Can someone explain this to me?

[gildalilly]

Apologies if I'm being thick but I can't work this out and would appreciate some wise input.

My ds, along with his school year, is currently isolating at home due to a case of covid in his year group. Approximately 240 children spaces across about 8 classrooms.

My dh has gone into work today (retail). He has 3 colleagues currently off having had a positive covid test. Approximately 15 staff (working shifts) in an express-sized store.

My question is - why is it that my ds is off for a fortnight but my dh isn't? What's the difference?

I think it's quite right that my ds is off, even though there is a chance that he might not have interacted with the positive case, but my dh has definitely worked with at least one of the positive cases in his work but none of the staff have been told to isolate.

[Mindymomo]

Presumably your husband hasn’t been in close contact under 2 metres and for under 15 minutes of work colleagues that tested positive.

My sons work had 6 people who tested positive. All others isolated for 14 days despite company providing private tests. They thought that as the tests came back negative they could go back to work, but they rang 119 and were told they had to stay off. Only a couple were contacted by track and trace.

It doesn’t make sense that company’s can seem to do what they want.

[gildalilly]

Thanks @Mindymomo. This is what puzzles me. He's in a shop. So wearing a face mask, but potentially on the next till along from one of these people for more than 15 mins in any given shift and certainly in the same environment as them generally for a full shift. The front door opens so good air flow. It all just seems a bit arbitrary really.

In comparison my ds might have been in contact with this other child but he might not have too. No masks though so maybe that's the difference.

[BlackeyedSusan]

school have just been isolating the few that have been in contact,m except when there were difficulties with the tests taking a while and the whole year group were out for two weeks.

don't get why dh isn't isolating though either. maybe the school is following rules and the business is prioritising staying open

[dementedpixie]

Dont the tills have perspex separating them and is he not wearing a mask? Those mitigations mean he won't need to isolate unless he's had close contact with one of the positive cases

[NameChange84]

Surely it’s due to the lack of masks in classrooms and social distancing not being possible in school?!

[Lozz22]

This is what I don't get either. One child out of whole year group gets it and the whole of that year group have to self isolate. Yet my OH gets Covid and we've had contact with each other for an hour at a time over a couple of days, but because I don't have symptoms and because we don't live together I'm still able to go to work tomorrow and look after the elderly and vulnerable. Surely the idea of self isolating after having contact with someone who is positives to prevent the spread further and if that was also the case then those who had been in contact with someone in a pub or restaurant wouldn't have needed to receive the text from the nhs telling them to self isolate

[dementedpixie]

The whole of our year groups don't isolate, just those counted as close contacts.

If you were in close contact with your OH in the 48 hours before he got symptoms then you should be isolating @Lozz22

[Lozz22]

@dementedpixie yeah that's what I thought but work say not. He didn't feel right when we were together but we both put it down to the low blood pressure he sometimes gets. He felt better just before he headed back off again but said the next day and the day after he felt extremely tired and then the loss of taste and smell came in. Neither of us can work out how he's got it because he's sat in a Truck all day and maintains a good social distance whilst delivering. I lost my taste a couple of weeks ago but my test came back negative

[dementedpixie]

What's your work got to do with it?
If you were in contact and he is positive then you isolate. Did he give your details to test and trace?

[Lozz22]

@dementedpixie because I told them. And no he didn't he told me himself

[RedskyAtnight]

Agree with others it's a close contact thing. Your DH has been judged not to have been in close contact with the infected people at work (his workplace probably calls itself "Covid secure").

The odd thing is the school sending a whole 240 strong year group home. They also should have only sent home close contacts.

[dementedpixie]

So you could be spreading it round your workplace then? He should have been contacted by test and trace and given details of contacts and you should be isolating.
Is he in a support bubble with you?
You can print off an nhs isolation note for your employer

[TippledPink]

My son's school was sending the whole year groups home with one positive case, there has been uproar and they have now changed it to only those in close contact. They will never be in school otherwise!

[gildalilly]

Thanks everyone. It's interesting that there's a lot if disparity seemingly everywhere.

Ds's school has full year groups as bubbles so perhaps that's why.