Schools/colleges/universities and self isolating

Lee

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My lad works at a college and has been sent home, along with 2 other teachers, to self isolate for 2 weeks due to one of the students testing positive for the virus. The contact with the student was Friday. My lad is going to isolate.

Does anyone know the actual rules as to whether you have to isolate in this instance? All I can find is the following which is from the perspective of the one who has the virus....

'You may want to tell people you've been in close contact with in the past 48 hours that you might have coronavirus.

What does close contact mean?
Examples of close contact include:
  • close face to face contact (under 1 metre) for any length of time – including talking to them or coughing on them
  • being within 1 to 2 metres of each other for more than 15 minutes – including travelling in a small vehicle
  • spending lots of time in your home, such as cleaning it
They do not need to self-isolate unless they're contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service. But they should take extra care to follow social distancing advice, including washing their hands often.'

 
Your lad will have to isolate in your house but you yourself do not, unless your lad starts with symptoms, and then you would have to isolate and get tests. That’s my understanding.

At my lad’s school, dozens of kids were told to isolate after a pupil tested positive. Their families don’t have to isolate unless they start with symptoms. I see it as a single contact level, that expands to the next level when someone else gets symptoms.
 
My little ones school sent msg yesterday saying someone there has tested positive, and you will be notified if you're child has been affected. They said any child that has will have to self isolate for ten days along with anyone else in the household!
 
So different schools giving different advice, sounds about right. In this case you might need to check with the college Lee.
 
Thanks both.

So different schools giving different advice, sounds about right. In this case you might need to check with the college Lee.
Unbelievable. The schools don't agree.

I thought 10 day isolation is for those with symptoms and 14 days for contacts.

It's more me just wondering what the rules are which might help others. My lad is going to isolate.
 
My little ones school sent msg yesterday saying someone there has tested positive, and you will be notified if you're child has been affected. They said any child that has will have to self isolate for ten days along with anyone else in the household!
Common sense says this is logical and the other advice to treat Covid like chickenpox is well suspect. Carrying on as normal when someone in your household is instructed to self isolate renders the exercise pointless. The idea is to break the chains of transmission. And self isolation is only required because of insufficient testing capacity

I am now interested in this topic as the landlord has gone and rented the other room to a teacher.

As a work from home office worker, it is not inconvenient for me to self isolate should the new housemate bring Covid home. I am surprised the landlord has increased their personal risk though, being over sixty and average lung health. Landlord told me does not see themself as at increased risk, "it is only if you are 80"...
 
I am now interested in this topic as the landlord has gone and rented the other room to a teacher.
The way thing are going schools etc might not be open for long anyway. Only yesterday in the local news there was a school close, one had five year groups sent home and another had three year groups sent home. That's on top of Liverpool university having 80 students and 7 staff test positive over the last week.
 
Touch wood, we've managed to stay open for all year groups since day 1.

We've lost quite a lot of staff - mostly having to stay home looking after their own children who've been sent home - but mostly just for 2-5 days whilst tests have been arranged. We've got a few staff off for 14 days because of T&T.

A couple of children removed from school to be homeschooled. And literally a handful off isolating at the moment.

So all very positive.

However my niece and nephews (x2) are all now off for 14 days as a result of positive cases in 3 year groups at their high-school. So it's a mixed bag. And the rules are ambiguous. Shall we say that in our experience, some are more happy to exercise a more cautious approach than others.
 
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My Son's college have (finally) started to insist that students wear masks in public spaces. He is pleased.
 
My Son's college have (finally) started to insist that students wear masks in public spaces. He is pleased.
The same has happened at the college my other son goes to which came into effect on Monday, which is the same college my isolating son works at.
 
This is useful:


The above leads to the following:



So yes, it looks like some schools/colleges are being extra cautious with their advice; but if one positive test result can result in 300 kids being sent home and that school instructs all those 300 families to isolate that’s a big deal and not the official advice; which is to isolate if you are a contact and extend to your contacts only if you have symptoms or a positive test.
 
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The rule for children of my two friends who have been told to SI for 2 weeks
as one is for the year group and the other was for the bubble (a third of their year group). Rest of household can carry on going to work, shop, do leisure activities and attend education (if another household member attends school, college etc) until the child develops symptoms. Then the entire household has to SI.

Though what happens in the case when the child develops symptoms 5 days after SI. Then would the child be expected to return to school after a fortnight as the other household members are still SI? Plus some children may not be able to go to school as their parents drive them to school, esp if the school is miles away.
 
If a self isolating child develops symptoms he has to get a test and his countdown restarts back at 10 days from his symptom start. His family would need to self isolate too but for 14 days from the start of the child’s symptoms.
 
If a self isolating child develops symptoms he has to get a test and his countdown restarts back at 10 days from his symptom start. His family would need to self isolate too but for 14 days from the start of the child’s symptoms.
Yes, but a negative test from that child would mean everyone in the family is free to get back to their normal immediately.
 
Domestic tension with the new teacher housemate 😏 He is leaving used things to the side instead of loading into the dishwasher. Landlord not impressed as (a) not a servant and no previous tenant has ever behaved like this (b) common sense hygiene rules during Covid
 
We've now, inevitably, had our first case and it's shut the largest bubble annoyingly enough.

We've now lost 9 staff and 72 children (directly) and another 15 or so children from other bubbles who can't be brought to school because of childcare issues (single parents who can't bring the isolating child to school with them so can't bring any of their children). For 2 weeks.

It really is a logistical nightmare. Not to mention the expense and damage to their education.
 
We're in a similar situation at my school. A positive test result from a year 9 student on Monday means we now have 140 students and 6 staff isolating.
 
My niece's entire year are off at the moment. Not sure how many kids that is, but it's a lot.

Fortunately my bro-in-law is working from home, but I doubt that's gonna be the case for every child of course. So plenty of parents will be off work now as well.
 
We've now, inevitably, had our first case and it's shut the largest bubble annoyingly enough.

We've now lost 9 staff and 72 children (directly) and another 15 or so children from other bubbles who can't be brought to school because of childcare issues (single parents who can't bring the isolating child to school with them so can't bring any of their children). For 2 weeks.

It really is a logistical nightmare. Not to mention the expense and damage to their education.

Getting real now.

Got a text from my sons' school yesterday evening saying there was a case in the breakfast club but not to worry, only children affected would need two weeks off (he's not in breakfast club).

Then got a text this morning 20mins ago to say there's another case, this time in his class, and so he's now home for 2 weeks.

As I'm texting this to a teacher mate of mine, he gets a text from his Head saying there's a case in his class and so he turns round and goes home as he has to isolate for 2 weeks.

Be interesting to see Manchester's figures over the next week or so.
 
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Thing is it is still out there. Getting 'back to normal' is a fool's errand. We're going to live like this until we have a vaccine :(
 
And now my youngest son's childminder has shut for 2 weeks. So there goes any chance of my wife working from home with a 2 year old and a 6 year old to look after / teach. So now I'm going to have to take a few days or half-days to support. Which has a huge knock on effect for my school.
 
How many kids are actually in school I wonder?

Everywhere I look there's school's shut, stories of kids isolating at home, and teacher's off.

And of those that are, how many are actually managing to get a proper education?
 
And of those that are, how many are actually managing to get a proper education?

It's just a matter of time before they've got to cancel next summer's exams. It's not a level playing-field already after only a month.
 
It's just a matter of time before they've got to cancel next summer's exams. It's not a level playing-field already after only a month.

I was gonna say, it's only early days and the situation is already what it is. I agree, I already can't see any way exams can go ahead fairly.

My niece has her GCSE's next summer as well :(
 

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