The problem that the ‘lets-shut-schools-for-a-couple-of-wee…

In other words, they are engaging in wishful thinking. The probability is that schools will be shut for months on end whilst online teaching provision will likely be patchy/minimal/inadequate/non-existent like it was last time & educational inequalities will continue to widen.

We’ve learned nothing from the schools shutting for 6 months last yr. Once those schools are shut, they will be shut for months. Online learning will continue to be inadequate, meanwhile big-mouthed Twitter users with no skin in the game will continue to opine on the subject.

The average Twitter user is more likely to be parent to a cat than to a human child. No skin in the game & it shows, quite frankly. The online learning that is available for parents is inadequate & it will be left to parents to utilise their own resources, again.

Educational inequalities will widen into a chasm. It will be a disaster for children, especially primary school-aged children, & for what? Where is the evidence that school closures minimised the spread of C-19? But the average Twitter user need not worry, their cat will be fine

& the longer we try to keep schools closed & try to lock-down the whole of society in an attempt to try to suppress the spread of the virus the more we increase other risks. There is a trade-off. Lower some risks. Increase others.

https://t.co/A4RlbYAOul

Extended lockdowns carry their own risks

https://t.co/s7Lfj7NeMK

Are we going to talk about them or not?

https://t.co/o8VrFgaxn3

\u27a1\ufe0f NEW WORKING PAPERS ALERT \u2b05\ufe0f
We have just released two studies on the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on domestic violence using data from Argentina. Both studies show significant increases of domestic violence due to the lockdown.

Find the papers here:https://t.co/ta67OJMhUA pic.twitter.com/y6ZTbqFB8W
— Santiago PEREZ VINCENT (@santipvincent) July 17, 2020

Probably not Im guessing

https://t.co/pcMo4Tir4C

I think we should have an honest discussion

https://t.co/alrDwmR12z

Calls to "honour" abuse charities in #Britain have doubled since lockdown on 23 March. "Cases include a young mother whose husband attempted to strangle her and threatened to throw acid in her face, and another who was hospitalised after being stabbed." https://t.co/r98Eaxu1fO
— Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) June 3, 2020

There is no perfect solution to our problems only a series of trade-offs

https://t.co/imUfStnXuE

\U0001f4c8 The number of elderly abused by relatives or carers has risen by as much as 37 per cent during lockdown https://t.co/ckssERVyHr
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 17, 2020

& we should be honest about that

https://t.co/wuScFDt8vS

\u201cIn the first month of quarantine, Ukraine\u2019s domestic violence hotline saw a 38% increase in calls compared to previous months. They went from 1,200 calls a month on average to over 2,000 calls between March 12 to April 12.\u201d https://t.co/jtSpAcWqVn
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 2, 2020

Rather than pretending these problems dont exist

https://t.co/ePsJUTT5Ay

Is the lockdown leading to a rise in domestic abuse? In a six-week period to April 19, calls to the Met were up a-third and incidents increased by 9% compared with same period last year. Probably too early to make a clear link, but worrying signs: https://t.co/GU8VfwafNM
— Danny Shaw (@DannyShawNews) April 24, 2020

But Im not overly optimistic on that front I have to be honest

https://t.co/SKHSvOuQEm

\u2018Using up-to-date police data from 36 cities in 22 states in the U.S. and mobile device tracking data, we find that the increase in efforts to stay at home in the U.S. increased domestic violence by over 5% from March 13 to May 24, 2020.\u2019https://t.co/uBW92TNye1
— Post-Liberal Pete (@post_liberal) December 16, 2020

But if the British Medical Journal are open to these kinds of discussions regarding trade-offs then so should everybody else be imo

https://t.co/pmIAXCFRcE

One things for sure, the longer lockdowns continue the more that ppl are gonna drink, which carries its own risks. For this reason, South Africa & Greenland have temporarily banned the sale of alcohol, but that wont fly here, so what are we going to do?

https://t.co/5X3ywjaAqv

Nothing?

https://t.co/J0cAFHITVo

"One in 10 adult drinkers in Scotland drank more alcohol than normal during lockdown, according to new figures [from an alcohol industry charity]... \u2018Higher risk drinkers\u2019 were most likely to have drunk more than normal throughout lockdown." @Drinkaware https://t.co/r7cyrrn0Lw
— Phil Cain (@philcaincom) November 2, 2020

Im guessing we will probably do nothing

https://t.co/gYBA3xFva8

"The WSTA has crowned rum the \u2018drink of lockdown\u2019, as their latest figures show that rum enjoyed the biggest growth across all spirits during lockdown. In the 3 months from April to June 2020 38% more rum was sold than in the same period in 2019." @wstauk https://t.co/1qp1ClfEEB
— Phil Cain (@philcaincom) October 27, 2020

I hope Im wrong obviously

https://t.co/RSkwRtyZSr

The Royal College of Psychiatrists published a report this week that found\xa0the number of people drinking at \u2018high risk\u2019 levels has doubled to almost 8.5 million since February pic.twitter.com/IGuPNbvTCv
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 16, 2020

We shall see I guess

https://t.co/qxGYTsXJp8

Increased substance use due to covid. Source: https://t.co/2DGhFvsWHu pic.twitter.com/RSkctg5HfE
— (((Jake Borodovsky))) (@PotResearch) August 17, 2020

But at the very minimum we shouldn't try to sweep these problems under the carpet

https://t.co/0a96SM45I0

An honest discussion about trade-offs is required the longer this goes on

https://t.co/SvEFJF7vfl

The problem that the ‘lets-shut-schools-for-a-couple-of-weeks-crowd’ ignore is that its much easier to shut schools than to open them. Therefore, the probability is that once schools are shut, they will be shut for months on end, just like last time.

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