Day of Chaos 2: a.Covid-19 thread.

[Tjm86]

Let's be a little fair here.  All the data suggests that youngsters are asymptomatic virus carriers that escape the ravages of Covid-19 with little lasting damage ...

Unfortunately not a lot of good after it's gone through family and friends leaving them the last one standing.

[The Legendary Shark]

Assuming that's true; why risk it? Why send one's children into a situation one believes to be dangerous?

[IndigoPrime]

Because of multiple reasons. First, my kid has basically spent the vast majority of her time since March in isolation. It is having an impact on her mental wellbeing. That is not a small thing. She's not _that_ fussed about school, but she is feeling alone, and becoming unhappy. That is heartbreaking. Then there is the basic impact on her education, which isn't that critical at her age, but foundations are important. Thirdly, there is the financial aspect—the LA have stated parents will be fined if their children aren't returned to school.

The last of those can be got around by withdrawing your child from the education system. But then that means effective isolation from all her friends (and as I and Mrs IP spent a lot of our childhoods friendless, that cuts to the bone), along with the likely eradication of her pathway through the local school system if we were to return her later. (At that point, it would be "wherever there is space", meaning she starts from scratch, possibly in a new town some distance away.)

This is one of those cases where there are no good options. We are just — just — coming down on the side of sending her back, but that doesn't mean we have to like it, or that we aren't scared; but it also doesn't mean it isn't the best (rather than the 'right') thing to do under the circumstances. Essentially, it's an impossible choice.

[Funt Solo]

Best of luck with it IP, and I hope mini-IP enjoys getting back to her schooling.

Here (WA, US), the schools aren't going back, and so the mini-Solo is going to be doing her education entirely online for the foreseeable, with both of her parents working from home.  It is heartbreaking, because her school life is so important to her - she gets to be a different person at school than the one she is at home, and I know she loves school way more than I ever did. A lot of that is down to the relationships she's built up with her teachers and friends.

If the schools were back, I'd send her in a flash.

The side effect of the schools not going back is that all sorts of fee-paying before, during and after school clubs have started up, some of which are hiring the empty school rooms. So, you pay money and these non-teachers look after your kids, who will have computers with them to access their online teaching from the real teachers who can't enter the building. It's weird, and (as ever) it's going to hit the poorest in the pocket (either directly, now, or later when they find themselves with less of an education than everyone else).

Cheer up with Max the Miracle Dog!

[The Legendary Shark]

I feel for you - and all parents facing this present nightmare - I honestly do. We may disagree on many things and never come to terms in this regard, but I wish you nothing but love and good fortune and strength and health.

I'm sure such words of mine are of little consolation, and even smaller consequence, to you but I firmly believe that after a period of widespread sniffles and ills as people's isolation-induced depressed immune systems spin back up to speed, the vast majority of us will be fine.

[IndigoPrime]

I do hope so. My concern is that I've yet to hear from anyone who's had COVID in the age bracket of 35–55 who's fully recovered. A local parent is a medium-distance runner and had COVID back in March. She said she was basically out for two weeks, and even now has moments where she's exhausted from walking upstairs. Her general trajectory is improvement, but, well, it's six months later and she's still randomly not well, despite having no prior health problems.

[The Legendary Shark]

Well, I can only speak for myself and in February or March I was talking to a friend's daughter who had just returned from Korea as it was all kicking off there. I spent the next week or so in bed with something flu-like. Whether this was that or not I don't know but I've been fine ever since I recovered.

Also, I've listened to 'The Great Courses' 24 part lecture series 'Mysteries of the Microscopic World' (I love these courses! Currently doing one about Famous Romans) which is very informative and, frankly, casts the current media hysteria in a rather dim light. Recommended.

[sheridan]

I do hope so. My concern is that I've yet to hear from anyone who's had COVID in the age bracket of 35–55 who's fully recovered. A local parent is a medium-distance runner and had COVID back in March. She said she was basically out for two weeks, and even now has moments where she's exhausted from walking upstairs. Her general trajectory is improvement, but, well, it's six months later and she's still randomly not well, despite having no prior health problems.

Same here - the only people whose health is back to normal are those who may have had it but aren't sure.  Meanwhile at least one other person has basically been housebound for the past five months.

[TordelBack]

I'm running parallel to IP's experience in many respects,  and I sent my youngest back to school yesterday.

To this point we've been no-messing religious fanatics in our Covid-19 activities, trying to protect one extremely vulnerable family member and three others who would be at considerable risk, and the kids have seen only 1 friend each for the past 6 months. For ourselves we haven't socialised, travelled, bought a coffee etc. even once, saving our notional 'risk quota' for the essentials, such as accessing medical care for my Dad and necessary on-site work.

Not being in any kind of contact with other humans has meant I felt able to help out with my Dad without too much fear,  but since he's now been repeatedly in and out of hospital again over the past few months the risk-needle has swung the other way (hilariously he gets a test each time before he goes in,  but not when he comes out).

So the decision to send the kids back has been a very, very hard one. Since my daughter walked back in the door yesterday afternoon from the nonsense-theatre of 'pods' and open windows, we've put everyone back at risk again. I don't believe for a second that any of the half-hearted school measures it took the government six months to come up with (before foisting the full responsibility on individual Principals) are worth anything, or intended to be anything other than a con-trick for persuading parents go back to work. They closed the schools on March 12 when there were 72 cases total identified in Ireland.The 7-day average for daily new cases is currently 115.

But with no plan or end in sight, and my kids isolated and genuinely eager to get back to school, I don't know what else we can do but roll the dice.

Six months of this, starting with trying to keep my team safe on a filthy building site, and ending with completely losing control of my kids' environment, has left my mental health (depression kicked-off by anxiety in a delicious circle) in the worst state it's been for a decade, although at least these days I have coping strategies that make me slightly less of a nightmare to be around, most of the time.

And likely years of this left to go.

[The Doctor Alt 8]

I suppose i shouldn't be surprised to find out this...   https://youtu.be/17oCQakzIl8?t=220

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I've yet to hear from anyone who's had COVID in the age bracket of 35–55 who's fully recovered.

My missus is in that age bracket and made a full recovery. She had a positive test at the time.

I had the same symptoms as her - run down, blood blisters, change of taste - but they were, to be fair, super super super mild for us both.

[TordelBack]

Good to hear, Dr X! 

[IndigoPrime]

Glad to hear you and yours made a full recovery, Dr X.

[TordelBack]

As a too-necessary venting practice,  I wrote a sub-sub-Swiftian 'A Modest Proposal' thing in the comments of a popular Irish news site, suggesting we come up with firm targets for Covid deaths and ICU admissions for groups based on their aged uselessness and/or existing sickliness and work towards those numbers as a clear roadmap for the stages of reopening.

Predictably the responses so far are mainly agreeing with me, or better yet  "I suspect you are being sarcastic, but I think it's a good idea anyway". We haven't changed much since 1729.

[paddykafka]

My favourite Swiftian quote ever!

"When a true genius appears in this world,
you may know him by this sign, that the dunes
are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift:

"Thoughts on Various Subjects,
Moral and Diverting."