We are 7 weeks into the in-person school year and it didn't take long to be tested by (and for) COVID. I wrote this post at the end of August, but am finally playing catch up.
With schools being in-person, we knew this was bound to happen, we just didn't realize how soon! Jude caught a cold after his first 2 days of school. The weekend was a total sneeze fest and though he didn't have a fever (and never did) we were anticipating keeping him home on Monday. Monday morning he woke up with a cough and I knew the week was doomed. Children 6 and under are allowed in school with runny noses and mild cold symptoms, but not with coughs. The school requires that a child not have a cough for 48 hours before returning to school, or a negative COVID test. We all know coughs can linger and linger and didn't want Jude to miss out on too much school right at the beginning. We were also wanting to "do the right thing" and get tested as it is strongly encouraged for even mild symptoms. So I called the health department to schedule an appointment. I had read that they had started to get very busy with testing so I anticipated that it might be a wait to get an appointment. I did not anticipate that after an hour and half of being on hold and being shuffled around that we would be denied a test. The lady explained that children are very unlikely to test positive and very unlikely to get COVID and they are very busy so they are not testing children with mild symptoms. I was told to wait a few more days and if the cough had not gone away, to call back to schedule the test. How could this be? Wasn't the premise of reopening schools that testing capacity could handle it. So that schools and communities could quickly find out who may be at risk? So that kids with mild cold symptoms would not be kept out of school for long periods of time? We went back and forth and after explaining my frustrations and using some force and a long awkward silence, we were granted a test for the following day.
We came by car to the RAI convention center, Amsterdam's testing facility. It was all very efficient and orderly, but I was still so anxious. The lady who administered the test was really kind and Jude handled it like a champ. Diploma in hand, we went home to wait for the results. They came back negative in less than 24 hours and I took him directly to school. His days of watching TV for hours on end while I worked were over! Testing is free for everyone (socialism for the win!).
Since the start of the school year, numerous staff, parents, and students (upper school) have tested positive. With distancing measures in place for adults and grades being kept pretty isolated, the school has not had to shut down (yet). One upper school grade has been sent home twice for a week at a time. The first time we got the e-mail from the director of the school, it caused some panic. Now, the emails seem commonplace. The kids are having a really great school year and I am grateful for every day that they get to go. I am not taking this normalcy for granted!
Things are constantly in flux and a few weeks ago, the government announced that they would no longer be testing children under 12 and now, children can go to school also with coughs. We'll see what the rest of the school year brings (please stay open, please stay open!).
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