‘We gave Covid 19 the keys to our house 24 days ago, how are things going?’

It is 08.00 am on Friday 25 September 2020, the twenty fourth day of back to school.  

The cheery thing to report

Our child is happy! She hops, skips, and jumps her way into school and out of school. Just to see that response is a great emollient for mum and dad, having very reluctantly accepted the increased school related Covid risks. Rightful compensation for our heightened anxiety state and our frayed nerve ends.

The not-so-cheery thing to report

• As at 21 September, after only 21 days of back-to-school, some 89 schools and 2,100 classes have been closed due to Covid in France (We live there by-the-way, but it is reasonable to assume that all national education authorities are struggling with the same balancing problem, getting kids back to their classes AND keeping Covid at bay).
• In an attempt to reduce the rate of closures, and being given the Public Health advice / opinion that “children are unlikely to get a serious form and are very little active in the spread of the virus” the education authorities have decided that some of the new set of school Covid procedures “will be cancelled or made lighter in preschools and elementary schools starting 22 September”; as follows:
• Social distancing: while accepting one meter as the minimum social distancing, it is now NOT mandatory in closed spaces when distancing is not physically possible – places will be organized in a way that maintains “the biggest distance possible between pupils”; it is no longer mandatory for classes to avoid mixing with other classes or groups, it is softened to “not mixing as much as possible”; and finally, access to playgrounds, benches and outdoor common spaces “is once again allowed”, and items such as balloons, toys, books and even newspapers can be shared within the same class or the same group.
• Class closure: a class will no longer shut down unless there are at least three Covid positive pupils in the class. If two of the children are from the same family, they count as one!

So, as of three days ago, it got easier for Covid to do its nasty deed, in mum and dad’s humble ‘living in the thick-of-it’ opinion. AND, we do not agree with the Public Health assumption that Covid is not dangerous for the young and that they do not transmit the virus. This view flies directly in the face of recent studies in children.

And meanwhile

More on boosting our immunity:

•  I really am beginning to regret opening this Pandora’s box. There is an infinite number of websites pushing the idea of boosting your immunity by natural means, selling an equally infinite amount of plants, herbs, extracts, etc., to do the needful. My brain, already exhausted by the constant, daily grind of maintaining our Covid protection programme, blew a fuse (I am now reduced to feeling like just another little Dutchy boy with his finger in another dyke).
• Now, whatever brain function I had left over for ordinary affairs has been sunk without trace by the huge tsunami of bare faced marketing for the myriad of products with the supposed power of boosting my immunity (you just gotta buy my product, it’s the best).

One step at a time!:

• So, to preserve what little sanity I have left, I sought advice from a dear trusted friend and colleague. He is a medic but I try not to hold that against him. He helps a lot of older people to live longer, better, and safer lives by stopping their poisonous polypharmacy dished out in buckets by the army of thoughtless primary care pharma apparatchiks. What a fine objective, and he is very good at rolling this giant boulder up the mountain!
• ‘Stop complicating your life, Sir, get back to basics!’ My friend is always very polite, and only very blunt when he feels it is warranted.  I always listen really carefully whenever I hear that tone. ‘Hot water salt gargles, that’s what you need, as often as you can stand it. It cuts short your colds and sore throats and has anti-viral activity; and being Scottish, you’ll love it since it costs practically nothing. What are you waiting for?’’

What indeed?:

• So, now mum and dad are on the daily morning salt gargles as a simple preventative and thinking about adding salt nasal sprays as well (I have always thought it odd that nobody to date has systematically proposed some form of local nasal treatment to attack Covid 19, not to mention its myriad of cousins, in their base camp).
• I really do trust my trusted friend and I love the simplicity of his advice, but I have been taught throughout life to always double check the fundamental facts for yourself. And guess what? The University of Edinburgh, even as we speak, is already conducting the perfect clinical trial to answer my question – I kid you not! They are investigating whether salt water gargles can expedite the clearance of the virus from all the nose and throats of a large group of confirmed Covid 19 positive citizens who are not ill enough to be admitted to hospital.
• The subject, boosting our immunity by natural means stays on our agenda, but I have to confess no progress on this front. I have now focused what little functioning brain I have left to work on the question of whether daily hot water salt gargles + salt nasal sprays is an effective preventative, able keep our upper respiratory system clear of Covid i.e., as a new line of defence in the event of the virus getting into the house.

Finally, after 24 days of exposure to school, what about Mum and Dad – are they coping?:

We like to think and feel that we are coping, it’s essential psychologically. In truth we aren’t doing as well as we would like. Three times in one day this week, mum left the house without her mask! The one essential defensive bit of kit, and she forgets it! What’s that about if it is not a signal of brain overload? We can’t reduce our procedures, we can only improve and / or add to our daily routines as we continue to work out how to better protect ourselves. For example, we have just started a new daily procedure – when child comes home from school, she now goes straight into the shower, clothes go for laundry and mum has more work added to her already loaded schedule – little wonder she has started to forget her mask! What next?

By John Saunders

World Health Communication Associates (WHCA) & INSPIRIT Creatives UG NGO,
MediaWise and MediaFocusUK

Strengthening connections
while keeping distance

News You Can Use

We are all vulnerable to this virus. This is a unique time for our communities all over the world as we work to combat this massive global threat. This blog aims to collect and share your stories and reflections that can help others to cope, thrive and build resilience…

Our communities are at different stages of response in different parts of the world. We can learn a lot from each other. Building on World Health Organization and other evidence-based guidance, this blog will gather and disseminate stories that inform, inspire and hopefully strengthen social connectiveness while we all practice physical distancing.

We invite you to contribute. At present we are looking for stories in the following areas:

May the force be with all of us.

Sabrina, Mike, Steve, Tuuli and Franklin for the Connecting Communities team

BLOG: https://www.inspiritcreatives.com/coronavirus-connecting-communities
Email: cccov19@gmail.com
See: https://www.whcaonline.org | https://www.inspiritcreatives.com/humanity
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12385075/ | Twitter: @connecting_comm
News: https://cccovid19.org/corona_virus/

Disclaimer – We try to include stories that respect World Health Organisation COVID19 guidance. Links take you to full published stories. Our Connecting Communities team screens and selects stories but can not guarantee accuracy of reporting and mentions of any products does not indicate endorsement.

While we grieve for the tremendous loss of lives in so many countries, we can see and feel that the need to connect communities and share learning grows everyday. Please attach your comments and stories to this blog or send them to cccov19@gmail.com or attach them to this blog. We welcome stories in all languages and from all countries. Here are some first examples of stories and links. Send us yours and make this blog useful.