- I have two children, a 4-year old and twins who are 2 years apart.
- They all attend the same preschool that has never had any positive COVID-19 cases.
- Positive results led to the school closing down two days later after the holiday break.
When my husband, and I watched the Maine has a high number of COVID-19 patients blow up right before the holidays, we pulled our kids out of school in a panic. We evaluated the importance of having them at the end of the school year celebrations and the possibility of them staying home sick, but decided that it wasn’t worth it. The week was short and the children seemed to enjoy spending time with us.
Looking back, it’s obvious that we should not have done this. Now my children and almost all of their school are in quarantine, as they have two close contacts with positive COVID-19 cases. They will be away from school for the entire month.
This is the first positive case in our school.
Our school has done a great job in preventing COVID-19 spreading, even though most students aren’t eligible.
There were a few scares, but they turned out to be false negatives. These were still a nightmare and I had to manage work, remote learning and meals for everyone. It was also difficult keeping the kids entertained while they were bored.
Zoom
screen.
We were able not to contract COVID for the past two years but we felt that the combination Omicron/holiday season was a ticking time bomb.
My husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 days following Christmas.
Then my husbandtested positiveAfter a close, secretive conversation with a neighbor, just days before Christmas. The results of his first two home tests were negative. The third test was clear positive. We immediately quarantined the patient and removed him from all contact.
The kids and I avoided infection, but the quarantine period was without a doubt the hardest 10 days I’ve ever experienced as a parent.
I was responsible for three children under four years old. They required me to entertain them, take them to PCR testing to ensure they were free of COVID, and try to have fun while I was there. I cried quite a bit. I yelled much more than I would like to admit. We all watched more television together than ever before.
It was the only thing I knew how to do.
The school was closed in just two days
The day before January school began, I was sobbing on my couch while my husband thought through all possible outcomes. We discussed whether to keep our children home for the first week because of the possibility of a bigger COVID-19 increase.
We sent them back as we felt they needed a learning environment.
Two days after school began, we were informed that our son had been in close contact with our daughter and that he needed to be quarantined. Our twin daughters also received this information. Between the quarantine, a national holiday, and school holiday, they won’t be back in school until the end of January — meaning they will be out for an entire month.
I was devastated by the closure. Now that I am back at work, it is even harder for us remote learning, entertainment and care.
When my son announced to me that he had a girlfriend, my feelings were even stronger. “home day,”He began to cry and asked for his friends.
The pandemic has robbed my children of so much, and it seems like it will continue to rob them of more. Mental exhaustion from constantly doing risk assessment and second-guessing every choice, wondering what will happen if our children catch COVID or miss school more.
Every parent I have spoken to over the past few days is at breaking point. It’s worse than the pandemic years. This cannot continue. It’s impossible for our kids to continue doing this. That breaks my heart.