Only changed monday
Was that before or after the changes re close contacts came in to play?
Wow, that's a dramatic decrease
There were 49 new outbreaks reported in schools in the week to last Saturday, 25 September, compared with 90 outbreaks the previous week.
The risk of infection may be reduced by structuring pupils and their teachers into Class Bubbles (i.e. a class grouping which stays apart from other classes as much as possible) and discrete groups or “Pods” within those class bubbles, to the extent that this is practical. If the class is divided into Pods, there should be at least (1m distance) between individual Pods within the Class Bubble and between individuals in the pod, whenever possible. Generally speaking the objective is to limit contact and sharing of common facilities between people in different Class Bubbles (and Pods within those Class Bubbles) as much as possible, rather than to avoid all contact between Pods, as the latter will not always be possible. The aim of the system within the school is that class grouping mix only with their own class from arrival at school in the morning until departure at the end of the school day. The Pods within those Class Bubbles is an additional measures, to limit the extent of close contact within the Class Bubble. Pod sizes should be kept as small as is likely to be reasonably practical in the specific classroom context. To the greatest extent possible, pupils and teaching staff should consistently be in the same Class Bubbles although this will not be possible at all times. Different Class Bubbles should where possible have separate breaks and meal times or separate areas at break or meal times (or this could be different class years i.e. 2nd class, 3rd class etc.) Sharing educational material between Pods should be avoided/minimised where possible.
DOH guidance.
All of which serves no practical value where contract tracing is not in place
To try and limit spread. Found the dept advice, pods are still required where possible.
Q. Do ‘pods’ still need to be organised and implemented?
A. Yes. We have asked children to be in pods as per last year and that indoors these pods are kept in place as much as possible. This is to ensure that the number of people (adults and children) who are in close contact with a case of Covid-19 is as limited as possible, and therefore the risks to others (albeit that the risks are low within a class setting) are kept to the lowest number. This year we have asked that close friends might sit together to reflect national guidance that people are not as restricted in activities and play dates out of school and therefore it is important this occurs to further enable the number of close contacts and those at onward risk are kept as low as possible within the community.
If you are not contact tracing why would you have pods?
Just found out our school is abandoning pods as a result of no more contact tracing. I don't think the Dept mandated any change to pod system did it?
Actually I just looked it up and we should have kept both home. My bad.
That’s no longer the case I believe.
Yeah, that’s what I felt was the right thing. It’s hard though. Like ye we are after a run if it. People definitely feel that it’s all gone away. It bloody well hasn’t.
any unvaccinated person needs to restrict movements if someone in the house is being tested until the negative result comes through.
my daughter had to miss a day last week waiting on her brothers result. After missing 10 days being a close contact just before that
Our school are still going to inform if there is a case in the class and then people can make their own decisions. Happy enough with that tbh.
Sent one to school today while other was awaiting test results. Boy in school was well with no symptoms so we just have to crack on with things now. Test came back not detected anyway.
Are you absolutely sure that the child on chemotherapy was not informed by the school ? I would be very surprised if the parents were not fully informed of anything that would compromise that childs health . Obviously they are not going to tell you who they are informing
Absolutely . Without going in to details I know for a fact that our local primary school has such an alert system in place
But I am confident that despite the HSE throwing these kids to the wolves that the school will continue to protect them in their own way .
Yes. Just like if someone has a severe allergy like to peanuts , everybody gets a letter about snacks etc .
Big difference someone just getting a mild illness and possibility of infection to other more vulnerable kids .
The immunocompromised would be getting vaccines for flu and other illnesses like pneumonia if possible before the season so would be protected from some of the main infections .
Not rsv though , or norovirus .
But most schools would have an alert system for classes of children with severe allergy or immunocompromise.
How odd . Any vulnerable child on chemotherapy should be protected by those around him . You would think people didnt need to be told that .
Most classes have a parents whatapp group for such circumstances .
But they didnt.
I was never informed of any such illness, nor was anyone but we all have individual circumstances that could put people at risk.
Perhaps they should have informed his mother if there was a flu going around
It would then be her choice how to proceed . Its common decency in my opinion to protect a vulnerable child in a classroom
One of my children has a class mate who has Leukemia and is going through chemo the last 4 years. Hes in school most days unless hes unwell/tires . As he was before covid. Nobody ever notified his mother when there was a flu/viral infection/ tummy bug before covid. My point is, vulnerable people got along fine not knowing everyones medical status before covid. They benefitted from herd immunity and took vaccines if they could. Thats where we are now with covid.
No one is forcing or asking anyone else to isolate or stay off school . The issue is that parents should at very least be informed so they can make choices to suit their circumstances .
There are families out there who have children on chemo or children post a transplant . They need to know if a sibling is a close contact of a positive case of Covid 19
How did the Vulnerable grandparents and children and family members protect themselves from illness before covid? My eldest is what i call a carrier, he never ever gets sick, hed have a few sneezes one day but the whole rest of the house goes down with a cross on the door. Im sure theres many children and adults like him. Ive never kept him away from his great gandmother but he 'could have killed her' all them times. Same as now. People need to accept its just another viral infection. Theres a bad dose going round now and negative PCRs. Do we quarantine the people with that viral infection and ring all their close contacts and quarantine them too. Where does it stop?
It’s a bit of a grey Area from what I can read. But The school have put it in writing that a child isn’t to attend school if someone at home is waiting on a test result. In the past when one of us was waiting on a result gp said both stay off school. So that what I’m going by.. school are not great to deal with in general so I’m taking the safest option. Anyway I’d have to drive her to school which people could say is wrong until I’ve a result back.
thanks for your replies
People saying they are getting notified from schools today of close contacts of positive cases
Lisha, fair play to you for being safe but unless you actually test positive my understanding is she is safe to go to school?
Now I could be wrong, sure the whole thing is a mess we can't make head nor tail of it anymore.
The whole thing is a mess… dunno what to make of it. Of course we should know if kids are close contacts from school. As I’d expect to know if a work colleague had it too… people think that national schools are a free for all now and that people can attend with ‘normal cold’ symptoms. People are mixing up ‘asymptomatic close contacts’ with slight symptoms as my kid can’t have Covid..
I’m in the dog house at home now. I’d a Covid test today. As I’ve a slightly sore throat. Hoping to get negative results so I can go to work Wednesday. But as my daughter isn’t vaccinated I won’t send her to school tomorrow. She’s devastated as she missed a few days last week as she had a heavy headcold (was tested and negative). Now she’s loads of work to catch up on and hates being out for another covid reason. Loads of kids in her class are going to school with colds… she’s told me I’m a nerd for sticking to rules :(
Oh yes the infections are not serious I agree .
Still infections though and the possibility of transmission to vulnerable who have yet to have a booster or extra shot is there . Not to mention I disagree that we should be saying" sure infections in children are mild "because it is an unknown what high infection rates in children will lead to .
I find it a bit obnoxious of those in our Public Health to be insinuating , without saying directly of course, that we can let it rip in children.
Because that is what they are doing .
Colm Henry quite specifically mentioned" 0 to 18 year olds " in that statement the other day ,instead of 5 to 12 year olds .
That was deliberate , and I am disappointed in their manipulation of the numbers to achieve an end ,that parents stop worrying about their children catching it and that children are back in school,and all is well with the world. Because they have decided to pull the plug?
It's very sneaky .
I think what they're doing is comparing the tradeoff between the amount of downtime for kids with the need for them to be out of school. On balance they've concluded that it's better for kids to be in school and that this close contact approach that they've been using since the schools opened in September is probably done.
The number of cases in kids is interesting. Paul Reid himself, a few weeks back, pointed out that 40% of positive cases were kids and that 45% of all testing involved kids. When you compare cases to the numbers in hospital you can see the cases are not translating into something more serious. I suspect that was also part of their reflections on this whole thing. . Even in hospital it's the unvaccinated who seem to be experiencing the most problems with COVID.
Fair enough , we are on the way out of this , but I can't understand why they are throwing caution to the wind so abruptly like this .
Do you not agree that it is strange that parents are not only being told that there is no need to know if their children have been in contact with a positive case ,which will from now always be a symptomatic case ?
I think if your child has no symptoms , then away to school as advised, but at least with the knowledge should you need to protect someone as I have described in my above post .
Cases in children 5 to12 years have been rising in the weeks since return to school from higher base and in higher numbers than previously, yet the narrative from NPHET and the HSE has been that they are reducing !
That is talking about and including the 12 to18 year olds where cases have been slowing since they are vaccinated .
But not in the primary schoolchildren .
I think it is mad stuff tbh , after the caution all along .
.
Sure, but the question of when we stop viewing COVID as we have is now a key one.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w5.vanillicon.com/v2/5117ec177439400b1e5944f4d30acdda.svg)
