Everyone coming from South Africa must immediately isolated, seems to confirm concerning information i received from several sources this week regarding new strains and discussions inside government.
Worrying
#Pressconference #DailyCovidUpdate #briefing https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1340342675518701569?s=19
No suprise to hear Jenny Harris dismissing concerns for the safety of education workers, downplaying transmission in schools with old or new strain.

No concern mentioned of mass testing concerns with LFTs
Government definitely in PR mood today and yesterday, even as multiple stories of LFT not being fit for purpose in various different uses circulate, the usual favoured faces all come out to dismiss any concerns, gaslighting and astroturfing all the way
For example MAT CEO from Star Academies is claiming we should just ignore any concerns raise about LFTs.
They're like stereotypical dodgy second hand car salesmen or CMOT Dibbler.
"Na mate, ignore the bad press, trust me its a great little run around"
This is Harris MAT founded by Tory Peer Lord Harris of Carpet Right.

So apparently Harris have social distancing and PPE?

A Harris head was very firm with me this week that he won't allow voluntary mask use in classrooms.
Another government goon fails to raise any concerns about LFT as a replacement for isolation.
"Game-changer"
They even use the same language thats on the notes government whips give to MPs
UsForThem the pressure group calling for an end to all safety measures in schools that somehow gets meeting with the PM and PR support from gov linked lobbyist groups has a piece in the Telegraph today, slagging off educators and remote learning, "schools must go back"
They turn it into a binary false argument, schools fully open vs completely closed indefinitely. They attack unions and CEV parents who want masks in classrooms, rather than delay a few weeks and then move to blended which is what most are actually suggesting.
No suprise here either, still arguing transmission in schools is not at issue.
Also NERVETAG have raised serious concerns and are calling for fast evidence collection and study

Feels a bit like "no evidence yet" is being portrayed as, this doesn't transmit more
There are concerns South Africa strain is more infectious and also may impact children's health.

More study needed first, but surely caution first is a sensible principle
https://amp.rte.ie/amp/1185398/?__twitter_impression=true
PR exercise not Public Health initiative, this morning Jenkins claimed most schools would only need 2/3 staff for mass testing

Handbook says 9 staff take 3hours to test 100 people, it takes 5 staff to test 30.

A local school had 800 isolating.
No suprise that I'm being told that information on staffing numbers has since been removed from the Handbook, to cover Jenkins?

Really questionable why they are trying to ignore concerns with LFTs replacing isolations and have no concerns with Tier 4 level infections
Even more questionable when they make claims about social distancing measures.

I attended the testing briefing on Friday, didn't fill me with confidence.

The policy is a non-starter, they must know this. https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1341183915000795137?s=19
But the narrative coming from the cheerleaders is clear
Current measures are good enough
No reliability concerns with LFTs,this will be enough to deal with the strain
Logistics isn't as difficult as some make out
"Just need to double their efforts" I heard one say on LBC
So is the aim to just try and plough ahead with unreliable mass testing in what could well be a peak higher than in Spring?
Or is it that when gov says it isn't going ahead they can blame schools and colleges for not engaging in their madcap scheme?
I wish it was unbelievable that we have high profile people in education willing to gaslight valid safety concerns because they are so tribally and ideological linked to government, the result of putting Donors, venture capitalist and hedge fund managers in charge of education.
You can follow @karamballes.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:

By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.