How are people in house shares meant to self isolate?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I lived in house shares for many years in London. So many people are house sharing these days, it's not just students and people in their twenties.

Realistically, they can't self isolate if sharing a bathroom and kitchen, sick or not? Overcrowding and potential for spread just seems like another layer of the clusterfuck of covid 19.

Anyone that doesn’t live alone ‘house shares’.

The answer is that you can’t, unless everyone else in the property vacates at some point so you can use the facilities and prepare food for the day.

Anyone that doesn’t live alone ‘house shares’.

Ok, but I think you know what I mean..

Living with a partner or family is quite different to living in a house share with people who you don't really know. As a family you can sit down and agree on a plan of action for what you would do if one of you becomes sick.

One particular huge house I lived in had a steady stream of people who would move in and out every few months, their friends coming to visit. It would have been really difficult just to even trace contacts for a house like that, should someone have become sick.

I am wondering the same thing OP. And no it's not exactly the same as 'anyone who doesn't live alone'. I can see other adults in a house share demanding a potentially infected person leave so that they don't spread it. There's a different attitude, if you have a child or spouse sick, if you share a bed with a partner, you share life experiences together, you expect to share the same viruses. 'For better or for worse'.

It's not the same with housemates who are usually strangers living in a shared space. There isn't the same tolerance or understanding.

Ok - sorry I never lived in a house share like that!

Impossible. Like you said there are always too many people coming in and out to ever know where something may come from and you couldn’t NOT use a bathroom or kitchen.

The government has given some pisspoor advice about using a separate bathroom and kitchen (!) if you house share and cleaning in-between. Because all those HMOs of 5 people or so have two kitchens and a few spare bathrooms FFS.

Because all of those HMOs of 5 people or so have two kitchens and a few spare bathrooms FFS

Typical of government ministers in their ivory towers, eh?