Jen Hogan: Children overlooked again as unfair restrictions continue in schools

The plague hit the house finally. Less with a bang and more with an “ah feck it” as the two lines showed up on the antigen tests.

There had been no indications at all: no temperatures, no grouchy kids, no runny noses, no cough, nothing. But sure enough, after a close contact email arrived and I eventually wrestled the swab thingy up little noses, the tests turned positive for two of the house’s inhabitants and operation “figure out the multiple close contact rules that apply across this household” began with a vengeance and a very large dollop of frustration.

Strangers can have the shift again, vaccinated or unvaccinated – but letting a schoolchild mix beyond their pod is too risky yet

It’s a miracle really we got this far without anyone contracting it – that we’re aware of, I hasten add. Nine people: three working outside the home on a regular basis, one on a periodic basis. One offspring in college and six in school – the opportunities were ample. But alas, the day of reckoning ultimately came. The Hulk and Spider-Man, however, didn’t see it as any reason to stop pursuing bad guys, as they bounced off the walls, floors, beds and all around them. Asymptomatic they began and, luckily, asymptomatic they remained.

One small consolation was the allaying of one child’s fears. There were no cleaner hands in the country, I am certain, than his. No one followed the rules more closely. And yet he constantly worried about catching Covid. His worries have not been an easy watch. No amount of reassurance could calm him fully in advance of experiencing Covid himself. But ongoing restrictions will do that to a small child.

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In the meantime, much longed-for freedom has returned. Dancing, drinking, partying, gigging, enjoying all that life has to offer, having the general craic, with whoever we want, whenever we want, is back.

Unless of course you’re a schoolchild.

If you’re a schoolchild you may continue to wave at your little friend from a different class across the schoolyard at breaktime, because you can’t play with them during school hours. You can’t have lunch with a pal from another class in the school canteen. Strangers can have the shift again, vaccinated or unvaccinated – but letting a schoolchild mix beyond their pod is too risky yet.

It’s to allow all five- to 11-year-olds the opportunity to get fully vaccinated, the Taoiseach told us during the nation address. But what about our teenagers? They’re fully vaccinated, and the over-16s boosted, so why did we see no easing of restrictions in secondary schools? Throughout the pandemic, children have rarely seemed a priority. They’ve been disproportionately impacted by the restrictions and yet having played their part in getting us to “Freedom Day” as some have called it, they’ve been overlooked again.

The debate continues around a hybrid Leaving Cert with not a mention given to the Junior Cert students and what the constant and ongoing disruption might mean for them

Even when it comes to the close contact rules, they’ve been forgotten. Our 12- to 15-year-olds did as was asked of them – they got vaccinated in their droves. There are no indications yet that this cohort will require a booster. “In it together,” came the battlecry. “For us all,” was the claim. And yet having done exactly what was asked of them, if a vaccinated 12- to 15-year-old finds themselves as a close contact, they must isolate as if unvaccinated. Missing more precious school time in the process.

This age group missed the most in-school learning, only returning to school in mid-April 2021. And within this age group are this year’s third years – remember them? Because no one else seems to have. The last time this year’s third years had a full year of uninterrupted learning they were in sixth class in primary school.

This year has already been hugely disruptive for them, and will continue to be so with fully vaccinated teenagers, including the third years, potentially having to repeatedly isolate. The debate continues around a hybrid Leaving Cert with not a mention given to the Junior Cert students and what the constant and ongoing disruption might mean for them. Is it fair to expect them to sit a State examination in June in light of all this? Has anyone given any thought to it? Does anyone even care? This age group has missed so much, yet on we go expecting them to suck it up. Their best efforts are not enough. An incentive for getting vaccinated ignored.

And so parents and children continue to deal with the fallout of complicated and often unfair close contact rules. Alongside fully vaccinated children missing school, boosted parents can be expected in the workplace, creating nightmare childcare difficulties for those whose children are Covid positive or close contacts, while those who remain unboosted can stay at home and take care of their children, in the same scenario.

All eyes are on the end of February.

The ongoing restrictions for our children are not without consequence. We owe it to them to make sure they get to have a normal school experience too.