Covid Watch: New School Rules, Teachers with Covid

New School Rules

There's been some confusion on Social Media about the new school testing arrangements about less PCR tests. Some people have thought it meant less Covid testing, but it does not.

As I understand it, the new rules for schools will still keep children safe but will mean less PCR tests undertaken without compromising safety. That means that schoolchildren identified as direct contacts are enrolled onto a 10 day lateral flow test regime. Should they test positive, or should they start showing symptoms, they will need to take a PCR test. 

So the number of PCR tests falls, but the number of cases testing positive should remain as consistent as if PCR tests were carried out on direct contacts straight away. Lateral flow tests are not quite as good as picking up Covid in the early stages, but a 10 days sequence should prove as effective as a PCR test.

Note another safeguard: if the children are identified as direct contacts outside the school environment, then a PCR test is mandatory as for any adult.

The aim is to stop children going for PCR tests 3 or more times a week.

This has happened, largely because a child is identified as a direct contact multiple times - when a Covid case occurs, what seems to have happened is that a class list has been given, and without checking whether children are already scheduled, they are put on the PCR testing list as a direct contact. 

A similar issue has occurred when children away from school - either with Covid or other illness - have also been put on the PCR testing list, because the class list is a list of those children assigned to a class, not a register of those present.

 
Teachers before the Bells goes

For the Week ending 8 November: 207 pupils 19 teachers

Week ending 15 November: 321 pupils 37 teachers

One of the schools issued this on the 23rd November:

"I am writing to inform you that I have today had to make the difficult decision to arrange for  year 9 students to work from home on Wednesday 24 November 2021. You will be aware of the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 at the school. The team are currently working on contacting all those who are classed as direct contacts. The decision to close to Year 9 on Wednesday has been made as a direct result of the number of our teaching and support staff that are absent from school for a variety of reasons in relation to COVID-19."

This is something the Government does not seem to be addressing. As can be seen, the number of teachers tested positive with Covid is starting to rise exponentially, as it did back in June. 

Teachers with Covid may be deemed recovered after 10 days, but of course that doesn't mean they are well enough to resume teaching duties - the prevalence of Long Covid symptoms may well preclude that.

It is likely that temporary closures may become more frequent as the term progresses.