Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) **Mod warnings in OP**

marilynrr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117947462#Comment_117947462

No they don't. They would only have had to restrict movements if the close contact developed symptoms.

My daughter was a close contact in September and had to restrict movements but the information from the school and HSE did not say that people who lived in the house had to restrict movements.

I kept her older sibling out of secondary school until we got the test result but I wasn't obliged to.

The HSE website has the following information :If you live with someone who is restricting their movements, you do not need to restrict your movements as long as they do not have any symptoms of COVID-19.

and the information from the HSE and department of education has the following information:

Q: Can family members of a pupil/student/staff member (who has been identified as a close contact) attend school?

A: Yes, as long as the family members have not also been designated close contacts by HSE Public Health. Only the pupil/student/staff member who is a close contact needs to restrict her/his movements, even though she/he has no symptoms. However, no other family member is required to do so and can still attend school – unless also identified as a close contact by HSE Public Health. If however, the pupil/student/staff member who is a close contact develops symptoms of Covid-19, then they are a suspected case of Covid-19 and should now self-isolate and contact their GP, explaining that they have been identified as a close contact of a confirmed case of Covid-19 and that they now have symptoms too. 

Lisha

I realized today that an (unvaccinated) child in school has been attending school while a parent at home has Covid, I just can’t believe someone would do that.

marilynrr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118028530#Comment_118028530

Could the parent be isolating in their room?

shesty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118028530#Comment_118028530

I admit I would never do that either -but do they have symptoms and does the advice say they can all go about their business if there is no symptoms in a vaccinated person??

Repeating that I would absolutely never do that myself tbh.

OrlaFS2017

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027040#Comment_118027040

Yeah agreed if it’s a close contact situation the siblings are free to go to school once the close contact is symptom free.

in the case I was describing my son had a cough wasn’t a close contact so was sent for a test therefore his unvaccinated sister had to restrict movements too. Different scenarios

Lisha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029344#Comment_118029344

Possibly but they wouldn’t have been in the 48hr before the test…so in my head if it was my house the unvaccinated child would be off school…. I’m going to forget I was told it and mind my own beeswax…

Lisha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029577#Comment_118029577

Child isn’t vaccinated …. But you know I think the waters are so muddied by confusing govt messages regarding primary aged children that the parents may not realise they are doing wrong.

ive heard people say several times that the rules don’t apply to primary kids. people are genuinely confused.

shesty

Absolutely, I am one myself.My own instinct is keep them all at home for the duration, infact we are currently awauting a test result and mine are all in (even though I think my husband and I can go out as we are vaccinated and well) .But even now I am aware of one family where a small child brought in covid, they all isolated, mam caught it end of week one, original child could back to preschool end of week 2, sister also caught it end of week 2, so another week at home while child 1 is back at school, yet child 2 missed 2 weeks of school unnecessarily before actually catching it....it is all very unclear tbh.Child 2 could have gone back at 10 days in with a negative PCR, but the mam caught it so...she had to stay home longer....yet child 1 was able to go back within that time frame once his symptoms cleared and he had a negative test.

Lisha

I’m so confused and there’s a long winter there yet 😳😳

shesty

All I actually know is that it is a gigantic pain in the a$$ to manage when you have a couple of prinary age kids.

marilynrr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029699#Comment_118029699

They only go back 24 hours before the test if the person hasn't had any symptoms. It's 48 hours before symptoms started though if the person had symptoms.

In my daughters case the school told us that she had been a close contact and we arranged a test for her then, by the time the contact tracers phoned me it was day 8 since she had been a close contact....so someone could be classed as a close contact but then not get tested until days later....and their close contacts are counted from when they got the test, not when they were told they were a CC, so the parent may well have isolated in the 24 hours before the test.

Personally I wouldn't have sent my child to school either, but the parent may not be doing anything wrong 'technically'.

DubLad69

Would I be correct in assuming that masks and social distancing will be gone from school as of next Friday too under current plans?

hesaidshesaid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118030364#Comment_118030364

No. All current measures are to stay in place in schools until Christmas.

Purple Mountain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118030653#Comment_118030653

Do you have a link to that announcement by any chance?

hesaidshesaid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118030679#Comment_118030679

All schools were sent a Circular by the Dept of Ed in August to say that Covid measures were to stay the same in schools this school year 21/22. There’s been some other contact since that basically said, definitely until Christmas, we’ll be in touch. Circular below;

https://www.cpsma.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Circular-0050-2021.pdf

Dickie10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118026897#Comment_118026897

id say thats why they might be serially disruptive, because there never a sanction. The child is 15 and she admitted to it when questioned. Only got a day suspension but thats a very serious offence imo, tampering with the school facilities its basically vandalism because a lot of class time was lost turning off the alarm. same as touching a fire extinguisher.Definite suspension and next stop for someone on that would be out the gate for good. Cant handle pandering to bold kids in a school.

History Queen

Jesus reading about this type of thing is awful. Hope all involvd are ok and that it isn't a situation that is replicated elsewhere in the country. Really feel for the principal, awful situation.

https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/cbs-primary-to-remain-closed-after-covid-outbreak-40957802.html

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118033943#Comment_118033943

The kids are kids and the teachers are vaccinated. Of course all are almost certainly ok

the corpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118033972#Comment_118033972

but they mightn't be all ok and there are such simple mitigation factors the Department could be employing to help keep them safe. It baffles me that they won't outfit every classroom in the country with HEPA filters. Cost is miniscule compared to testing etc.

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034011#Comment_118034011

Very hard to understand the attitude towards schools. Yes keep them open of course, but also contact trace and isolate as required. And as you say, put things in place that could actualy help keep them open. That said, I hope this is an isolated incident.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118033943#Comment_118033943

Not a mention of anyone being sick, i think some people can't see the woods for the trees if this is regarded as awful, it's an overreaction and won't age well.

orecir

Still no co2 monitors as promised.

Vaccinated30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034011#Comment_118034011

My child caught a respritory infection in school last year. It wasnt covid. She was hospitalised for almost a week. Dont see the department employing factors to keep other illnesses away. Ever. My child wasnt ok, hooked up to machines, ECG, chest xray, nebulisers and oxygen. Id put it out there that none of the kids from this school end up as bad as my child who had a chest infection and not covid. Ireland is facing into a PTSD pandemic

iamwhoiam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034061#Comment_118034061

personally I think it very obvious that they are letting it rip through schools in the hope of herd immunity for under 12s

the corpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034520#Comment_118034520

But the point is the Department should be putting in HEPA filtration regardless of Covid, it mitigates hugely against all respiratory illnesses, hugely reduces absenteeism, aids concentration etc. It could have helped your child last year.

It's a just a no brainer, really, but would have the added benefit of reducing covid transmission. I mean, why not?

is_that_so

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035066#Comment_118035066

You got a cost for that, even off the top of your head? Also how long would such a project take?

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034261#Comment_118034261

I do think it's awful that although the school followed the guidelines provided that Covid still spread and I also think it is awful that they had to take the difficult decision to close. That's hardly a controversial opinion to hold.

the corpo

Theoretically, it would take days. These are plug and play units, no need for installation or construction.

Decent HEPA filter can be got for €300. Our own school has 16 classrooms, so could be done just under 5000. I don't know current figures, but I think for 2018/19 there were 3,240 primary schools, but assuming they're all double stream schools (some will be one, some will be more) that's an investment of €15.5m nationally. A drop in the water compared to what's being pumped into testing/hospitalisation etc. Also, the Department currently advises that schools can invest in these if they wish, and has suggestions for schools, but just not the will to actually do it.

If the state were negotiating do bulk order thousands of units, I'm sure they could get them for substantially cheaper too. Ideally, they would be really investing in proper mechanical ventilation systems and retrofitting, but you're looking at thousands per unit in that case, so unlikely.

HEPA filters are not a magic wand, and need to be used in combination with open windows/monitors etc., but they're a big part of the puzzle that can help to reduce all airborne infections in a classroom. Useless against nits though ;)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035661#Comment_118035661

Are people genuinely not aware of the supply issues with electrical components in general and this type of equipment in particular. Sure there are 50,000 HEPA filter units sitting in a warehouse just waiting to be installed.

We already know that the reason the CO2 monitors are not available was a manufacturing fault.

the corpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035733#Comment_118035733

How is that not a reason to order them? Even if they're delayed, they'll come, and they'll be worth it.

Besides which, HEPA filters are a mass market commercial and residential product, there could easily be hundreds of thousands of them waiting in warehouses just waiting to be installed.