Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[paulkerton]

A lot of our offices including IT don't have 2m between people and only one exit and entry point

What are we meant to do if problems in classrooms ie wait till they are empty or been deep cleaned

The government are saying don't travel at busy times so do I got to work early and leave early

 

We're doing the following:

• Rotating work schedule between home working and working on site. We have two inset days so we'll all be in for those and work out a schedule then.
  
• Any on-site in class work has to wait until there are no children in. We are not to break bubbles. Our IT office is big enough for the two technicians to sit in, but we've requested a saloon door for people who have to visit.
  
• We are 8am to 4pm anyway, and I usually get in around 7:45am so leave at 3:45pm
  

[LeMarchand]

I thought that the official line was, "Get back to work, proles! You can only work from home if your home is Chequers"?

[keyboards]

We're doing the following:

• Rotating work schedule between home working and working on site. We have two inset days so we'll all be in for those and work out a schedule then.
  
• Any on-site in class work has to wait until there are no children in. We are not to break bubbles. Our IT office is big enough for the two technicians to sit in, but we've requested a saloon door for people who have to visit.
  
• We are 8am to 4pm anyway, and I usually get in around 7:45am so leave at 3:45pm
  

 

This all sound sensible but I'm sure that would fly for us with the powers that be and probably other workers in other schools.

[stevejp]

I thought that the official line was, "Get back to work, proles! You can only work from home if your home is Chequers"?

 

...or if you advise the bloke whose (temporary - We hope!) home is Chequers...

[Rob_D]

Obviously the kids will be back but for us I'm confused about

A lot of our offices including IT don't have 2m between people and only one exit and entry point

What are we meant to do if problems in classrooms ie wait till they are empty or been deep cleaned

The government are saying don't travel at busy times so do I got to work early and leave early

We've been told that all staff must be on site, and there won't be "any tolerance" for home working or shift patterns.

They're talking about needing all the support staff to help with crowd control, or do all the last minute copying for the teachers (as they can't use assembly time for it now).

The main take-away was that we will have to be flexible and we'll probably be working way out of our job specs on some things.

 

Supposedly we can have 2 people per IT office within the guidelines which covers us all, but there are other teams who will have the problem of not being able to "fit" everyone in one office within regulations (especially internal offices) so we're hunting down other locations that can be used as office space (mostly meeting and training rooms, but only because the store cupboards doesn't have a network points.)

 

But as with all this stuff, it keeps changing. So who knows what's going to actually happen in September.

[6Foot2]

Link: Councils can demolish contaminated buildings under powers to stop second coronavirus wave [The Telegraph]

 

Care homes, factories, offices and even private homes could be bulldozed as last resort if virus starts to run out of control.

 

Local authorities will be able to order the demolition of buildings at the centre of coronavirus outbreaks under draconian powers to contain a potential second wave.

 

Cars, buses, trains and aeroplanes could also be destroyed subject to the approval of magistrates.

 

Boris Johnson remains determined to avoid a second nationwide lockdown and has given a broad range of powers to local councils to contain outbreaks as soon as they are detected.

 

Councils will be able to draw on six separate Acts of Parliament to impose lightning closures of public buildings, order mass testing, ban events or shut down whole sectors of the economy.

 

They will also be able to limit school openings to set year groups and restrict travel to key workers only....

 

Full article behind Telegraph paywall.

 

Will your school be there to go back to?

 

This seems a bit over the top. A 'deep clean' is not enough? Items left for three days is deemed safe. Make sure that a suspect building is not entered AT ALL for a period substantially longer than three days (advice to be sought on how long would suffice) This would be a cheaper alternative with fewer repercussions for the local and wider communities.

 

Just a thought...

[Andrew_C]

This would be a cheaper alternative with fewer repercussions for the local and wider communities.

 

Just a thought...

But less work for the company given the job of rebuilding? S*rco?

[HarryMonkey]

 

A lot of our offices including IT don't have 2m between people and only one exit and entry point

 

We have been through all the offices as well as staff workrooms and there are notices on the doors as to how many people can be in the office at one time. Many of our data and admin staff will work from home where possible still and maybe come in once a week. PCs have been removed from staff rooms where they can't be placed 2m apart.

 

Students will be able to come to our office but there will be a table with a PC by the door for them to log into to demonstrate any issues and they won't be allowed beyond it. They will need to queue up outside where necessary. The keyboard and mouse will be wiped over after each use. Students must sanitize their hands before using it.

[Ditto]

We've been told that all staff must be on site, and there won't be "any tolerance" for home working or shift patterns.

 

This hard-ball approach, in my opinion, shows a lack respect for returning staff and some of these could come from the vulnerable or highly vulnerable community. If the DfE guidance is read, a big part of the intent is to guide how reduce risk of transmission. If home working or shift patterns can meet the needs of the school and the children's education, but also reduce the risk of transmission, it absolutely should be considered. A zero tolerance mantra in the current scenario, is an ignorant and unnecessarily dangerous attitude.

[sonofsanta]

Starting to question whether all this is a conspiracy to track us through masks. There's evidence out there that the MSM are deliberately suppressing. Wake up, sheeple! Just look at this video! [Twitter]

[Ditto]

With a couple of recent reports around transmission in schools, one in US and one in South Korea, suggesting school children are significant carriers and transmitters, but with the UK view being there is little evidence (and for balance, also some US articles backing this view too), it's very tricky to feel confident about how September onwards will pan out. The fact that generally we are all going to be indoors more as we go through Autumn in to Winter, even if there is an increase, it will be impossible to say it is directly linked to school's opening. I just hope as many schools as possible have contingency plans for remote learning in case of local lockdowns.

[keyboards]

I see the teaching unions vs the government has started in the paper today, going to be an interesting few weeks ahead

[timbo343]

If this post's point has been discussed before, please ignore.

 

I'm following a positive test within the F1 driver line up - Sergio Perez. He tested positive on race weekend 31st July 2020 after returning home to Mexico to see his ill mother.

 

It claims he contracted the virus on Mexico and is asymptomatic.

 

So, he tested positive race weekend 31st July 2020.

 

He tested positive again race weekend 7th August 2020.

 

If he tests positive again this weekend, 14th August 2020, does that mean the theory for self isolation for 10 days goes out the window?

 

Is there an "all clear" test that we don't know about or is it all based on assumption? Should those that get tested be tested every few days to make sure they are clear of the virus?

 

I do stand to be corrected if i have the wrong end of the stick with this.

[jmak]

If this post's point has been discussed before, please ignore.

 

I'm following a positive test within the F1 driver line up - Sergio Perez. He tested positive on race weekend 31st July 2020 after returning home to Mexico to see his ill mother.

 

It claims he contracted the virus on Mexico and is asymptomatic.

 

So, he tested positive race weekend 31st July 2020.

 

He tested positive again race weekend 7th August 2020.

 

If he tests positive again this weekend, 14th August 2020, does that mean the theory for self isolation for 10 days goes out the window?

 

Is there an "all clear" test that we don't know about or is it all based on assumption? Should those that get tested be tested every few days to make sure they are clear of the virus?

 

I do stand to be corrected if i have the wrong end of the stick with this.

It is my understanding that the NHS are actively choosing not to retest staff who have had one positive test - they rely on the time elapsed.

 

You might speculate that they're doing that because it would be too inconvenient to find out whether staff were still positive. I wouldn't like to comment [emoji854]

 

There are cases reported of patients testing positive over 82 days after recovering. The research seems to suggest that the test detects dead or inactive virus particles, which may be present long after recovery and when the patient also has antibodies and is fairly convincingly uninfectious.

 

Some info here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-19/covid-patients-testing-positive-after-recovery-aren-t-infectious

 

I think the NHS might be right and it's F1 not "following the science".

[sonofsanta]

With a couple of recent reports around transmission in schools, one in US and one in South Korea, suggesting school children are significant carriers and transmitters, but with the UK view being there is little evidence (and for balance, also some US articles backing this view too), it's very tricky to feel confident about how September onwards will pan out. The fact that generally we are all going to be indoors more as we go through Autumn in to Winter, even if there is an increase, it will be impossible to say it is directly linked to school's opening. I just hope as many schools as possible have contingency plans for remote learning in case of local lockdowns.

 

 

I still cannot fathom that the official advice for crowded buildings of 1000+ people, potentially from a relatively wide geographic area (our catchment area is at least a 30 mile radius here in Lincolnshire), stuck inside with each other for 7 hours, is explicitly to remove the mask on entering the building. If they exempted the kids I'd not be delighted but could at least understand their logic (even if I didn't agree with it--I'd prefer "better safe than sorry"), but to tell the staff to remove them as well is just... well, I haven't got a word that encapsulates the callous nonsense.

[FishCustard]

This hard-ball approach, in my opinion, shows a lack respect for returning staff and some of these could come from the vulnerable or highly vulnerable community. If the DfE guidance is read, a big part of the intent is to guide how reduce risk of transmission. If home working or shift patterns can meet the needs of the school and the children's education, but also reduce the risk of transmission, it absolutely should be considered. A zero tolerance mantra in the current scenario, is an ignorant and unnecessarily dangerous attitude.

Entirely agreed. Some organisations (schools and otherwise) are so focused on forcing "normality" that they entirely ignore the issue of infection control.

[paulkerton]

I just hope as many schools as possible have contingency plans for remote learning in case of local lockdowns.

The current plan seems to be that schools will remain open in spite of local lockdowns.

It's sure gonna be fun to see what happens when teaching staff are told to self-isolate to the point that the school doesn't have the staffing numbers to make it feasible!

[jthompson]

I still cannot fathom that the official advice for crowded buildings of 1000+ people, potentially from a relatively wide geographic area (our catchment area is at least a 30 mile radius here in Lincolnshire), stuck inside with each other for 7 hours, is explicitly to remove the mask on entering the building. If they exempted the kids I'd not be delighted but could at least understand their logic (even if I didn't agree with it--I'd prefer "better safe than sorry"), but to tell the staff to remove them as well is just... well, I haven't got a word that encapsulates the callous nonsense.

 

This one confuses me, too. I get that there are considerations above my pay grade about how face masks might affect classroom management and things, and I'll admit that I don't know what those actually are. However, if it gets to a point where businesses are worried about being told to close in order to allow schools to remain open, schools are going to have a difficult PR job on their hands to explain why they're not even allowing masks.

[keyboards]

Yeah when I last went in and I think the current instruction is still to remove your mask, which I don't understand as above.

[sigma]

There is mounting evidence about direct transmission through airborne particles being the main vector. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent-we-talking-more-about-airborne-transmission/614737/

 

In light of this, a full return and a banning of masks look increasingly dumb.

 

I have 2 questions - apologies if they have been asked before.

 

1. If you have symptoms and get a negative test result, why are schools still the only setting where a quarantine period is not allowed?

 

2. If somebody in your school tests positive, are you certain that you will be told? Will they be named?

 

3. If somebody in your school tests positive do you know exactly what the process will be to stop the spread? Will those they travel to school with be quarantined? Will the bubble be quarantined? Will all teaching and support staff that they have had prolonged (say over 10 mins in the same room) be quarantined?

 

It all seems a bit vague at the moment.

[sonofsanta]

3. If somebody in your school tests positive do you know exactly what the process will be to stop the spread? Will those they travel to school with be quarantined? Will the bubble be quarantined? Will all teaching and support staff that they have had prolonged (say over 10 mins in the same room) be quarantined?

 

 

I think I can answer this fairly easily--no, because with so much mixing outside the bubbles (buses, siblings at home, teachers moving between the bubbles) it would take very little indeed to shut the school, and they don't want to do that, so we all get to risk our lives instead.

 

I have said expressly that we in IT will still be wearing masks as we inevitable get close to people in trying to fix their PC, and because I don't want to be breathing all over their equipment. Maybe we should carry a bottle of antibac with us too, so we can spray once we're done fixing stuff.

[Lonix]

I just hope as many schools as possible have contingency plans for remote learning in case of local lockdowns.

 

I know a lot of schools that have been putting things together all last minute. Some not long ago got things up and running.

 

Home learning - call it whatever you will. Really should have been sorted out years ago when more and more parents/kids got devices. Wi-fi alone has become like an arm to kids and even to a lot of adults.

 

Still nice to see those that claimed it was a waste of time now have these systems in place.

[jthompson]

I think I can answer this fairly easily--no, because with so much mixing outside the bubbles (buses, siblings at home, teachers moving between the bubbles) it would take very little indeed to shut the school, and they don't want to do that, so we all get to risk our lives instead.

 

I have said expressly that we in IT will still be wearing masks as we inevitable get close to people in trying to fix their PC, and because I don't want to be breathing all over their equipment. Maybe we should carry a bottle of antibac with us too, so we can spray once we're done fixing stuff.

 

Much of the focus during planning for September is going to be around students, teachers and lessons. The support staff side of things is basically covered by some generic guidance around office spaces, staff social areas, etc. Those of us in IT support will basically need to be a bit self promoting and push for clarifications about how IT staff can safely operate, given that our potential role as superspreaders could well have been overlooked (somewhat understandably, perhaps).

[Rob_D]

We've been told we (as support staff) can wear masks if we want, although the implication is still they would rather we didn't. It's been bandied around that staff will be issued with face shields to for close-up work and we're installing perspex barriers around the teachers workstations.

As I understand it (and based on the Teams v Zoom argument), being able to see students' faces and for students to be able to see yours is crucial for teaching. Hence no masks in schools.

[elsiegee40]

I have just bought some badges for my Mum

 

She has worn hearing aids for over 50 years, and is now almost completely deaf. She lipreads so well that most people don’t realise she is deaf.

 

 

I urge anyone in a customer facing role to wear a clear mask or visor rather than a normal face mask if it is practical and safe to do so. My Mum is undoubtedly not the only person struggling with communication right now.

Edited August 11, 2020 by elsiegee40