To ask if you are still avoiding covid?

Losing £240 for me with the cold I currently have would mean I dropped down to £1150 this month. I then have a non working day, so the week id have to take off to be symptom free would leave me at £1030 for the next month. Not everyone is able to just "scrimp" and I'm sick of the narrative that those of us who can't afford to take multiple unpaid days off work are killers. Blame the companies with poor sick leave policies and the poor statutory sick pay from the government.

I have covid and am isolating - most of my friends are old like me and I don't want to put them at risk. I know lots of people with covid at present. When I am back in the world I will be masking again for a while.

I'm not at all privileged and I'm already coping with a huge loss in earnings from having to take time off recently for back surgery. But I would rather scrimp and go short of money than knowingly infect someone vulnerable who might die or be severely compromised because of me.

@Growlybear83 you're very privileged to be in that position. I simply cannot afford to lose £240 in a month for the sake of a cold.

I've had it 3 times, I've always had bad flu symptoms with it so it's not been pleasant. I don't actively avoid it which would be hard anyway as I work in an office however, I wouldn't come and visit you if you had it either.

Good for you. I would rather lose a few days earnings and be able to sleep at night knowing that I had done all I could to avoid passing on a virus that could kill someone else's mum.

@Growlybear83 I'm sorry but when it costs so much to stay home, I'm going in to work.

I tend to avoid people who wear masks to be fair. I assume they don't really want spontaneous interaction, and I struggle to process facial expressions and emotion of masked people quite badly - so I stay away and we achieve a mutually beneficial outcome.

I avoid Covid in the same way that I avoid Influenza, Whooping Cough, Chicken Pox, gastro and all other highly unpleasant viral illnesses.

What a lovely attitude.

Yes I would try to avoid catching Covid and do my best to avoid passing it on. Same as I've always done with colds, flu and other illnesses that might spread easily. It's basic human decency to take precautions to avoid infecting other people.

Next thing people will be saying HIV isn't a death sentence anymore so it doesn't matter if you don't tell a partner you've got it before you have unprotected sex, they'd just need to take a bit of medication each day if they contract it from you.

I'd managed to dodge covid until three weeks ago. I tested positive, felt horrendous, cancelled everything and went to bed. I had a temp of 40.6, aching kidneys so I didn't have any choice, just descended into sweaty confusion and slept. Off my food for 7 days. Lost 3.5kg. It's taken three weeks to shake it off.

DS caught it and had 4 days off school.

But hopefully that's our antibodies topped up for the winter 🤗

@Growlybear83 my duty is to me.

I'm just getting on with my life, although I do have a vaccination booked next week (I'm over 65, with an unwell DH at home). Today in a supermarket I stood next to a lady who was fully masked up and wearing disposable gloves, so clearly some people are still being careful. If I knew I had it I would take steps to avoid people as much as possible.

For me it's not just covid. Before the pandemic, I just thought it was part and parcel of living to have to pick up colds and viruses. The pandemic taught me a lot of important things about how to keep myself well, so I do still do them. Over the past 4 years I've had one bout of covid - it was mild, and one cold, that was also mild. It's such a joy not to lose work and sleep as a result of contagious illnesses. I wish people who are out with symptoms would wear masks.

I wouldn't knowingly expose myself to covid the same as I wouldn't expose myself norovirus or flu or chicken pox.

@itwasnevermine thought you were replying to @Growlybear83 who said would avoid people where could or wear a mask.

I definitely would avoid it, just like I try and avoid the flu or any other nasty virus. I don't want to get sick and I don't want to pass illness on to others. That's why I've already had my Covid and flu vaccinations this autumn.

Yeah, people who still follow medical advice and understand what a nasty virus it can be.

I treat it like the flu. I don't test at all anymore to determine if I actually have covid, though I have some family members (who don't live locally, so I don't even see) who are obsessed with asking if I've testing anytime I mention feeling unwell on the phone, always claiming its going back around and I should be off work until I test negative etc.
I am just sensible like pre covid. Covid seems to have split people into people who fear another outbreak could happen or people who seem to now think the flu is not a concern at all because its not as bad as covid.

I wouldn't avoid people and wouldn't mind being around people with it. But some of my friends and family still isolate. I guess if you can easily isolate it's for the best to avoid general illness, but I wouldn't go out of my way to isolate unless I knew someone was particularly vulnerable.

I work in healthcare; it's rife at the moment.

I realise that some people would find it hard not to go into work if they think they have Covid and don't feel too unwell, but at the very least in those circumstances I think they have a moral duty to test and warn colleagues so that they can choose to keep their distance, and it's not exactly difficult to wear a mask. I'm self employed so I don't have the luxury of paid sick leave, so being ill has a huge financial impact on me, but I would still do everything possible to avoid infecting other people, including losing money by not working.

So if you had symptons like cold flu etc and tested for covid and it was negative you'd still go to your elderly mum?

Avoiding work etc. some of us have no choice but to go in when sick