bulldogproud wrote:whufc wrote:Dutchy wrote:bulldogproud wrote:This is what concerned me and why I posted a lot - to try to get people to realise how serious the school situation was. Most shedders are asymptomatic; most young people are asymptomatic. Covid-19 in asymptomatic people is very scary, like a stealth bomber going undetected until it strikes someone who it can do some nasty work on. A lot of teachers in schools are over 50 and with various risk factors (e.g. diabetic, high blood pressure)
I better go, reached my daily limit of posts imposed by Mein Fuhrer Bum Crack
Mate its not just schools that have risks, for some teachers they are only exposed to 30 kids for the day, some other workers are exposed to hundreds every day, think about Centrelink workers currently for example.
I appreciate everything Teachers do for our kids, they are really committed to their jobs, but gee don't we hear about it when things don't got their way.
Couldnt agree more! Think of Woolies, Foodland staff etc. At least teachers have somewhat control over the people within their space.
Sorry, just had to make one more comment on this (and it is after midnight, so Mein Fuhrer should allow me).
If you think it is just for teachers that we are doing this, think again please!
A number of experts in the field, learning that I was a teacher who had to be tested for this virus (Mr Bill Bowtell, Dr David Caldicott, Dr David Allen, Dr Alan Baxter) asked me on Twitter to get this message out to people before it was too late. Thankfully, Dr Norman Swan has also joined in this, calling for us to absolutely smash Covid-19, not just mitigate it. It is the information from these esteemed experts in the field that I am sharing. I am just a standard teacher, they are the experts. The points I am making come from them, not so much from me.
WHO studies in Vu, Massachusetts, Iceland and Wuhan have all proven that most transference is from asymptomatic individuals. Most young people who contract Covid-19 are asymptomatic. The age range that most school parents fall into (20-39) is overrepresented in the statistics. You would expect it to be much lower than for older people; it is at the same level for the 60's age group and above those for 70's and 80's.
Is there a possible connection between school parents being hit hard by Covid-19 and it being passed on asymptomatically in schools? The jury is still out on that one. We can only know if we start testing asymptomatic schoolchildren - which it doesn't look as if it is going to happen for a long, long time. However, are we prepared to take the risk that it isn't being transferred, or do we value human life?
Asymptomatic shedding is the worst kind of shedding as it is like a stealth bomber. If it is in schools, it can be moving from one child, to another child, to another child, then to an adult, another adult etc. without maybe being detected until it hits someone really hard. If this is possibly happening, shouldn't we err on the side of caution??
Who are people like us concerned for? Well, for one; any bus driver transporting the students, assistants at shops whom the young people may visit to buy a drink from on the way home, cleaners (after medical staff, trust us, these guys are the real heros - very much on the front line of dealing with the virus!), medical staff who may need to deal with cases arising from these transferences, parents, children (always the number one concern of teachers).. and YOU, the general community.
Additionally, closing down schools will be the one real way of sending a message to young people that they will actually listen to. At the moment, as their life is less altered than the rest of society, they still seem to have a feeling of 'immunity', that it can't happen to them, that their life can be continued pretty much as is.
I teach at a school that is regarded (rightly or wrongly) as a fairly academic school. You would think that Year 12s at this school would be bright enough to follow social distancing rules, wouldn't you? Well, at least we would hope so. Unfortunately, it is not so easy for young adults to always remember to social-distance. Just about every classroom I go into, there will be students friendly gangtackling one another or similar. This is a mentality that is very difficult to stop - think back to when you were in the 14- to-18 age group. If it is hard for this age group, I am sure it is even harder for the younger ones. Social distancing in schools is incredibly hard to implement and enforce - it is a losing battle!
Many young people think they are invincible and call this virus the 'exit boomer virus'. In fact, some people on here seem to be reinforcing that opinion, and also a lot on the media. Well, not only can it be passed on from children to adults, but it can also have a severe impact on children.
They are now in ICUs on ventilators gasping for breath, in fact some are even dying!! Until we can get young people to realise they are not invincible, their actions won't change.
I just wish you could see this, I know that a number of you can... but those of you who said that the campaign for closing schools was just about 'precious teachers' PLEASE think again, please! This is for YOUR life as much as it is for any teacher. We really need to absolutely SMASH this virus immediately. It can be done with a total lockdown for a period of 8 to 12 weeks, with then domestic activities opened up again, but not allowing any international movements until a vaccine is found. However, rather than the 6 to 12 month partial closures that those calling for mitigation seek, a TOTAL lockdown only needs to be for that 8 to 12 week period.
Anyway, I hope I got through to some of you. If I didn't and I see some more 'teacher bashing' comments on here tomorrow, you will have succeeded and will not be hearing from me again on this topic. I promised that the other night, but it was too important an issue to leave. If I can't get through now, then I never will!
Sorry about the incredibly long rant, but if ever an issue was important enough to warrant one, it is this one!
Cheers and good health to each and every one of you.