As omicron wipes out Christmas 2021, what will happen to our children if their lives continue to be governed by quarantine and isolation?
We had been so careful with COVID-19 since March 2020, or perhaps the previous variants were simply less transmissible. But here in January 2021 it feels like a whole new problem. The vaccines are making things easier and as politicians bend the rules for us all regarding how long we are stuck indoors, the children, many still not fully vaccinated, are the ones to pay once again the highest price.
School has soldiered on admirably but school in terms of lessons, tests and homework. The school of coming-of-age has simply been cancelled. It is forbidden in my sons’ schools in Rome to even walk the corridors. Where for this generation of teenagers the thrill of glimpsing that fellow student you like? How can those in their final year rule the school if there is no-one left to rule?
I hear that final exams, that huge milestone in our education will be adjusted again. Should I worry that my kids seem to be doing ok despite COVID-19 or will they get a nasty shock when they learn what is required at university? Not sure.
The parks remain open but the swings have been removed to stop the younger ones gathering and mixing. I guess we will only really find out what else is missing much further down the road.