When will quarantine / mandatory absence from school stop for Covid?

[Anonymous]

My son contracted Covid last week. It’s the first time for him or anyone in my family (so far he’s the only one who tested positive, DH and I remain negative). He’s in 3rd grade and vaccinated and wears a mask in school and for extracurricular events. He had symptoms for two days - mostly a stuffy nose and a sore throat. By day 3 after he tested positive (we tested him the first day his symptoms showed up) he was completely fine. Stuffiness disappeared, no sore throat. At no point a fever and his appetite never waned.

If this were a regular cold or other ailment he could return to school after 24 hours after the last symptom. The only reason he had to stay home for a full week is because this is covid. We followed the protocol and notified our school he was positive.

Do you think we’ll get to the point where the severity of symptoms dictate when a child can return to school as we do with other ailments? It seems nuts that if symptoms are completely gone - or extremely mild - the student had to stay home. And while I appreciate the risk of contagion, isn’t that a reality for every ailment? Technically, you can spread a stomach virus for up to two weeks after symptoms dissipate but we aren’t keeping kids home for that long and instead schools emphasize - in theory anyway - hand washing, etc.

And please don’t come at me with any hostility. I realize that Covid variants differ, I’m a believer in masks and vaccines. But I’m also wondering about a future for kids where every time they come down with Covid - and realistically that can be multiple times - they stay home for a full week. That is incredibly disruptive especially when symptoms for my son were less severe than the last cold he had and I felt fine sending him to school on day 2 with some remaining congestion (he had no fever or coughing).

[Anonymous]

Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

[Anonymous]

Yes of course at some point we will get to that point but obviously we’re nowhere close to there now. Were you ready for us to be there 2 weeks ago, just prior to your son catching covid? Would you have been ok with every kid in his class who caught covid coming in 2 days later, if they felt better, or the next day, if mom and dad are out of sick leave? No, probably not. Most of us want people who are in the most contagious part of covid to stay home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes of course at some point we will get to that point but obviously we’re nowhere close to there now. Were you ready for us to be there 2 weeks ago, just prior to your son catching covid? Would you have been ok with every kid in his class who caught covid coming in 2 days later, if they felt better, or the next day, if mom and dad are out of sick leave? No, probably not. Most of us want people who are in the most contagious part of covid to stay home.

DP. Why not? And yes, I’d be fine with that, if they felt better and had no symptoms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes of course at some point we will get to that point but obviously we’re nowhere close to there now. Were you ready for us to be there 2 weeks ago, just prior to your son catching covid? Would you have been ok with every kid in his class who caught covid coming in 2 days later, if they felt better, or the next day, if mom and dad are out of sick leave? No, probably not. Most of us want people who are in the most contagious part of covid to stay home.

DP, But I don’t get this post. If you agree that we’ll stop doing extended quarantine and isolation periods for Covid at some point, why not now? We’ve got vaccines and booster, so kids (who were already at low risk) are well protected. What do you think is going to change in a month/year/decade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes of course at some point we will get to that point but obviously we’re nowhere close to there now. Were you ready for us to be there 2 weeks ago, just prior to your son catching covid? Would you have been ok with every kid in his class who caught covid coming in 2 days later, if they felt better, or the next day, if mom and dad are out of sick leave? No, probably not. Most of us want people who are in the most contagious part of covid to stay home.

The only reason I cared any differently about my kids getting Covid than any other virus is the ridiculous isolation periods (and even more, the ridiculous quarantine policies of the past).

I otherwise don’t particularly care when kids come back after getting Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

NP - that’s the rub, OP. The policies around isolation are, IMO, too restrictive based on the severity of illness we see in the overwhelming majority of kids. And now that vaccines and therapeutics are available for adults, it’s hard to argue for restrictions this substantial. We pulled our kids from the PCR testing pool at school for just this reason: I don’t want my asymptomatic kids out of school for a week. I’m done. We’ve gone along for two years with MCPS’ endless restrictions. Our kids have had COVID before (caught with a home test) and we’re all vaccinated, we believe in masks, etc.

And, at the same time, MCPS frankly needs to change its priorities. I don’t think mandatory absence/enforced isolation will change until enough parents start to opt out of random testing. At this point, they’re encouraging parents not to test for “the sniffles.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

Why in the world would you still be doing random testing? You realize random PCR testing is more likely to pick up a case after you’ve already recovered than a current asymptomatic case, don’t you?

I really don’t get what the objective is. Covid isn’t going anywhere, and it looks like the current level of spread is similar to what we can expect for the foreseeable future. Sure, we’ll see case numbers drop, but simply because people are going to stop testing. After all, did you go in for a flu test any time you got mildly ill before Covid? I doubt it.

This is the OP. We signed up for the PCR testing pool when we returned to in person and I actually valued the periodic reassurance that my son was Covid negative, especially prior to vaccinations being available for the under 12 set. But symptoms are milder with this variant and my son is vaccinated so I am starting to question it. I will potentially pull him from the testing pool next year - not sure. The school nurse told me earlier this week that only 70 kids are part of the pool out of a school with 500+ kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

NP - that’s the rub, OP. The policies around isolation are, IMO, too restrictive based on the severity of illness we see in the overwhelming majority of kids. And now that vaccines and therapeutics are available for adults, it’s hard to argue for restrictions this substantial. We pulled our kids from the PCR testing pool at school for just this reason: I don’t want my asymptomatic kids out of school for a week. I’m done. We’ve gone along for two years with MCPS’ endless restrictions. Our kids have had COVID before (caught with a home test) and we’re all vaccinated, we believe in masks, etc.

And, at the same time, MCPS frankly needs to change its priorities. I don’t think mandatory absence/enforced isolation will change until enough parents start to opt out of random testing. At this point, they’re encouraging parents not to test for “the sniffles.”

I agree with you and while one week with a kid who was bouncing off the walls at home because he basically felt totally fine was doable, it’s not something I want for him or us. I don’t work from home anymore and neither does DH. I absolutely take time off if my child is seriously ill and so does DH. But staying home from work for this was frustrating and it wouldn’t be sustainable for us if this is a regular thing.

[Anonymous]

You really think its ok to send your sick child who is positive for covid, which is highly contagious to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

NP - that’s the rub, OP. The policies around isolation are, IMO, too restrictive based on the severity of illness we see in the overwhelming majority of kids. And now that vaccines and therapeutics are available for adults, it’s hard to argue for restrictions this substantial. We pulled our kids from the PCR testing pool at school for just this reason: I don’t want my asymptomatic kids out of school for a week. I’m done. We’ve gone along for two years with MCPS’ endless restrictions. Our kids have had COVID before (caught with a home test) and we’re all vaccinated, we believe in masks, etc.

And, at the same time, MCPS frankly needs to change its priorities. I don’t think mandatory absence/enforced isolation will change until enough parents start to opt out of random testing. At this point, they’re encouraging parents not to test for “the sniffles.”

I agree with you and while one week with a kid who was bouncing off the walls at home because he basically felt totally fine was doable, it’s not something I want for him or us. I don’t work from home anymore and neither does DH. I absolutely take time off if my child is seriously ill and so does DH. But staying home from work for this was frustrating and it wouldn’t be sustainable for us if this is a regular thing.

Its not about you, its about public health and your child is sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

NP - that’s the rub, OP. The policies around isolation are, IMO, too restrictive based on the severity of illness we see in the overwhelming majority of kids. And now that vaccines and therapeutics are available for adults, it’s hard to argue for restrictions this substantial. We pulled our kids from the PCR testing pool at school for just this reason: I don’t want my asymptomatic kids out of school for a week. I’m done. We’ve gone along for two years with MCPS’ endless restrictions. Our kids have had COVID before (caught with a home test) and we’re all vaccinated, we believe in masks, etc.

And, at the same time, MCPS frankly needs to change its priorities. I don’t think mandatory absence/enforced isolation will change until enough parents start to opt out of random testing. At this point, they’re encouraging parents not to test for “the sniffles.”

I agree with you and while one week with a kid who was bouncing off the walls at home because he basically felt totally fine was doable, it’s not something I want for him or us. I don’t work from home anymore and neither does DH. I absolutely take time off if my child is seriously ill and so does DH. But staying home from work for this was frustrating and it wouldn’t be sustainable for us if this is a regular thing.

Its not about you, its about public health and your child is sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you mean. The isolation policies will probably technically remain for quite a while, but people will stop testing. If you don’t know it’s Covid, then you can follow the regular rules for illnesses.

Pretty sure a lot of people have stopped testing for minor illness.

OP here - I agree with you and it’s part of what prompted my question. My son is part of the testing pool at school but we also test our son and ourselves when we have cold-like symptoms. I don’t want to spread Covid. But when I shared this with a couple of parents from my son’s school they said not only are they not part of the testing pool but that they long since stopped testing at home for what one parent called “sniffles”. When I asked if they were concerned about Covid they both said that unless the symptoms were severe, in which case they’d keep their kids home, their kids went to school. On one hand that’s frustrating because that’s how Covid spreads but at the same time, my son had what was essentially “the sniffles” and missed a whole week of school.

NP - that’s the rub, OP. The policies around isolation are, IMO, too restrictive based on the severity of illness we see in the overwhelming majority of kids. And now that vaccines and therapeutics are available for adults, it’s hard to argue for restrictions this substantial. We pulled our kids from the PCR testing pool at school for just this reason: I don’t want my asymptomatic kids out of school for a week. I’m done. We’ve gone along for two years with MCPS’ endless restrictions. Our kids have had COVID before (caught with a home test) and we’re all vaccinated, we believe in masks, etc.

And, at the same time, MCPS frankly needs to change its priorities. I don’t think mandatory absence/enforced isolation will change until enough parents start to opt out of random testing. At this point, they’re encouraging parents not to test for “the sniffles.”

I agree with you and while one week with a kid who was bouncing off the walls at home because he basically felt totally fine was doable, it’s not something I want for him or us. I don’t work from home anymore and neither does DH. I absolutely take time off if my child is seriously ill and so does DH. But staying home from work for this was frustrating and it wouldn’t be sustainable for us if this is a regular thing.

Its not about you, its about public health and your child is sick.

When some of us sacrifice for public health despite the very mild symptoms of current Covid strains and our kids are out for a week but have less severe symptoms than disease that doesn’t require the quarantine then it’s more than a public health issue (if it is one). It’s now a socio-economic issue. Are parents who work hourly jobs or don’t have infinite time off adversely affected? Are students who already had 18 months of virtual and differed dearly for it in the lower grades now even more disadvantaged? Why should I play by the rules when my kid is feeling fine despite a positive test while others send their kid to school regardless of a runny nose?