Schools

I would think that people who work in food supermarkets ought to be counted as keyworkers. Perhaps they are.

MOST schools will close from Friday (3pm, or whatever time the children usually finish). Pupils who have a parent working for the NHS, police, delivery services (postal, shops, etc), or pupils with special educational or welfare needs will still go to school.

I deliver meals to a school where the pupils ALL have special needs, so that will still be open.

Just mentioned elsewhere that children were careering around B&Q and their mother announcing she kept them out of school because of the corona virus. Just hoping they weren’t carriers super spreading the virus to the customers who were mainly pensioners at that time of day. Idiots abound!

I've just sent a text to SIL to say that I cannot possibly have them. Don't think he's chuffed.

A level and GCSE exams have been cancelled. I work as a private tutor, so I've just lost most of my income. :-(

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51952712 Just checked and sadly I had heard correctly!

Sussex what seems to be happening in Italy is that the rate of increase of new cases is slowing down ( slowly) . However, the number of deaths is still increasing - this is because there is a time lag between getting the disease and dying of maybe upto a month. So roughly, you would expect to see numbers of deaths decrease a little while the % increase of cases starts to go down.

X posts - I’ll follow that link. Thanks

I think the link is what I said - deaths still increasing but that’s from cases identified a while ago . Rate of increase of new cases is slightly declining - ?

grow so you’re another casualty - so sorry.

I hope those children involved won't resent having to go to school and will see it as a treat not a punishment when their mates are at home playing on their computers. Teachers are pretty resourceful and creative but they will need to relax uniform rules, and allow the kids to choose activities etc. Quite a challenge all round.

Does the school closure include nurseries?

I don't see how this will work

Surely most people do important jobs

I'm also unsure as to why these children will continue to go to school.

You get one with the virus.

Infects the other children

They go home and infect the parents doing the front line jobs

I don't t think the government has thought this through

Many schools just don't have the staff to be safe. My local school has had a quarter of the pupils and staff off sick. They had to put three year groups of secondary pupils together to watch a film today. The teacher/student ratio exceeded safety regulations.

Thanks suzie. I've been dreading this scenario and am worried sick. I won't have enough income to pay my rent and bills, which is why I've been so angry about people complaining about haircuts, etc.

It’s about risk reduction not risk eradication ( which is impossible). And no, in times of pandemic, not all jobs are equally important

Yes, all nursery and day care facilities will close Gummie. Again, they will be required to make provision for the children of key workers etc

OOpsminty, what would suggest as a better alternative than the government proposals?
I'm not a Conservative supporter but it seems to me the government is following expert advice. The plans for the children of key workers and vulnerable children seem reasonably well thought out in a situation that changes daily.

There’s jobs, and then there are more important jobs in these times Oopsminty

I felt guilty that I could not look after my GC because I am 73 and with lung problems so I felt a bit better when Boris said that grandparents would be too much at risk.

There’s jobs, and then there are more important jobs in these times Oopsminty

Shop workers? I think they're needed at present

Cleaners? Very important

Taxi Drivers? Again, important. Especially getting some of the vulnerable children into school

Gas engineers? We will need them if the heating goes off

Electricians? Just as vital

No, I am sorry. This isn't viable.

My daughter is a teacher and they are up in arms about how this is going to work,

You either shut down schools or you don't

This virus is not going to ignore you because your mother is a nurse

And if a child of a medical professional gets this then it gets spread to everyone else

And all those 'more important' workers may end up either ill or having to isolate

Half hearted measure. Ill thought out.

Thanks. I see what you mean. Wasn’t intending to put forward fake news!?. There’s been enough of that already!

Not a half hearted measure at all, fail to see that.
Children of NHS staff ( which no doubt is everyone, from consultants down to cleaners) children of police personnel and other key workers, plus all vulnerable children including those who have a social worker will all continue to go to school.It may not be their own school.
All our DGC fit into this category and aren’t happy about it ( the eldest hoped to be playing computer games for months on end) but their parents are hugely relieved and can continue working.

Perhaps important is not the right word. Vital is a better one.
Yes, most jobs are pretty vital, but if Boris had just announced all schools were closing, with no provision for NHS and others, it would all have been ‘what about the children of nurses, what about the kids who won’t get a school dinner’ etc. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place.

I feel sorry for those children from poor homes who see school as an " outlet ". If you get my drift. What about their lunches ? It's the only meal of the day for some.

I was wondering how it was going to work, who is going to be responsible for deciding who is in and who isn't, and who is going to tell the parents! I suppose it will be the head teacher. It's not something I'd want to be responsible for. I also wonder about how effective it will be if some children are still going to school. I was wondering if my GCs are socially isolated for 2-3 weeks would it then be safe for them to see me? I suppose it will depend if their parents stay away from others as well. So many problems!