And I raise you over a dozen who were all clear! It's more about how all of this is being managed and a level of caution that is probably overzealous. It's definitely not something you'd want to see throughout the school year.
I'm amazed here at people's attitude to close contacts.
I know of two close contacts who only tested positive for Covid on 2nd test at day 10.
If they had of been sent to school they would be spreading it during that time.
A close contact needs to stay at home and complete their isolation period if unvaccinated which is case with children.
Doesn't sound like anything done wrong to be honest from the HSE or the school. Close contact isolates for 10 days if not vaccinated and gets 2 tests, everyone else goes about their business as usual
If your vaccinated then there's no need for you to get a test, only required if you show symptoms. Assuming the child is u12 (correct me if wrong) only they would have been required to get a test.
HSE guidance is all available online
What guidance are you looking for? A close contact isolates for 10 days, rest of the family can get on with their lives until a close contact
Crazy stuff going on with the HSE and Schools from what I can see, there was an outbreak in one of our boy's classes at school school, we were notified over the weekend, on Monday he was identified by the school as a close contact (same pod), school advised accordingly, we all went for a test on Monday (Tuesday evening all came back clear), had our first text from the HSE on Wednesday just advising about the pod and not much else, we haven't heard a thing since (Friday now), the school has been great but they advise following HSE guidance (none!), have the HSE completely abandoned the schools or are they just that far behind?
”Flu” symptoms are only similar to sinus symptoms in the minds of those who don’t know what flu is.
Rhinovirus is the one you are thinking of that has sinus symptoms and has an R0 higher than that of Covid, and as a non encapsulated virus is less susceptible to preventative measures like hand washing in addition to surviving longer on surfaces
Ah almost every kid I know is snuffling and sneezing at the moment, my own included.No temps, not really bad coughs, just runny noses and that. It's not exactly a case of Covid or other stuff sure, the other stuff is still there doing it's viral thing.
By the way "flu symptoms" can be quite similar to sinus symptoms.I've been flattened by sinus infections that don't always include a stuffed up nose.But it can include nausea, temperature for a day or two, and just generally feeling absolutely lousy. So it can be hard to know.Chest infections would be another one that is likely easy to view as potential covid.
Eh, maybe because 90% of the adult population is vaccinated against Covid but not against flu.
We got a communication from our child's school today clarifying rules on when/when not to send children to school, apparently based on a recently updated communication from the HSE. Which was fine, and useful in clarifying exact requirements. Except for the last section, which said that any child who had been abroad could not come to school for 14 days, and must self isolate at home for those 14 days along with all adults that had travelled with the child. Which seems to go completely against all other public health advice - and could in theory mean that self isolation rules are different depending on whether you have children or not! It's completely irrelevant to me - we aren't planning on going overseas in the next while, but seems very odd - and I certainly know parents who would decide that as that "seemed wrong" they'd ignore the rest of the requirements in the message.
What I don't get
Covid is incredibly contagious and we are all supposedly gonna get it, but I know loads of people who have had flu symptoms these last 2-3 weeks and covid test was negative for them all
How can they all be sick from common cold, flu etc when covid is way more contagious? You'd think Covid would outcompete all them
Most school kids are testing negative, 95% of the population are testing negative and alot of them have symptoms
But no flu is going around and I don't know of any other virus going around
Makes you think
It's beginning to get.... not stupid, but probably illogical - for primary schools.
The test centres are overflowing with kids right now who either have colds or who are being sent home as close contacts. I understood this sending home was to prevent community spread and classroom spread, last year. Now I honestly don't know what it is for. We can't keep sending classes of kids home for 2 weeks at a time, part of the point of the lockdowns in the last 12 months was to try not to disrupt education. Here we are opening up society but still sending droves of kids home to sit for 10 days at a time doing nothing, just in case.
It does have to be looked at. I appreciate kids aren't vaccinated and are unlikely to be any time soon, so with that in mind we probably do need to reconsider what we are doing. Exactly what we suggest though, I am not sure.
Isnt that a bit stupid no?
Covid zero strategy for young kids but old fat vaccinated people can do as they like
Under 12's aren't vaccinated its for vaccinated that the guidance is not to isolate when contacts unless symptomatic.
Get you now Lumen, thought you were talking about all schools, not just secondary
They are sending primary kids home anyway, bit unfair to do that to them when they can't get vaccinated and don't get sick
Gonna take a brave government to give the go ahead to vaccinate 4 year olds
@godzilla1989 I am describing the process in my kids secondary school, as explained to me by the principal. The school doesn't send home anyone, they're not even involved in identifying close contacts. Parents of positives are requested by HSE contact tracers to isolate their kids. I don't know what parents of close contacts are requested to do, and neither does the school, because it's not their problem, they just ask parents to follow HSE instructions. Once my kids are fully vaxxed (in a couple of weeks) if I get a call from a contact tracer I might just hang up, since nobody in the family will be unvaccinated and we always test when symptomatic, regardless of who we've been in contact with.
What I don't understand is whether the process I've described above is unique to my kids' secondary school, or all secondary schools.
Why do only 12+ go to school?
How many 12+ year olds in 4th class?
I failed to understand it, because it makes no sense in the real world from what I am seeing around me
My niece has been sent home for 2 weeks, because a child in 4th class was positive, this is happening everywhere, they are closing down classes in my town.
Why aren't the schools ignoring those self isolation guidelines then, if you say they can do without consequence?
What are you even suggesting?
Only the positives isolate, close contacts stay in school?
I agree they should do that, but they are not.
You've completely failed to understand my post. Try reading it again with rage mode off.
And the effects after pregnancy into infancy, I suppose we have years of data on that do we?
Well duh
We should have a different rule, because kids don't get sick and won't fill hospitals
Adults are protected by the vaccine and kids don't need protection
Get rid of this stupid isolating rule in schools, it makes no sense with all the adults vaccinated
Vaccines either protect us or they don't
Governemt are being anti-vax by not trusting the vaccines work
So little kids have to self isolate to protect old people that have a vaccine, that's supposed to protect them
Anyone defending this either has no faith in the vaccine's or just want's to keep this covid circus going
The effect of covid on pregnancies is quite well known
I know of many pregnant women foregoing the vaccine as it's a relatively unknown quantity with regards developmental and full term pregnancies.
Current advice (outside of schools) is that vaccinated close contacts don't need to test or isolate unless they have symptoms, in fact (anecdotally) the HSE won't actually refer for a test if you're a vaccinated close contact without symptoms.
Why should we have one rule for schools and another for the rest of society?
In any case, this year the schools aren't involved with contact tracing past the initial referral to the HSE, which the parents of the positive case have to consent to. They only pass on the details of the positive case, they don't provide the HSE with a list of contacts. After that they have no involvement, so if you are asked to isolate your child because the HSE has determined from interrogating the positive case that they are a close contact you can just ignore it with zero consequences.
That's my understanding anyway, happy to be corrected.
I thought it was recommended for pregnant women to get vaccinated?
I've experienced less than 10 immune compromised people during my life, but every one of those were fastidious in the measures they took to protect their health and I assume it would be no different now.
'Expendable' is hyperbole.
So leave confirmed close contacts back to school without a test is what's being discussed? What about those working in schools or the families of other children who might have someone at home unvaccinated, immune compromised, pregnant etc.? Are those people expendable at this stage?
Threads merged
That's my understanding of what is being suggested based on what I heard on the radio today but quite possible that I'm wrong. Hope you're doing ok.
Yeah as a VHR teacher now back in the classroom at HR with the vaccine, I’d not be massively happy about that to be honest. No test at all?
I'd be very happy for close contacts to be allowed go about their business oncethey have a negative test but I don't think that's what is being suggested. I think they're suggesting close contacts don't need to self isolate or test unless they have symptoms.
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