National Lockdown to be announced next week?

What I DO know growstuff is that by so doing I would be following the current guidelines. I can't wave a magic wand for the fabric of every school in the land and remove the risks totally, but I am a doer, an optimist and I never give in. Those are the qualities I care about instilling into my pupils.

Schools definitely need to close. We won’t get the numbers down with schools open and it spreading through families via children. Lives are more important than a few months of education.

I've read so much on these Coronavirus threads that show that so many GNers opening admit to having broken the rules introduced after lockdown and for the Tiers.

It's no wonder cases are now starting to increase.

One rule that seems to be broken a lot is meeting up or having more than one bubble. We have had to make choices about which of our family members we can see inside. Why has it been so hard for some not to stick to the rules?

Ellianne

Well open the doors and windows to maintain circulation of fresh air. Tell the kids to put extra layers on to keep warm.

Yeah! Yeah! If you really cared about pupils, you'd know that might mitigate the risk, but it won't remove it. If you knew about schools, you'd also know that many above ground classrooms don't have windows which open more than a couple of inches. You'd also know that opening doors and windows at the same time isn't a good idea because it causes draughts, but doesn't circulate air.

Jane10

Now I'm scared. I never was before but somehow, this time, I'm worried. DH and I will lockdown without being told to.

I said exactly the same thing to my DH last week Jane10. We will go out once a week for shopping and walk the dog twice a day, that’s it. We visited both sons, their wives and the two youngest grandchildren last Friday and will FaceTime from now on until things improve.

pigsmayfly If the grandparents in question want to do it, they should.
It's difficult, tho, if they don't want to (because of covid) but the parents have no other childcare.

The reason that we do not see our children and grandchildren is because we would hate to burden them with the responsibility for infecting us unknowingly, and possibly killing us off.

We are so lucky to have phones, email, whatsapp etc so we can keep in close touch, even with those who are far away. Just think how much worse this pandemic would have been thirty or forty years ago.

pigsmayfly, of course there is some risk, yet still, a lot of grandparents say yes. My children wouldn't even ask, though, as they want to keep me safe.

That was to Ellianne, I was not giving you a yes, pigsmayfly.

?

I would say there has been an excellent debate here on gransnet where people have expressed their views on the lockdown issues. Can I ask what members think about looking after grandchildren after school. Over 60s are in the vulnerable group. It seems that we can continue to care for our grandchildren but that does put us at risk. Should we say yes or no?

Well open the doors and windows to maintain circulation of fresh air. Tell the kids to put extra layers on to keep warm.

Callistemon

Here older pupils have to wear masks in school when in communal areas and moving around the school.
They have to be 3 layered.

But it's in poorly ventilated, over-crowded classrooms where the aerosol effect is greatest.

Here older pupils have to wear masks in school when in communal areas and moving around the school.
They have to be 3 layered.

But Call I think some workers are not being protected as much as reasonably possible and I think that includes some shop workers, teachers and others. Given the infection rates in older pupils (2%) why aren’t they having to wear masks in school to protect pupils and staff?

all groups whose work brings them into contact with the public and potentially the virus have a right to expect that there has been proper risk assessment and they are protected as mush as is reasonably possible.

Yes, of course.

Galaxy

I work in schools I want to carry on but I am very bored with those who on the whole are safely at home telling us how it should be.

Don't read their posts then if they bore you.

We have stated, though, that we have families on the front line and have discussed with them how they feel.

Personally, I'd stay at home for longer if it meant those who are willing to keep society going for the future of younger generations can do so.

There are so many selfless people out there.

Ellianne

^It appears that the armed forces are going to be drafted in to assist with Covid19 testing. Can they say they don’t want to go, they may catch the virus? Teachers are not different than any of these other key workers. They areallpotentially in contact with thevirus.^
Certainly not maddyone. It's what they signed up for. Just like they could tread on a mine any day and a teacher could get knifed by a pupil. The virus is just another challenge in their daily lives.
Actually, the teachers themselves who are in school, including my daughter, mainly want to be there, even if things aren't perfect.

But surely the issue is about mitigation - all groups whose work brings them into contact with the public and potentially the virus have a right to expect that there has been proper risk assessment and they are protected as mush as is reasonably possible. It’s not ‘what you signed up for’ but that your working conditions are as covid secure as possible whether you’re a teacher, shop worker or soldier. I don’t think every worker is being looked after as much as they should be in some settings.

X post maddyone

It appears that the armed forces are going to be drafted in to assist with Covid19 testing. Can they say they don’t want to go, they may catch the virus? Teachers are not different than any of these other key workers. They areallpotentially in contact with thevirus.
Certainly not maddyone. It's what they signed up for. Just like they could tread on a mine any day and a teacher could get knifed by a pupil. The virus is just another challenge in their daily lives.
Actually, the teachers themselves who are in school, including my daughter, mainly want to be there, even if things aren't perfect.

It takes a lot of courage to change course, and I have great admiration for Boris Johnson in following the advice of experts.

Prime minister does job -- Yay, Whoop, Admiration unbounded!

Thank you to all posters who have agreed with me and who understand that schools must stay open, and for saying how many teachers want to continue, in difficult circumstances, to be there for their pupils.

Of course there will be cases of the virus in children and staff working in schools! It’s not ideal, but I don’t think anyone’s situation during this crisis is ideal. There were many cases of medics becoming infected during the last lockdown, and several hundred of them died, but no one is suggesting that hospitals and GP surgeries should close!

My daughter and her husband do not expect to not work during this crisis. They are doctors, they work in their surgeries, they look after their patients in care homes, and work in the Covid Hub. They wear full PPE when necessary, which necessitates particular protocols for it’s removal, which must be done between every patient. GP surgeries are not closed, but they are operating differently. Why would any one of us want to go into the surgery if we could be diagnosed and given a prescription over the phone? But patients do go into the surgeries, and doctors are there, in PPE, to examine them and prescribe the appropriate next step of treatment. Anyone who claims GP surgeries are closed is wrong!

Doctors, nurses, other medics, teachers and teaching assistants, shop assistants, delivery drivers, bin men, postmen/women, police, armed forces, and many others do not have the luxury of saying they don’t want to go to work.
It appears that the armed forces are going to be drafted in to assist with Covid19 testing. Can they say they don’t want to go, they may catch the virus? Teachers are not different than any of these other key workers. They are all potentially in contact with the virus.

Galaxy

I work in schools I want to carry on but I am very bored with those who on the whole are safely at home telling us how it should be.

But that is the point Galaxy. I, and many GNs, are not safely at home telling others how it should be. We are out there working alongside it with childcare etc. If schools were to close it would be far worse and less safe for our whole extended family.

I work in schools I want to carry on but I am very bored with those who on the whole are safely at home telling us how it should be.