Yesterday was virtual, today was in-person (with half-sized classes, masks, etc).
Son started 4th grade, daughter 2nd. About 10am, we get a call from the school nurse saying daughter is complaining of a sore throat and stomachache. She had mentioned these at home, but is prone to a bit of hypochondria and it rarely amounts to anything.
Nonetheless, they asked us to come pick her up. 2 hours of freedom, yay! School nurse recommends a strep test at the pediatrician, which we’ll go ahead and do just to rule it out (hooray, another $150 doctor visit we don’t need).
30 minutes later: “Um, you need to come pick up your son, too. It’s an issue of close contact.”
“Close contact with what?”
“A sick sibling.”
“But she has a sore throat, that’s just one of the 15 listed COVID symptoms. It’s also just a symptom of...you know...a sore throat.”
“It’s the policy we have to follow to keep the schools open, sorry.”
So now my son is home crying after having his new friendships, recess, and lunch cut short after 5 months with no social contact, and by no fault of his own.
Such a weird policy when we all know it’s the asymptomatic kids that will take us all down...