Possibly controversial thread: We need to talk about New Zealand schools and #covid. I am well aware that going to #school is really important for lots of kids and their families, for all sorts of reasons. 1/
I am also well aware that there is a lot of pressure to attend school, again for all sorts of reasons. But at the moment, school may not be a safe place for your kids 2/
It is clear that most of the covid transmission at the moment is in the younger age brackets. That is ‘really good’ for the health system, because they generally do not end up in hospital, but that doesn’t mean it is good for your kid to get covid 3/
#Longcovid is a thing that happens to kids too, and the results can be debilitating and long lasting. Kids can also get severe cases of covid and end up in hospital, though this is rare. 4/
Kids are also frightened of getting unwell, and being sent into an environment where they are more likely to be exposed to covid could easily worsen their mental health 5/
And sadly, it looks like immunity to #Omicron is not persistent. It seems like you might have good immunity for about 3 months. It almost definitely won’t provide immunity to the next variant though, because that one will have outcompeted Omicron by evading this immunity. 6/
#Teachers are also very worried about the current state of affairs. I know a lot of teachers, and none of them are happy, they’re on the front line, they are scared for their classes, for their colleagues and for themselves – in that order 7/
School is considered essential because the system needs parents to be able to work during school hours. If the system supported parents to keep their kids home during an outbreak then many parents would choose too. 8/
But sadly, our system is not prepared for this – many families are not easily able to work from home and ‘home school’ their kids, they literally do not have any other options. Schools are doing the best they can in very trying circumstances. 9/
Solutions? 1. The Government should be recommending and supporting kids with underlying health issues to learn from home. @chrishipkins @AndrewLittleMP 2. MoE should be providing better ventilation solutions to schools by facilitating the building of #CorsiRosenthalBoxNZ 10/
3. Schools should be required to inform parents of cases in the classroom and support kids to learn at home 4. MoE should be providing high quality P2/N95 masks for all students and teachers who are able to wear them. 11/
My kids are not going to school at the moment. I have a kid with underlying health issues, so it is easier for me, but it is still not easy. I feel guilty because the system has built this guilt in me. 12/
If you need permission to keep your kids home then you have mine, as well as all the other parents of disabled kids who are sheltering at home and the disabled community generally. 13/13 stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/1279…
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