 0 difference to that decision.

wasn't wearing a mask when interacting with the children from various groups

If childcare settings are like schools, staff are not allowed to wear masks when interacting with children, however close the contact. Bizarre, but true.

DD's entire year went straight into isolation after 1 child had a positive LF (and that was later confirmed by PCR).

People LF test primary children for many reasons - old siblings have to test legally, so a positive there suggests it's worth testing the whole family to keep transmission down. We LF test ours before they go to see CEV grandparents. We also LF test ours because DS has a serious lung issue so if one DC has Covid then we want to try to keep them apart as much as possible, to protect DS.

I'm also aware of some schools where the school themselves has recently done all-class testing, and discovered that 30%+ of the kids are actually positive (but asymptomatic). If you've got one case, you've probably got a lot more.

DD's entire year went straight into isolation after 1 child had a positive LF (and that was later confirmed by PCR).

With tests taking an increasingly long time (ours took 4 days to return) it is a reasonable precaution to take, as by the time the PCR is back, mthe infection could very easily have spread widely.

@HTPri
I'm not in the UK and had the member of staff worn a mask, the children would not have been sent home. Additionally, people who are vaccinated do not count as "contacts" when a positive test comes up, so the remaining members of staff would have been able to continue to come to work and would have been able to care for the remaining children. It does very much make a difference to the decision here.

@cantkeepawayforever
Wearing masks is compulsory both for our staff and for our children (I teach grade 1 - 6- and 7-year-olds). It had been compulsory within DSs nursery for all adults as well until about last week.

No more bubble closures from Monday as Schools no longer responsible for track and trace. This will be done by NHS Track and Trace and only close contacts isolate.

@Yellowmellow2

No more bubble closures from Monday as Schools no longer responsible for track and trace. This will be done by NHS Track and Trace and only close contacts isolate.

In some areas, PHE has asked schools to continue until the end of term.