Covid-19

[Squirrel]

If it’s a football team it’s allowed, if it’s a group of friends playing football it’s not allowed. I get why people are rebelling.

[Little My]

Yeah, I have seen that attitude here regarding schools going back. And I said on the daily thread my co-guider seems to be all about bending the safety rules and I am >< close to throwing my toys out of my pram and quitting.

Colds should not be rampant if people are being careful, but it seems they are not, so.. hmm.

[Princess Morripov]

I don’t think colds are always about people being careful? Colds are colds. People catch them whether they are being careful or not!

[Luce]

Yep, Theo back on Wednesday and now full of cold. What am I actually supposed to do about this, does anyone know? Is there any consensus? If it isn't a cold then its just hayfever. He is full of beans, no headache, no temperature, says he doesn't feel ill in any way (I've checked he can smell things too) Am I automatically supposed to keep him home because of that just in case? I honestly don't know what the done thing is anymore.

[Smunder Woman]

You're not supposed to keep them off for that here, lucy. Although, who knows if it's changed again since last week.

[Loralei]

You only need to keep him home if he has one of the Magic Three Symptoms, Luce, or if you've been advised to (unless he's unwell enough that you'd have kept him home pre-covid, obviously). Definitely not for ordinary cold symptoms.

Yes, and I can understand it if you have kids at school. It makes the other restrictions feel a bit pointless I'd imagine.

I took some tentative steps into the world last week and this week was immediately knocked out by some virus.

I've invited TD's friend/bubble-mate and his brother round for tea next week and have just realised I'll need to tell P to stay at work until they get picked up so we don't exceed six people Definitely feels pointless (but I will do it).

I'm sorry you're ill again, Goat. Anecdotally, those who believe they've had covid seem to be reporting their immune system takes a battering, which would explain it but doesn't make it any less rubbish.

[Squirrel]

Luce our school has just posted a link to the gov stay at home guidance, I imagine a lot of people are wondering the same thing.

It’s just the thing saying if you have a temperature, new cough or loss of taste or smell to isolate and get a test (/hollow laugh). So normal cold symptoms you treat as a cold and don’t isolate.

[Luce]

Thank you, I think I've entirely lost my way on what is and isn't ok! Under pre Covid times I wouldn't even be considering keeping him home, it would be laughable.

With this shit testing I'm not sure, when it comes to the inevitable, whether I'd even try. Seems less mental heartache to just take the 2 week hit. The testing shambles is making me absolutely rage. As though it isn't the entire key to keeping us all going.

Lora, I'd do the same (re P) but it's absolutely laughable isn't it?

[Loralei]

With this shit testing I'm not sure, when it comes to the inevitable, whether I'd even try. Seems less mental heartache to just take the 2 week hit.

I thought the same, but actually it felt like a really big deal to potentially pull the kids out of school again, especially J (more convoluted as mine was an advisory test, but still). Possibly if I was having the ridiculous saga that Kleio is, but it's so hit or miss that is is still possible to have it all done and dusted in 48hrs.

[Luce]

Yes and also considering you've only got a few days to bag a test before it's too late anyway! I'm absolutely dreading the time where Fe has to be taken out of school, I just hope he can get a few weeks under his belt first before it happens.

[Kleio]

I just wish the school nursing team had a stash of tests. Then a child could get symptoms and be tested before they were sent home. I know we’d still have to wait for the result but at least we wouldn’t have to fight to get the test in the first place!

[smalex]

Our school did say they had a small number of home tests but stressed they'd only be dished out in exceptional circumstances (without making any indication what those might look like). Do yours definitely not? I'm sorry though, what an absolute shit show. You just want to know, its so difficult. The inevitability of how fucking crap this whole thing is is so depressing.

[Luce]

God, providing all schools with enough tests is so painfully sensible that your just know it won't happen.

[happyhighlandcoo]

AFAIK, every school should have 10 tests but there has been no guidance for HTs about when to use them but instructions that they're for emergencies only. Heads have been discussing it on a leadership Facebook group this week.

[Little My]

The same 10 tests will still be sat on the shelf a year from now, for fear of using them in a non-emergency!

[Cerise]

Yep, J’s secondary school has 1200 students and goodness knows how many staff. Ten tests won’t go far!

[Ruby]

Our school definitely hasn't got 10. I can't remember how many we have, but it's something like 2. And we are leading the country in the race towards a second wave.

I am so angry about the testing. Fucking furious. We've known that schools would be going back - come hell or high water - for months. And all that encouraging/shaming people to go back to offices. For *any* of that to work you have to have a functioning testing regime.

[Luce]

I've run out of words for this Government. I can actually forgive quite a lot. But incompetence isn't a strong enough word. And we're 6 months in, you don't get to pretend that this is all new and shocking anymore. I'm actually a bit stunned about it but also feel like rioting. Throw the whole fucking kitchen sink at testing and life can go back to a reasonable level of normal.

[Starry]

Does anyone remember that absolute dose from BB a few years ago, Spi.ral? Well he’s just shown up on Twitter getting into it with some poor supermarket employee because he wasn’t wearing a mask. Honestly, if it wasn’t so tragic it would be funny, he’s ranting about his “constitutional rights” and insisting he’s buying whatever it is he has as the employee is taking back the stuff and telling him to leave.

This is now what we’re dealing with here. Anti mask protests, conspiracy theorists and people thinking this eejit is some sort of freedom fighter.

[Suzi.Q]

Part of the problem with testing is lab capacity. The lighthouse labs were staffed by a lot of volunteers (PhD students and post docs when universities closed) and staff seconded from other companies for 10-12 week periods. Now universities are back open and the secondments are over they don’t have the staff, so they’re not supplying test kits when they don’t have an capacity to process them. Of course, that initial three month period should have been used to recruit and train more staff on contracts, so it is just another example of this whole shit show.