WWYD? Pull a sicky or go to work and risk annoying everyone? (Covid)

[PretendUsername]

I have covid but I'm feeling ok. Rang work and they said come in, WFH not possible. They weren't happy about it but that's the official policy. If it spreads it will mess up some people's important plans over the next week or two. So I have 2 choices:

1. Use a tiny side office within the main office, shut the door, open the window and put a sign on warning people I have covid. That way it's up to them if they enter. I'd still have to nip out for the loo or to grab files but I could wear a mask.

1. Pretend I'm too sick to work and call off. Downside is I will lose pay and increase my Bradford score but it would probably be a big relief to my colleagues and put me in good standing with them.

Both options are a pain, WWYD?

I'd go for option one if you're feeling fine.

Shut door and open window.
Non of us have ever caught covid and we ventilated well

Fair enough. I just thought I might look like a bit of an attention seeker or a bit dramatic wearing a mask or putting a sign on the door? I think it's probably the fairest thing to do though.

You don't even have to declare it or if wear masks in hospital or docs anymore.

Option 1.

Well, for a start off, stop testing - so unnecessary. And just go to work, as you are supposed to!

Option 1

Option one sounds reasonable to me.

So annoying that WFH isn’t possible in cases like that. My whole team once caught a stinking cold from my boss who came in with “just a cold” and had a meeting with a group of us while proudly saying she’d never had a sick day. I wasn’t off with it but half her team were. Just why?

Maybe send an email too

I worked with someone who recently came in to work with Covid. She looked terrible but couldn't afford any more time off.

If any of us caught it, we didn't develop symptoms. That would be because we have stopped testing ...

Ditch testing and go to work.

If you feel well enough to work, option 1. Totally understand you don't want to spread it, but you can wear a mask in communal areas. Also, if everyone is warned they can distance and chose to wear a mask themselves if they'd rather.
My Manager came in with covid recently, we were all reluctant to get close to him which he understood, but he wore a mask at all times and no one caught it off him.

I would be seriously pissed off if my employer thought it was OK to expose me to Covid like this.

If you do a bog standard office job there is no reason why you can't work from home.

Option 1. For me

I tested because I had to visit someone vulnerable and felt rough. They ask all visitors to test first. I'm pleased that you have a nice life with nobody frail to worry about but don't assume that everyone is as lucky as you.

A better idea would be to not visit anyone vulnerable when you 'feel rough'. What if you gave them flu? It's also a killer. You can also buy a test for it I think, so that might be better. But then what about any number of other viruses that can kill the vulnerable?
Way before covid, I had a family member who was ummunosuppressed. The number of people who used to visit with 'just a cold' but a pneumonia risk for someone vulnerable.
It's as though a negative covid test makes that acceptable these days.

So, at work, same as anything else. You think you might be ill but are well enough to work? Try to stay away from others and not cough on them.

No can do. If I want to see my very frail loved ones then I need to test when I have symptoms. I don't test just for fun.

Just go to work. Stop treating Covid like it’s the bubonic plague.

If people are CEV, they should be mitigating risk. It’s no longer something for the general population to take precautions over.

Their life. Their rules. They instruct me to test and if it's not covid, mask up and care for them. If it's COVID then they'll tell me not to come.

How about we stop telling chronically ill people what risks they are and aren't allowed to take and simply listen and comply with what they want? This really shouldn't be a contentious issue, nor is it a problem you need to suggest a fix for.

Well done for being careful. What some posters here seem to also forget is that many students are now taking exams. Where possible, we should try to avoid infecting others so that it doesn’t mess up exams for those who catch it.

Oh do stop being so dramatic. Nobody is treating it like the plague. I'm not suggesting calling the authorities to hose me down in hazmat suits and isolate me from the general population in a lab FFS. I'm just trying to be considerate to colleagues as this is a new job and I don't want to piss people off unnecessarily. I was just getting a sense of whether people would consider it a social faux pas or not.

why can you hide in a tiny spare office all day long but can’t work from home?

so now i am confused.
Your work tell you to test for covid as you care for patients but you are worried about the staff?
Or you test to visit vulnerable family members? But if you have covid you go anyway? So then why are you stressing about perfectly health staff and not about vulnerable relatives? If you think a mask works to stop spread to one group, then why don't you think it works for the other?

Requires access to sensitive paper files that can't be removed from the building. There's a limited amount that can be done online but not enough to fill the day.