Dangerous myths exposed about coronavirus and children.

Growstuff - yes you are correct - it was the QAnon rubbish that was being peddled on fb. Such dangerous rubbish!!!

You my have realised from my other posts, that I am not a great panicker - even though nearly 80 yrs old, and with all usual medical conditions associated with age - I have not locked myself away and have continued to try to lead as normal a life as possible. Have felt that something is going to 'get me' sooner or later and am more interested in quality of life rather than quantity now.
BUT......I do know and accept that this virus is about - personally, I think that lockdown does little except delay the number of people likely to contract this illness. Good, in many way - and the time has given the medics so much more knowledge as to how to deal with it. Not really interested in the numbers testing positive each day as the death rate which, has fallen incredibly.
I think that good hygiene, lots of hand washing, and social distancing are the best protections.

But......I am very concerned at those who promote the type of rubbish which says that this virus either
A) Does not exist or
B) Was deliberately started
Unfortunately, as the President of the USofA seems to be promoting this sort dangerous rubbish, along with very suspicious cures, etc.. wonder if we have any real chance in the long run.

Older people, particularly those who are retired, can choose to isolate themselves, or limit their interactions with others to whatever they regard as safe. They canchooseto do that. Children can’t make choices for themselves, and we as a responsible and caring society, have to make the choice for them. They deserve to be educated.
Very true, Maddyone. I agree.
Oh for the carefree innocence of a child who isn't bothered by conspiracies, statistics, politics and wrangling in all directions. To see their little smiling faces coming out of school this week was uplifting and made me for one feel more alive and positive. We make the best of it for their sakes.

Unfortunately, there have been some very good "fakes" of so-called horrendous incidents. Sometimes, certain governments have even been involved. There are ways of checking whether some pictures are genuine, but the fakers are often quite sophisticated. Even a camera angle or cropping can change a picture quite dramatically. I think we have a situation where people are becoming cynical and it's also quite easy to dismiss genuine pictures as fakes.

I have seen some stuff about Covid19 being a made up myth. When I see it I often wonder what the people who make up these lies think about all the terrible pictures that were on our television screens so little time ago, showing people in ITU fighting for their lives. How do they think these pictures were taken?

Marianna Spring from the BBC has loads of info about conspiracy theories and has done research into QAnon.

Franbern That sounds like one of the QAnon conspiracy theories. I don't know who's behind them or why they're doing what they are, but they seem to be very effective at spreading their myths. If you look at the pictures from last week's demo in London, there were placards with "Q" on them. I know that one of their main topics for conspiracy theories is child abuse, which is always an emotive subject and sucks people into believing related conspiracies.

Seen someone on Fb trying to convince us that the whole Corona Virus Pandemic is a made up falsehood, specifically (it appears), to have a go at Trump and prevent him being elected for a second time.!!!! What worries me is that people who write this sort of garbage and believe it, have the right to Vote.

Illte The original false fact and the sensible rebuttals often seem to be taken as an either/or choice where the reader ignores the informed version or the common sense and plumps headfirst for the most extreme sensational balderdash. It doesn't help that so many people only read the title and the first post!

I respond to a sensational and completely untrue headline in a post, quoting the actual facts of the case.

What surprised me was how many posters went on to believe and comment positively on the original post. Even though it was total fiction.

maddyone

If I was still teaching, I would have been back in school today. I would have been wearing a mask, and probably a visor too.
I certainly don’t agree with the schools that have required teachers to sign a document saying that they won’t wear a mask. If that is true of course!

It was true. The unions had to issue guidance on masks and a number of governing bodies backtracked.

maddyone

The poster who said no teacher had been infected/died due to a child infecting them was me. I hold up my hands. I had seen this somewhere, can’t remember where but not Facebook. According to the link provided by the OP there have have been six cases of transmission from child to teacher or TA. I stand corrected.

growstuff you were not dismissed at all. Please don’t write untruths, I expect more from you. I asked if you had any further information after you queried what I had written. I know you do more research than I do as I have other things to attend to, including the care of grandchildren and an elderly mother.

... and you don't have limited mobility. I'd love to be able to do more, but I have to accept my limitations and make the best of them.

If I was still teaching, I would have been back in school today. I would have been wearing a mask, and probably a visor too.
I certainly don’t agree with the schools that have required teachers to sign a document saying that they won’t wear a mask. If that is true of course!

No Oopsminty you are not being dense. I probably was for believing what I read/saw. In actual fact, it’s pretty obvious that nobody can be 100% sure from where they were infected.

I do believe schools need to get back to educating children because as an ex teacher, I know how important this is for their development in every area. We cannot sacrifice a generation of children, and condemn them to being uneducated for however long it takes to eradicate the virus (if that is even possible) in order to ensure that older people do not catch the virus. Older people, particularly those are retired, can choose to isolate themselves, or limit their interactions with others to whatever they regard as safe. They can choose to do that. Children can’t make choices for themselves, and we as a responsible and caring society, have to make the choice for them. They deserve to be educated.

Oopsminty that is why it is a myth that is going round, not a fact, that there are no cases of a teacher catching it from a child. It is not easy to know exactly where an infrection came from, though there can be a very strong suspicion - perhaps a child was coughing while close to the teacher?

I was on a stall at a local fair years ago, when a child stood opposite me coughing fit to bust. At the time I thought to myself, "I remember coughing like that as a child when I had whooping cough", but then forgot it. Ten days later I had a high temperature, felt absolutely awful - and developed the same breathless cough. Circumstantial evidence? Perhaps, but it convinced me.

I'm unsure how anyone can really know who gave whoever the virus

You can have an infected child in school. Teacher goes on to catch it. But how does anyone know for sure that the child passed it on? We could presume/assume but not sure how it can be certain.

Maybe I am being particularly dense

The latest edition of More or Less offers clarity about stats
worth a listen

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000m5j9

also entertaining

Here in Scotland, we have had a number of cases where teachers have been infected.
No-one is safe from the virus.

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1326669/dundee-school-coronavirus-outbreak-scotland-kingspark-covid19-schools-reopening

The poster who said no teacher had been infected/died due to a child infecting them was me. I hold up my hands. I had seen this somewhere, can’t remember where but not Facebook. According to the link provided by the OP there have have been six cases of transmission from child to teacher or TA. I stand corrected.

growstuff you were not dismissed at all. Please don’t write untruths, I expect more from you. I asked if you had any further information after you queried what I had written. I know you do more research than I do as I have other things to attend to, including the care of grandchildren and an elderly mother.

When some people want to believe something, they don't examine where the "fact" came from.

We've also seen false claims about wearing masks.

The third claim in the fact check (There are no cases of teachers infected by children) was actually given as a truth by a poster on GN. Presumably it suited the poster's belief that children should all return to school, despite any danger to children.

I challenged it at the time, but was dismissed. If people want to believe something, it's difficult to change their understanding.

They occasionally make their way on to GN. Ask the people involved why they believe them.

I do find these conspiracy theories so dreadfully frightening. What is it in the psyche of some that get them to believe this rubbish?

Elegran, thanks for the link.

What is scary, is that there are people who believe these myths and then forward the info to their friends .?
Before you know it, it has gone viral, so it must be true . ☹️
Does no-one question anymore?