All covid, all day

Published

Specializes in School Nursing, Pediatrics.

I'm so sick of it!  anyone else spend their day doing mostly covid stuff? (contact tracing, calling people for results, calling for absent reasons....). Plus every little cough, sneeze or fart teacher thinks is covid and sends them to me. I'm so done! This covid crap has to end soon! 

4
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatric.

AMEN!!! Friday at 1300 I have a teacher call that she is positive! GREAT, you were here all morning! So after speaking to her and the Paras we indicated that the entire class would need to quarantine.  Then all her children tested positive, so I spent that evening and Saturday tracing for them. Totaling nearly 50 students in one swipe!! Monday was quite interesting and I have a few teachers ticked because of some changes that are now in effect but oh well!! I want to be in school not shut down!!!!!!

 

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.
49 minutes ago, T-ROD said:

AMEN! Friday at 1300 I have a teacher call that she is positive! GREAT, you were here all morning! So after speaking to her and the Paras we indicated that the entire class would need to quarantine.  Then all her children tested positive, so I spent that evening and Saturday tracing for them. Totaling nearly 50 students in one swipe!! Monday was quite interesting and I have a few teachers ticked because of some changes that are now in effect but oh well!! I want to be in school not shut down!!

 

Was the teacher vaccinated? Showing symptoms all day? I just can't with the teachers! 

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in school nurse.
1 hour ago, T-ROD said:

AMEN! Friday at 1300 I have a teacher call that she is positive! GREAT, you were here all morning! So after speaking to her and the Paras we indicated that the entire class would need to quarantine.  Then all her children tested positive, so I spent that evening and Saturday tracing for them. Totaling nearly 50 students in one swipe!! Monday was quite interesting and I have a few teachers ticked because of some changes that are now in effect but oh well!! I want to be in school not shut down!!

 

Where were the Board of Public Health folks during this tracing marathon?

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics, Community Health, School Health.

All COVID all the time.  Except now we also have this terrible stomach bug going around, as well as a bad viral illness that starts with headache and fever/sore throat so dismissing kids left and right.  Thankfully our district has protocols in place (social distancing, mask mandates for all, weekly pool testing, etc., etc) but as soon as these kids leave the building they are back to behaving as if COVID is gone so numbers are still up.  It feels like it will never end.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatric.
23 hours ago, lifelearningrn said:

Was the teacher vaccinated? Showing symptoms all day? I just can't with the teachers! 

She was vaccinated and did have symptoms, but thought it was just her normal allergies. 

 

22 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:

Where were the Board of Public Health folks during this tracing marathon?

In our district we as school do tracing within the buildings. Health depts here only trace outside contacts.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School nursing.

YEP.

My "favorite" in the past 2 weeks? Family with 4 kids - all unvaccinated and 3 old enough to be vaccinated. 2 of them home with fevers, cough, muscle aches (yep, pretty clearly possible COVID symptoms) - Mom kept those home and sent her two other unvaccinated students TO SCHOOL. Both of them had headaches and coughs. One of them sent to my office within 45 minutes (when I learned what was happening at home) and popped positive on a BinaxNOW test within 30 secs of me inserting that swab. This case can't be 100% linked to but I'm pretty certain it is a link between 6 cases in one grade I saw in three days.

In MA, we have a program called Test and Stay. This means if an unvaccinated kid is a close contact at school and asymptomatic, they can come to school but need to be rapid tested upon entry. In the past two weeks, I ran 80+ rapid tests for this program (and we are not a big school). My awesome LPN became a whiz at it very quickly. I will say that luckily this do proof no further spread and my weekly surveillance testing this week yields no positive pools. So I may get to sleep this weekend. 

But, I will say, I do NOT trace for folks beyond where they were in the school building (students and staff) and asking them to notify whoever they were with in the past 48 hours and for their household to quarantine (unless folks are vaccinated and truly 100% asymptomatic - nasal congestion counts here I remind them). 

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

Wow.  We are doing basically nothing this year.  All of the decisions surrounding COVID protocols were handed over to the school board.  I live in a rural, anti-mask, anti-vaccine area. ?

Last year we were quarantining left and right.  Masks were required.  Distancing was enforced.  We were offering tests for our staff e/o week.  We were shutting down sporting events.  We shut down the dance team.  Our homecoming queen had to be crowned via Zoom because she had tested positive.  We were very strict.  

This year?  Masks are only strongly recommended but not required.  If a school reaches a 5% threshold of student absences with COVID sx then masks are required.  Within 2 weeks of school starting 6 of our 7 elementary schools were masking.

We aren't testing students or staff at school at all.  If there is a positive case in a classroom we are just notifying the other families that there was a case in a classroom.  No contact tracing.  We only require quarantines for household contacts of a positive.

Needless to say we are having positive cases reported left and right.  It's worse than last year.  ?  

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in school nurse.
On 9/29/2021 at 7:14 PM, KKEGS said:

This year?  Masks are only strongly recommended but not required.  If a school reaches a 5% threshold of student absences with COVID sx then masks are required. 

So...wait until the infection is there and then start preventative measures?? ?

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in kids.
On 10/1/2021 at 3:12 PM, Jedrnurse said:

So...wait until the infection is there and then start preventative measures?? ?

Kinda like where I work..???? No pool testing because???? Testing will grab positive cases....why should we worry about that?  No mandatory masking, no contact tracing....what could possibly go wrong????

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.
On 10/1/2021 at 2:12 PM, Jedrnurse said:

So...wait until the infection is there and then start preventative measures?? ?

Yep.  I just have to shake my head.  

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in kids.

Oye... My first day back after medical leave. Holy guacamole! Had a whole bunch of positive pop up over the weekend. What was more frustrating were the kids that came in to my office symptomatic, had been symptomatic on the weekend, had shared that with their parents, oh and also were a part of the group that popped up positive. Yet they were sent to school. Not a single one of them were vaxxed. I am so worried that the nonchalant attitude taken to this level is going to blow up in our faces if we end up with a really really sick kid. Then there will be a whole lot of hand ringing and pearl clutching. I'm going to bed. ?

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion