MCPS will now send kids home for ten days based on symptoms only

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what can we do to stop this madness?

By stopping to read the actual guidance, instead of believing a sh1tstirrer who says runny noses will be banned from school.

I’m the OP. As far as I’m aware the actual guidance has not been shared yet. From anecdotal reports at multiple schools I understood that cold symptoms were included, but I’m heartened to hear that where schools have shared written guidance it doesn’t include colds. However coughs, headache and sore throat are all very common. Current test positivity is 3.4 percent.

THREE POINT FOUR PERCENT!

so almost 97% of those cases will lead to unnecessarily keeping entire classes of kids out of school for up to ten days. Ridiculous.

Again - if they do a covid test and test negative - no quarantine, right? So the kid goes home, takes a test, tests negative - everyone back at school within 24 hours. Yay. OR kid goes home, takes COVID test - tests positive, and then we prevent further spread since the kids are all at home and quarantined.

“Yay”??? The entire class is needlessly worried and misses school. And 24 hours is best case scenario.

DP. To avoid this, don’t send your kid to school sick. yay!

I don’t (yay!!) but unfortunately I haven’t yet found a way to control what other people do. If you have tips, do let me know.

There may well be support and/or pressure from the school on the family in question to get the testing done. Our ES is having a parent meeting next Wed to discuss quarantine. I think that’s a much better way of conveying this information and discussing the various scenarios than via email or Twitter. Other schools may do the same.

Well there have already been cases where families have refused to get tested, so my concern isn’t out of nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

Test to stay like Boston (and probably many many other schools are doing)

I'm not sure what MCPS has against using the testing that's been provided by the federal government but irs causing much risk and disruption to not use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

Test to stay like Boston (and probably many many other schools are doing)

I'm not sure what MCPS has against using the testing that's been provided by the federal government but irs causing much risk and disruption to not use it.

They don't want to know.

[Anonymous]

This is MCPS intentionally sabotaging in-person school in a game of chicken with the state. They figure if they make in-person bad enough then the state will just let them shut it down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what can we do to stop this madness?

By stopping to read the actual guidance, instead of believing a sh1tstirrer who says runny noses will be banned from school.

I’m the OP. As far as I’m aware the actual guidance has not been shared yet. From anecdotal reports at multiple schools I understood that cold symptoms were included, but I’m heartened to hear that where schools have shared written guidance it doesn’t include colds. However coughs, headache and sore throat are all very common. Current test positivity is 3.4 percent.

THREE POINT FOUR PERCENT!

so almost 97% of those cases will lead to unnecessarily keeping entire classes of kids out of school for up to ten days. Ridiculous.

Again - if they do a covid test and test negative - no quarantine, right? So the kid goes home, takes a test, tests negative - everyone back at school within 24 hours. Yay. OR kid goes home, takes COVID test - tests positive, and then we prevent further spread since the kids are all at home and quarantined.

“Yay”??? The entire class is needlessly worried and misses school. And 24 hours is best case scenario.

DP. To avoid this, don’t send your kid to school sick. yay!

I don’t (yay!!) but unfortunately I haven’t yet found a way to control what other people do. If you have tips, do let me know.

There may well be support and/or pressure from the school on the family in question to get the testing done. Our ES is having a parent meeting next Wed to discuss quarantine. I think that’s a much better way of conveying this information and discussing the various scenarios than via email or Twitter. Other schools may do the same.

Well there have already been cases where families have refused to get tested, so my concern isn’t out of nowhere.

I am not saying that the concern is unjustified, only that having made this decision, MCPS may have anticipated such cases and may support/pressure such families in getting the test. I don’t think we have all the facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what can we do to stop this madness?

By stopping to read the actual guidance, instead of believing a sh1tstirrer who says runny noses will be banned from school.

I’m the OP. As far as I’m aware the actual guidance has not been shared yet. From anecdotal reports at multiple schools I understood that cold symptoms were included, but I’m heartened to hear that where schools have shared written guidance it doesn’t include colds. However coughs, headache and sore throat are all very common. Current test positivity is 3.4 percent.

THREE POINT FOUR PERCENT!

so almost 97% of those cases will lead to unnecessarily keeping entire classes of kids out of school for up to ten days. Ridiculous.

Again - if they do a covid test and test negative - no quarantine, right? So the kid goes home, takes a test, tests negative - everyone back at school within 24 hours. Yay. OR kid goes home, takes COVID test - tests positive, and then we prevent further spread since the kids are all at home and quarantined.

“Yay”??? The entire class is needlessly worried and misses school. And 24 hours is best case scenario.

DP. To avoid this, don’t send your kid to school sick. yay!

I don’t (yay!!) but unfortunately I haven’t yet found a way to control what other people do. If you have tips, do let me know.

There may well be support and/or pressure from the school on the family in question to get the testing done. Our ES is having a parent meeting next Wed to discuss quarantine. I think that’s a much better way of conveying this information and discussing the various scenarios than via email or Twitter. Other schools may do the same.

Well there have already been cases where families have refused to get tested, so my concern isn’t out of nowhere.

Then let those families sit at home. We HAVE TO stop catering to the lowest common denominator in Montgomery County in the name of equity.its an albatross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

Test to stay like Boston (and probably many many other schools are doing)

I'm not sure what MCPS has against using the testing that's been provided by the federal government but irs causing much risk and disruption to not use it.

Exactly this. Kids in the “exposed” class should get a rapid antigen test each morning for ~7 days, and if negative can come to class that day.

It’s really not that hard. I also don’t know why PP assumes that one positive child would lead to a room full of positive kids, assuming they’re all masked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

DP, I propose that the kid who of sick goes home and once they recover come back to school. If they really have COVID symptoms they should be encouraged to test. If positive, their close contacts (not the entire class, obviously, but those who have been in close proximity unmasked) should quarantine or test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I give up. It's probably just easier to do virtual until our kids can get vaccinated than deal with the roadblocks this idiotic Board wants to throw up. At least there's stability with virtual.

They need to stop the spread. Some people are clearly ok with getting covid as they don't care about anyone but themselves, even their kids and send them to school sick and don't care the impact it has on others.

I don't get the complaining. It was clear this would happen, so deal with it. Just like the same families told those of us concerned to just deal with it. Your turn. Virtual has a waitlist and isn't taking new families but go ahead and apply.

Please. Stopping the spread is impossible now, we're never getting to zero Covid. MCPS seems to have some expectation of getting the risk level down to zero, instead of taking common sense mitigation measures(masks, outdoor lunch, quarantine cases, not kids on the other side of the cafeteria). If their aim is zero risk, they should've never opened for in-person.

Why has MCPS been so bad at this from the very beginning? They just can't seem to pull their head out of their butt at all.

We have crapoy leadership. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is MCPS intentionally sabotaging in-person school in a game of chicken with the state. They figure if they make in-person bad enough then the state will just let them shut it down.

Absolutely. This is why the BOE didn't even meet to consider a plan until late August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

Test to stay like Boston (and probably many many other schools are doing)

I'm not sure what MCPS has against using the testing that's been provided by the federal government but irs causing much risk and disruption to not use it.

Exactly this. Kids in the “exposed” class should get a rapid antigen test each morning for ~7 days, and if negative can come to class that day.

It’s really not that hard. I also don’t know why PP assumes that one positive child would lead to a room full of positive kids, assuming they’re all masked.

Bingo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I class is sent home until getting a negative test on their own. Let's say that takes 2 days, comes back and 3 days later another kid has a "bad headache " back home again but there's a project at work so this time it takes 3 days to go get the test then back again until a week and a half later someone eats the cafeteria food and has diarrhea so now you're out again for another day.

What a sh"tshow

ok - so what do you propose? No class? No quarantine ever? Only the child that is sick gets sent home (one after another after another -until the entire class is sent home sequentially and the spread continues? What?

Test to stay like Boston (and probably many many other schools are doing)

I'm not sure what MCPS has against using the testing that's been provided by the federal government but irs causing much risk and disruption to not use it.

They don't want to know.

Right. They just want to send them home.

Just do rapid antigen tests as often as you can, and send home anyone positive while keeping everyone that tested negative. Once a classroom crosses a certain threshold of concurrent cases (3-5), shut down the room for 10 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pretty easy to get the negative test and get everyone back within a day. Seems like NBD.

how "easy" do you think it is for low income families?

Stop making this about income. Many of them are more careful as it impacts them more than you and county has free testing. This is why MCPS should have 1-2 time a week mandatory testing for anyone in person.

? ^^PP claimed it was "nbd" to get tested.

I asked, "How easy do you think it is for low income people to go get tested".

I didn't say they weren't careful. I am asking how the ^^PP thinks it's nbd for low income people to go get tested. Can they take time off work to do it? Do they have some place close by to get tested? Are there language barriers?

I grew up lower income, btw, and parents don't know how to speak English. I know full well the challenges those families face.

Yes and not to mention that they will have to suddenly take off from work every time ANOTHER kid has a symptom in their kid's class. It doesn't matter how "careful" they are themselves, they are still at the mercy of this policy. Not everyone has a flexible remote fed job plus two parent household or whatever else you are speculating makes it so "easy" for even low income families.

[Anonymous]

Can the quarantined kids (exposed) test back in or do they have to wait for the other kid to negative test?

And whoever said use federal funds for testing….100. Kids don’t need that many free meals a day.