We gave Covid 19 the keys to our house 143 days ago, how are things going?
January 27, 2021
We gave Covid 19 the keys to our house 157 days ago, how are things going?
February 12, 2021
It is 08.00 am on Friday 29 January 2021, one hundred and fifty days from the start of the 2020 – 2021 school year.
Latest on Covid 19 impact on school closures
- As of last week (22nd January) our favourite website announced:
- 47 schools, 13 colleges and 4 high schools closed across France, as well as 371 classes
- Some 10,000 students have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 7 days
- a total of 1,586 school staff members have tested positive in the last 4 days.
- This week, as of 28 January, they reported more closures:
- a total of 75 schools and 17 colleges
- however, the number of high schools closed and classes closed remain the same
- 11864 students have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 7 days
- 1864 school staff members have tested positive in the last 7 days
- the number of random tests planned during February is now 1.5 million. The authorities want to identify more asymptomatic cases with a view to targeted closure of classes ‘more quickly and clearly as soon as there may be even less than three cases.’
- Also this week, many health and educational experts gave a coordinated series of press interviews giving their support to the French government stance of keeping the schools open. They all highlighted the easy, obvious and well-known argument about avoiding the ‘serious’ negative impact of school absence upon the educational and mental health of pupils at all levels across the broad curriculum. Nobody mentioned the middle ground of ‘hybrid teaching’ a mix of on-line and face to face teaching that has been established in other educational jurisdicitons.
Mum and dad’s assessment – Well, at least we are now getting a regular and clearer ‘big picture’ of what is happening with schools and Covid 19. We also know what actual schools are closed and where. The nearest closures to our school are at least two hours’ drive away, in two big cities. We also now know that neither the French government nor the experts that have been speaking up for the schools this week appear to care about the inevitable co-lateral impact of Covid 19 being transmitted into the home and infecting / killing the family members.
Coming closer to home, we still lack the final piece of our family jigsaw – is there random testing going on in Child’s school or not? Parents we talk to say it is not happening. It would be particularly reassuring to actually know that there is no Covid 19 in the school.
Still no third lockdown !!!
Clearly there is a lot of talk, a lot of pacing up and down, a lot of gnashing of teeth, a lot of ignoring of the ‘bleedin’ obvious’ – but still no white smoke announcing a third lockdown. The word on the street is that the French President is troubled. There is a presidential election next year, and more than likely he is trying to protect his reputation (some would say ‘what reputation?’ in the light of the mistakes so far – in particular, ‘we wouldn’t be in today’s mess if some right decisions had been made last year’.)
Mum and dad’s conclusion: We’re in for another ‘long-haul’ year of no change. Dad’s vaccination (yes he’s decided to have it after all!) looks like the only material improvement in our family circumstances, on the assumption that it actually happens, and on the assumption that the darn thing actually works as the big pharma, governments and media frenzy would have us all believe.
By John Saunders
World Health Communication Associates (WHCA) & INSPIRIT Creatives UG NGO,
MediaWise and MediaFocusUK
Strengthening connections
while keeping distance
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