Up to the 2nd December.

Thankyou to those posters who are pointing out what a mess the Government have made of this. I have little energy to even post anda major headache from banging it against the wall.
How can anyone 'feel sorry' for those who put themselves forward to lead.
Every day i wake up wondering how the hell Michael Gove got to where he is.
It's the young i feel sorry for especially those who were too young to vote last December.

I do think the schools returning could have been better organised. My DG has been isolating twice now after 2 confirmed cases on 2 separate occasions. The week before half term there was only two years in school. I know parents need to work but how can whole classes being sent home at hardly any notice be practical. They should have staggered the intake per week and made bubbles smaller with teachers staying with their own bubble and not crossing to others. Also the school has a drop off and pick up system that ticks all the boxes but some of the parents don’t distance, chat together in groups and roll their eyes if anyone points this out. One of whom I know is an A&E nurse. Lead by example, not.

Remember Boris' big red bus, when he was campaigning for the Brexit vote. If I remember correctly, £350m per week was going to be going to the NHS instead of the EU. Surely that will help towards more hospitals and staff. Or was that just a dream?

BlueBelle

Whenever we come out after a few weeks it ll shoot up
Until they get a workable track and trace nothing will make any difference or until they stop overseas travel This is now termed the ‘Spanish wave’ as it all came about from European travel, both ways
I m very annoyed as I m in a low risk area and we could easily have kept going

I think Primary schools should stay open but secondary schools, colleges and universities need to close and learn on-line until the end of this term/semester.
Primary school children are taken to and from school but over 11's have more independence and a social life with their friends outside their places of education. I haven't heard of any major Covid problems with Primary school staff and children but that is certainly not the case with the older students.

Our Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is calling for all schools to close.....!?

Your answer to reasons for another lockdown can be found in a recent open letter dated October 25th to the President of America by Archbishop Vigano.
If interested, research it yourselves.

bobbydog24

I do think the schools returning could have been better organised. My DG has been isolating twice now after 2 confirmed cases on 2 separate occasions. The week before half term there was only two years in school. I know parents need to work but how can whole classes being sent home at hardly any notice be practical. They should have staggered the intake per week and made bubbles smaller with teachers staying with their own bubble and not crossing to others. Also the school has a drop off and pick up system that ticks all the boxes but some of the parents don’t distance, chat together in groups and roll their eyes if anyone points this out. One of whom I know is an A&E nurse. Lead by example, not.

Subject specialists in secondary schools can't stay within their own bubble.

I agree that it's what's happening outside primary schools which is the problem. Not only the parents outside the school gates, but in rural areas children from all bubbles are on buses together.

The Dfe had six months to work out a better system and was told that schools' reopening before numbers came down really low with an effective Test and Trace system in place, would result in a rise in cases.

The DfE was determined to pander to public opinion and didn't listen to anybody who actually knows what goes on in schools. The so-called evidence it quoted was from a time when only a handful of children were in school and the media generally only showed pictures of half-empty classes. Schools never be Covid-safe, using the definition used for any other building. It's been a textbook lesson in how not to consult or communicate with stakeholders.

farview

Our Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is calling for all schools to close.....!?

What, and give all those lazy skiving teachers that so many Gransnetters complain about more free time with nothing to do? Surely it would be better to force them to stay in superspreading classrooms, looking after everyone’s grandchildren, until Covid dismisses them into coffins.

FWIW, every teacher I know wants to continue teaching in classrooms, even wearing masks and with windows open, bundled up in their outdoor coats. But let’s not kid ourselves that this is a good idea in terms of preventing the spread of infection. It’s absolutely true that children are rarely very ill. But they can give the virus to their teachers, dinner staff, lab technicians, parents, grandparents and carers. Some of those may become ill, very ill, or die. Any or all of them may spread the virus to other people they come into contact with in the community.

The beginning of the second wave coincided with schools opening in early September. Just saying...

I think they should just close schools and be done with it. It is the economy they are worried about. If schools close people cannot work. Our children are the future and much more important than money. Kids are the worst germ spreaders as lovely as they are. They should be kept safely at home until this whole thing calms down.

This is why secondary schools should have some kind of rota system. The rate of new infections in 11 to 16 year olds has risen more steeply than in any other age group.

Headteachers were told on the Thursday before the half term break to have distance learning packages in place. They could have been told much earlier. As it is, teachers have had to spend their break doing a huge amount of planning. Meanwhile, the government will try to make it seem that they have done everything possible to keep schools open and it was the lazy teachers and their unions who forced their hand.

Perhaps we'r going to be in 'lockdown' until young people stop having raves of 700 people which happened last night in Bristol and also stop attacking the police. Spoiled brats

Our lockdown in Wales is due to end on 9th November, I wonder if it will, it's been 8 weeks already

Lock down does no good. Unless a vaccine is literally just around the corner it simply moves the problem to a few months hence, wrecks the economy and ruins peoples lives. Only medical treatments which prevent those affected from developing serious and life threatening illness - and vaccination - will tame the virus, or possibly time itself. Most pandemics peter out in due course e.g. SARS, MERS and even the First World War Spanish flu.

SunnySusie

Lock down does no good. Unless a vaccine is literally just around the corner it simply moves the problem to a few months hence, wrecks the economy and ruins peoples lives. Only medical treatments which prevent those affected from developing serious and life threatening illness - and vaccination - will tame the virus, or possibly time itself. Most pandemics peter out in due course e.g. SARS, MERS and even the First World War Spanish flu.

Lockdown gives the NHS a breather. Badly needed

We haven’t locked down in Scotland but are on Tiers. I’m not sure if a full lockdown would be a better idea. I think people do what they’re told more if it’s a total lockdown.

aonk

I’ve just been reading the papers. It seems there is very little evidence that schools are contributing to the current severe rise in cases. It’s a different scenario in the universities of course. Yes there have been some infections in schools, nearly always among the adults and, certainly in my area they seem to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. It’s yet another burden on our shaky economy if working parents have to homeschool and care for their children during the school day. I’ve also seen first hand how damaging this can be for the mental health of both children and parents.

Unless we are testing all children to get an idea of how infectious they are, there is no evidence at all that they are less infectious than the rest of society. They can easily be asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms which are gone before you know it. My grown up son and one day of feeling hot and a slight cough who wouldn't have known he was a risk to anyone else except he got privately tested because he knew he had been in the vicinity of someone who had tested positive. However, I do think that we need to be careful about denying children an education unless we look at adding an extra year or two to their school years.

No matter who is in charge politically, they are all going to be playing this by ear. This is a totally new situation which is a balancing act. No matter what any government do, they will be damned by a public who just want a magic wand waved to make it better. I feel sorriest for those who are caught in the gaps so they aren't getting the right benefits or qualify for Furlough.

I am not interested so much in what adults do I’m afraid. We must all calculate our own risks. I am moderately at risk but have chosen to continue to work part time in education and I am adamant that schools should stay open . I am much more concerned about children’s and adolescents mental health we should not jeopardise our children’s welfare, it is much more complicated than just learning. Close what you like but don’t mess with my grandchildren

Tinydancer I think you have mistaken the total number of Covid-related deaths with excess deaths. As I said, total deaths are pretty much normal for the time of year, riding near the 5 year maxima. Here is the link to the relevant Office of National Statistics graphs for total deaths and showing Covid-related deaths and other respiratory deaths. There will be excess deaths from all the cardiac, stroke, cancer and other patients not treated by our "National Covid Service" . There was a peak in the Spring, but not now.
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending16october2020

TwiceAsNice

I am not interested so much in what adults do I’m afraid. We must all calculate our own risks. I am moderately at risk but have chosen to continue to work part time in education and I am adamant that schools should stay open . I am much more concerned about children’s and adolescents mental health we should not jeopardise our children’s welfare, it is much more complicated than just learning. Close what you like but don’t mess with my grandchildren

So you know that classrooms aren't Covid safe environments. I just don't understand how anybody who professes to care about young people can force them into that environment. It would have been better right from the start to plan for blended learning because that's what we're going to end up with - all arranged at the last minute and as a reaction to what's going on, rather than taking control of it.

Parent don't know from one day to the next whether their child will infected or told to self-isolate because there is so much transmission. It would have been better to avoid the transmission as much as possible by having half classes and enabling social distancing. Parents would have been able to plan better too.

NemosMum

Tinydancer I think you have mistaken the total number of Covid-related deaths with excess deaths. As I said, total deaths are pretty much normal for the time of year, riding near the 5 year maxima. Here is the link to the relevant Office of National Statistics graphs for total deaths and showing Covid-related deaths and other respiratory deaths. There will be excess deaths from all the cardiac, stroke, cancer and other patients not treated by our "National Covid Service" . There was a peak in the Spring, but not now.
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending16october2020

And there will be even more non-Covid deaths, if hospitals are full of Covid patients and even more resources are diverted.

People in denial are the problem.

Yes, take a look at Figure 2, where the five year average is marked by a dotted line. I don't see any second wave there.

Hetty58

Yes, take a look at Figure 2, where the five year average is marked by a dotted line. I don't see any second wave there.

the figures are only up to the 16 October. They have risen dramatically since then.

I worked through the last lockdown and will through this one . I think people have become a lot more complacent about social distancing when the mask wearing came in and just walk round stores and public places as though things are normal . I think more emphasis should be placed on distancing to remind people that it still needs to be done ?

The Government have made a complete cock-up and anyone feeling sorry for them with all the money they are raking from this, you are truly deluded!!!

Test and Trace has been done completely wrong, and not nearly half the amount of people that should have been contacted were!

I cannot believe people STILL think they are doing the best they can! We should have locked down weeks ago! A circuit breaker, instead of this now...but they didn't, because just like in March they dithered and delayed and thousands died!!

Those folk who only follow the newspapers though are going to think they're doing well, seeing as Murdoch supports/owns the Tories!

12 billion spent, world beating test & trace? Not on your nelly.

They are thieves...the lot of them. One of them even voting to keep Children hungry over Christmas and then asking our local tea-rooms in Aylesbury if they could bring the press to help hand out the lunches that the tea-room itself was organising & paying for! Just for a photo op!

Tories are robbing us in broad daylight.