Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[6Foot2]

Just in case you need to know the difference between Tier 3 and 4, The Times has this helpful guide which made us giggle

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Expect no exceptions!

 

[witch]

There has already been a bit of a row on Facebook about where the border between Dorset Council in tier 3 and BournemouthChristchurchPoole council in tier 4 actually is! On one road there is a sign, but on the parallel one there isnt and there are all sorts of arguments as to what is where. I will be doing my best to walk my dog in the appropriate tier, but I think I will probably stray across the lines here and there! Edited December 31, 2020 by witch

[mikeprice]

Hello from Tier 3 (Liverpool City Region)

 

for those that are confused - it was announced that Liverpool was moving to Tier 3 - when he meant Liverpool City Region - which is different - and is also different to Merseyside - how that makes it clear

 

anyway - we are tier 3 - but my normal bike ride goes near Warrington - which is in Tier 4 - so that is out

 

which is OK because last time I rode along that towpath I would have kept drier cycling IN the canal

 

I will have to check where the boundaries are and not venture too far East

 

 

 

On a similar note a Geography Teacher I used to know pointed out something important

 

You know you sometime see signs saying something like "You are leaving $county" - then a bit further up the road, maybe 100 yards, there is another one saying "Welcome to $othercounty"

or, round her, "Welcome to Wales" then " and sign saying you are in Flintshire later on

 

 

Well - the Geography teacher reckoned that the gap between the 2 signs is deliberate - the official map has the official line defining the legal boundary - and the gap between the 2 signs if the width of the line of the map

The land between the 2 signs is not officially in either county - and if a house happens to be there the 2 counties just come to a decision of who gets it - but legally it is not in either county

 

 

he MAY not have been serious

[6Foot2]

We have just found out that our son cannot return to his university campus until, at the earliest, 25^th of January (information via their website) This advice has changed compared with yesterday when it said that students could return from 4^th of January onward.

 

Check university websites!

[Andrew_C]

Around here there's a pub that the Hants / Wilts border went between the lounge and public bars. Convenient when hours were set at county level.

[Andrew_C]

We have just found out that our son cannot return to his university campus

Could you tell me which Uni? My nephew is post-grad somewhere they are claiming this is "impossible".

[Steve21]

Could you tell me which Uni? My nephew is post-grad somewhere they are claiming this is "impossible".

 

That'd be every uni Unless it's practical/on-site teaching they've all been informed by DfE to delay returns until then

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/948669/Letter_from_Michelle_Donelan_to_higher_education_providers_.pdf

 

All remaining courses should continue to be offered online from the beginning of term. Given the rising infection rates, the return of all other students should be paused until at least the week commencing 25 January. The government will review this decision and provide further communication to providers in the week commencing 18 January

 

Steve

[6Foot2]

Could you tell me which Uni? My nephew is post-grad somewhere they are claiming this is "impossible".

 

Falmouth University:

 

Link: Latest Information for Students [Falmouth University]

 

[6Foot2]

[Ditto]

Falmouth University:

 

Link: Latest Information for Students [Falmouth University]

 

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Just visited the link and for me it says

[6Foot2]

Just visited the link and for me it says

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Odd. That was the message we saw yesterday.

 

Edit: I have cleared my cache/history etc and I now get the message that you see, the message that was on their website yesterday.

 

We are going to make contact with (a person at) the university tomorrow.

Edited December 31, 2020 by 6Foot2

[elsiegee40]

Return to working in school posts have been merged into this thread

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/employment-issues-advice/219450-return-school-expectations.html

[Steve21]

Looks like all of London primarys have been u-turned after the latest Union briefings (Wonder if more to come over the wekeend?):

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55511169

 

Steve

[elsiegee40]

My best friend has a daughter (who conveniently is besties with my daughter) living at home who is a nurse at Great Ormond Street. GOSH hasn’t been treating covid patients; they’ve been taking kids from other hospitals who are in a serious condition and need to be away from the risk of covid.

 

Nurse Daughter was working nights through Christmas and on Boxing Day morning came home feeling crap. She did a test and immediately tested positive

 

My friend has bad Crohn’s Disease and has to take immunosuppressants. She had to move out immediately to on medical advice as she has no resistance to anything. Her father died last year and his bungalow is still empty so she moved in there.

 

As a family they were planning to celebrate Christmas on Boxing Day. They haven’t celebrated it at all.

 

As of today nurse daughter is still feeling awful - no improvement... but no worse either fortunately. Dreadful headache/sore eyes, aching all over, cough, no sense of taste or smell... so classic Covid.

 

My son, who went down with it a couple of weeks before Christmas was lucky comparatively. He had aches and pains everywhere, especially headache and his spinal cord was so painful he said it felt like it was trying to get out of his back. However, it lasted 4 days and after that the pain eased and he was left with fatigue which passed over the next week.

 

I have seen reports about people left unable to walk unassisted after covid, so I am counting his lucky stars that the neural effects were so brief.

 

I can’t wait for my turn to come round for immunisation, but readily accept that others need priority such as medical staff, school staff and the immunosuppressed.

[elsiegee40]

Covid: All London primary schools to stay closed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55511169

[6Foot2]

Link: NSW makes face masks mandatory as state records seven new Covid cases [The Guardian]

 

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said she does not want to “restrict business activity, jobs or economic activity”, announcing new restrictions including mandatory masks, as seven new cases of community transmission of coronavirus were announced on Saturday.

 

Meanwhile Victoria’s hard border blocking travel from NSW took effect, with the Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, saying he would not apologise for taking tough measures to prevent virus spread. The ACT health department also announced non-ACT residents travelling from affected areas of NSW would now need an exemption.

 

From midnight Saturday, the southern zone of the NSW northern beaches would be subject to the same restrictions as greater Sydney, as Berejiklian said the risk had reduced there. Restrictions for the northern zone of the northern beaches remained the same, with stay at home orders in place until 9 January.

 

New measures were announced for greater Sydney including Wollongong, the Central Coast and Blue Mountains. Face masks will be mandatory indoors at shopping centres, on public transport, in cinemas and theatres, places of worship, and in hair and beauty premises. Face masks will also be mandatory for all staff in hospitality venues and casinos and for patrons using gaming services.

 

Compliance will start from 4 January when the grace period ends and people will face a $200 on-the-spot fine if they are not wearing a mask. Children under 12 are exempt but are encouraged to wear masks where practicable.

 

Controlled outdoor gatherings have been reduced to 2,000 people unless an exemption is granted. An exemption has been granted for the Sydney cricket Test.

 

“We would never impose anything on our citizens unless we thought it was necessary, and we have learned a lot,” Berejiklian said. “We don’t want to restrict business activity or jobs or economic activity. We want to be in that state where we are encouraging people to work, to go about their daily business, although in a Covid-safe way, to allow us to manage the virus...

[6Foot2]

"Worried you could be a crow? Find out here. Turn right."

 

[mikeprice]

"Worried you could be a crow? Find out here. Turn right."

 

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I presume that they have a twisty lane leading to it

 

if you go directly 'as the crow flies' you get an automatic positive

 

 

(I'm sure there was a better version of that in there - just couldn't think of it!)

[Steve21]

DFE is now under legal action from unions regarding returns

 

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/02/government-faces-major-revolt-on-schools-reopening-in-england-over-covid-fears

 

Again who knows what’s happened by Monday!!

 

Edit - A TES links been updated if you prefer it to guardian: https://www.tes.com/news/national-teacher-walk-out-over-covid-safety-expected

 

and https://www.tes.com/news/exclusive-heads-covid-school-safety-legal-challenge

 

Steve

Edited January 2, 2021 by Steve21

[6Foot2]

 

The head teachers' union has begun legal action against the Government in a bid to make ministers reveal why they think it's safe for schools to re-open on Monday - amid the rapid rise in coronavirus cases. (Subscribe: https://bit.ly/C4_News_Subscribe)

 

All primary schools in London will now stay shut next week, as well as some in the south east of England - but pressure is mounting on the Government to delay school reopening across England.

 

More hospitals are struggling to cope with high levels of infection - triggered by the new variant of the virus that's spreading fast.

 

In the last 24 hours, there have been a further 57,725 new cases across the UK.

 

Another 445 deaths have sadly been recorded. That means a total of 74,570.

[Simcfc73]

Just got an email in my junk from [email protected]

 

Some of the text includes......

 

The use of any pharmaceutical products, including test kits, comes with risks and responsibilities. Some test kits contain toxic chemicals on the swabs1 that can be dangerous to put in the mouth and nasal passage. Schools must acknowledge financial and medical liability for illness, injury or psychological damage that may occur as a result of carrying out these procedures

 

Looks like its from UK Medical Freedom Alliance (UKMFA)

[nicholab]

Having been out of education for a year and a bit I have been working at home since March.

 

I don’t understand why some SLT want support staff in when they have jobs that could be done at home. A large proportion of them are office based so could be working at home.

 

It also seem strange that some schools did not have catch up with students on a weekly basis.

[Steve21]

I don’t understand why some SLT want support staff in when they have jobs that could be done at home. A large proportion of them are office based so could be working at home.

 

Probably to prepare for the flow testing on site

 

Steve

[LeMarchand]

I don’t understand why some SLT want support staff in when they have jobs that could be done at home. A large proportion of them are office based so could be working at home.

 

Combination of WfH being seen as "skiving" and a good part of the job is being seen to be available at any time that a teacher (metaphorically) needs their hand holding.

[mikeprice]

I think a lot of 'bosses' have a lack of trust when it comes to people working from home.

 

Based on what I have seen here this seems to maybe be especially pronounced for non teachers - hence the 'teacher work from home' but 'other staff must be in school' situations

 

And I do wonder how many teacher have done very little in terms of hours over the last year - compared with normal. I know my granddaughter has been sent very little work to do and has had one catch up with her teacher

I would imagine it is better in secondary than primary - but