Thread by @ColinKinner

We won’t be sending our son back to school on Monday.

A thread for any QLD parents who are still undecided. . .

@DrShaneRRR @drkerrynphelps @PMGPSC @NjbBari3 @DrCatherineBall @CrabbBrendan @DrZoeHyde @MackayIM @drgregkelly @1CeliaGreen @YouAreLobbyLud @normanswan #covidschools

2/ Son is due to start year six on Monday at a state primary school in Brisbane. We've had a close look at the QLD govt’s Back to School plan and talked to the principal about how it will be implemented.

qed.qld.gov.au/covid19/back-t…

3/ It’s clear the QLD govt’s Back to School plan is grossly deficient and exposes kids to much greater risk of COVID than it should.

The plan has 7 major failings. . .

4/ The QLD govt hasn’t completed school ventilation audits. Our son’s school hasn’t been audited so has no idea whether classrooms can be adequately ventilated, even with windows / doors open and aircon / fans on.

5/ The school has no #CO2 monitors, so teachers will have no idea if their classroom is (or becomes) unsafe to the occupants.

No data = no decision to take action when it’s needed 🤷‍♂️
@YouAreLobbyLud

6/ The QLD govt plan has no #HEPA air purifiers at start of term; schools advised to just open the windows and turn on fans / aircon 😬

7/ @OzSAGE and others advise that many classrooms cannot be made safe just with natural / mechanical ventilation, and *need* HEPA filters.

ozsage.org/media_releases…

abc.net.au/news/2021-11-3…

8/ The QLD govt plan has no surveillance #RAT testing for schools. RAT testing is imperfect, but proven to be effective in identifying asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infections.

9/ In NSW and VIC this week, RAT tests detected 5,317 COVID-positive students and 1,027 COVID-positive staff. Many were asymptomatic and would have been at school if not for a +ve RAT result.

https://twitter.com/DrShaneRRR/status/1489505189187194883

10/ No surveillance RAT testing in QLD schools = greater likelihood of COVID-positive kids and teachers at school and spreading the virus 🤦‍♂️

11/ No mask mandate. Kids in yrs 3-6 “encouraged” to wear a mask, but no mandate means teachers have no ability to enforce. Evidence from other states shows we should expect patchy compliance at best.

Kids without masks = greater chance of spreading COVID 😬
@SecretTeacherAu

12/ No guidance on appropriate type of mask. Surgical masks provided, but according to the plan cloth masks are also fine.

BUT we now know that #N95 or equivalent masks are needed to give meaningful protection against #Omicron

theconversation.com/time-to-upgrad…

13/ We also know that surgical masks provide massively less (according to one study, 75 times less) protection against infection than N95 masks. . .
pnas.org/content/118/49…

14/ . . . and that cloth masks offer *negligible protection* against Omicron – ie. they are little more than “hygiene theatre” 😷
abc.net.au/news/2022-01-1…
#hygienetheatre

15/ Ineffective masks = much greater likelihood of infection with Omicron 🙁

16/ Schools are sending parents a video supplied by the QLD govt that states "COVID-19 is transmitted by droplets". WTAF??
vimeo.com/636912240

17/ We’ve known for more than 18 months that #COVIDisAirborne – ie. transmitted primarily by #aerosols. Unlike droplets, aerosols can stay suspended in the air for extended periods and can travel long distances in indoor spaces.

18/ This makes the notion of "physical distancing" in classrooms largely redundant and could lead to a false sense of security.
www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinica…
@math_rachel

19/ Despite this, the QLD govt says yr 3-6 kids do not need masks unless *physical distancing is not possible*, and kids in high school can take masks off *when seated*. . . because COVID doesn’t infect you when you’re more than 1.5m from the next kid or sitting down?? 🤨

20/ What can we expect in QLD schools over the next month? I don’t know, but if NSW and VIC are anything to go by (5,317 students and 1,027 teachers tested positive in a week) there’s a good chance we’ll see a lot of cases.

21/ Bear in mind that (unlike QLD), NSW and VIC have mask mandates, surveillance RAT testing and widespread use of HEPA air purifiers & CO2 monitors
msn.com/en-au/news/aus…

22/ Other countries are also seeing large numbers of kids infected at school, particularly where (like in QLD) kids are mostly unvaccinated, no mask mandates and limited ventilation measures in schools – such as the UK. . .

23/ . . . which had 50,000 kids out of school due to COVID in the week to 20 Jan. Over 900 kids hospitalised in a week and increasing rate of #longCOVID in kids.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
theweek.co.uk/news/science-h…

24/ As a parent I'm deeply concerned that the QLD govt’s plan will to lead to unnecessary and avoidable infections in school communities, and that sadly some of these will lead to serious illness, chronic health conditions and death.
@AnnastaciaMP @YvetteDAth @gracextwo

25/ I don't accept the QLD CHO’s position that infection with COVID is necessary or critical. His view that herd immunity is a way out of the pandemic seems based on hopium, and at odds with accepted science.

https://twitter.com/YouAreLobbyLud/status/1489690936208928770

@YouAreLobbyLud

Thanks to proactive parents like @DrSarahMcNab, RATs can pick up asymptomatic infections before kids go to school

https://twitter.com/DrSarahMcNab/status/1487693766282518531