AIBU about Coronavirus and my colleague?

[Honsandrebels]

A colleague is due back in the office today from 10 days in Beijing. AIBU to be nervous that they may be infected with Coronavirus? My DD almost died from pneumonia as a baby and has damage to one lung, so am terrified about her contracting something like this. I think I am being U as realistically she could come into contact with it anywhere. But this is a person I know who has been in China the whole length of the outbreak. Ideally I would want to work from home until the colleague is 14 days clear, to protect my DD. Even writing this I am pretty sure I am being U. But opinions appreciated.

[Whichoneofyoudidthat]

But yeah, kids with all family back in China or HK going back to boarding school? Tricky!

[Whichoneofyoudidthat]

Schools were closed for 3 months during SARS. Sort of rolling 2 week closures. We are all bracing ourselves!

[dontgobaconmyheart]

Surely they will be screened when returning to the UK anyway, and have the good sense to seek assistance if they exhibit any illess. Not everyone in China is ill and i'm sure there must already be several carriers in the country already, so you are right she could get it from anywhere.

I do get your concern OP, I am an immune compromised person so the mind does wander but presumably you did not feel this way about the winter flu when it was going around? I'd register your concern with your bosses if you like but I'm not sure they are obligated to do anything. if you are able to work from home normally then i'd do it but not sure what else you can do other than ring in sick and then what is the plan if you go back and said colleague has a cough or someone else in the office is ill and might have caught it off of them and just been affected.

I don't think you are being unreasonable, i just don't know what it is that you could reasonably expect, i suppose.

[LesLavandes]

My son's boarding school in UK has many Chinese pupils. School are monitoring this very closely

[Honsandrebels]

Hi @dontgobacon, you have pretty much summed up my feelings on this. I think I am worrying over nothing. Although if it was me coming back from China I would prob raise my return to the office with my bosses out of consideration for colleagues. I am prob more bothered that this colleague won’t even remotely consider others in this situation.

[LilQueenie]

yanbu they cordoned off the whole city. They won't do that for no reason. Already 5 people in the UK are being screened for the virus. 1 in glasgow and 2 in Edinburgh not sure about the others.

[metalkprettyoneday]

I worry about this kind of thing too. Though I know it’s unlikely . I know this won’t make you feel better but I work in a community centre full of about 100 Chinese pensioners playing table tennis and dancing and board games. I’ve no idea which area of China they went to for the holidays and am thinking how lots will be hosting friends coming for their new year holiday .

[Limpshade]

I don't think you're unreasonable to be worried but I do think you're unreasonable to expect that person to stay off work for two weeks. I live in Asia and my husband often visits China for work (as recently as this week). We have two very young children and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all concerned about that but not to the point that I'd be demanding everyone stay home. The most recent stats that I've seen suggest that only 20% of cases become serious, and the mortality rate is only around 2.5%. Not to take away from those people who have fallen victim to the virus of course, but if you reverse those figures, even after contracting it you still have a 97.5% chance of survival and an 80% chance of only experiencing mild illness. Does it help to think of it like that?

[Ozgirl75]

I’m in Australia and live in an area with a lot of Chinese families. Our school (and a lot of other local schools) have basically imposed a 2 week school quarantine where they have said that if you have returned from China you need medical clearance to return to school and this will take account of the quarantine period.

So I actually don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask her to work from home for 2 weeks.

It’s tough call though - I can’t imagine it will be a popular decision at our school as it might mean having to take an extra 2 weeks off work.

It’ll spread anyway, because I can’t see healthy feeling people condoning themselves to home for 2 weeks. I wouldn’t be able to anyway, what about shopping etc.

[Ozgirl75]

Condoning = confining

[Mencho]

Wuhan is over 1,000km from Beijing so I think the risk of your colleague being infected is minute. Try not to worry

[echt]

YABU.

You know nothing about other colleagues who have been in contact with friends/rels, etc. and the virus.

[TheDeep]

Well they reckon that a hundred thousand people could be infected but whether it is reasonable to ask your work colleague to stay away from the office is a different story entirely.

[spottygymbag]

@Ozgirl75 We're in Sydney and our daycare has just emailed similar- medical clearance required if you have travelled to China or been in contact with anyone who has and links to the official government update and guidelines.
I know the mortality rate is low but that doesn't mean it won't be rough ride if you get it. My workplace have ok'd me (and anyone else who wants to) working from home if I feel it's necessary after being hospitalized with flu earlier in the year (asthmatic and pregnant) because we have a number of regular travelers.
OP can you work remotely so you wouldn't need to take time off but could still be cautious?

[MrsTerryPratchett]

The reality of your colleague having it is small BUT any risk is a risk.

Yes, but they could have norovirus, the flu, hepatitis or dengue fever for all you know. So everyone should stay at home all the time just in case. Any risk is a risk.

This nonsense circulated when Ebola was doing the rounds. I seem to remember someone worrying about Morocco or some such bollocks.

Wash your hands, don't touch your face all the time and observe basic hygiene. That'll cover most things.

[AppleKatie]

YABU hand hygiene and not touching your face is all you can reasonably do.

Also re the point about boarders 1) they all have UK guardians to stay with so they can be quarantined b) this is Isn’t seemed to be necessary at the moment.

[HomerSimpsonSmilingPolitely]

YABU and overreacting, but I totally get why. You have a vulnerable little DC and the media are making a circus out of the whole thing.

If I were you I would practice good hygiene whenever you are out as about, as PP's have suggested.

[Reallybadidea]

DH's company have banned all travel to China and are imposing a 10 day quarantine for anyone who has recently returned. YANBU.

[AllHeart1]

Ridiculous overhype.

2000 people in a city of eleven million in a world population of six billion.

The media are whipping up hysteria over this.

Anyone who takes time off work based on some unlikely risk when the risk of real spreading illnesses (norovirus flu etc) is here on the doorstep needs to seriously get a grip.

We’ve had this hysteria before, over SARS, Ebola, swine flu and none of it came to anything.

[Honsandrebels]

I might see dd’s gp about the risks to her and then work would absolutely let me work remotely if need be. Dd has extensive damage to one lung and narrowly avoided losing that lung altogether hence why I am a bit OTT with corona. Which is silly- flu should worry me as much/more, but flu is a known risk where as corona is new and therefore scarier.

[wombat1a]

Isn't BeiJing about the same distance from Wuhan than London is from Rome?

YUBU if that is case, that would be like saying person X went on holiday to Spain but because fo sickness in Italy they shouldn't be let near you?

[PurpleDaisies]

Beijing to Wuhan: 1,150km
Plane : 2hr20
Car : 11hr40

The foreign office are not issuing guidance that those returning from China are quarantined. You really aren’t being reasonable here, but it’s understandable that you’re worried.

I don’t know what you’re expecting the doctor to say. They absolutely will not recommend either you or your colleague stays off.

[SchrodingersUnicorn]

On the boarding schools point, they've been back in the UK for 2 weeks already. Pupils from affected areas won't be allowed to go home at halfterm though.
I'd talk to your GP, the others in your workplace and HR, see what they can do. I'd be worried too.

[Cam77]

@AllHeart1
Wrong. 2000 diagnosed cases. It is extremely likely that’s the vast majority of cars are going undiagnosed, for a variety of reasons. Medical experts as recently as yesterday put the actual number of likely cases in the many tens of thousands, possibly as high as 300,000. And that number is growing. China would not completely shutdown a city the size and relative importance of Chicago “over nothing”. The OP is absolutely right to be concerned.

[Cam77]

5 million Wuhan residents left the city of Wuhan for other parts of China after the outbreak of the virus. International experts have estimated there could be as many 300,000 people with the virus now within China. Do not confuse diagnosed and signed off cases in a country under massive unprecedented medical strain with actual cases. The OP is not being unreasonable.