ask if the rise in Covid is being fuelled by the working poor?

[Wantubackforgood]

It seems to me that there must be millions of low paid workers who are not in receipt of benefits (to trigger the £500 one off payment) and are working in jobs where only SSP is paid during self isolation/sickness.

They simply cannot afford to take the cut in income so carry on going to work .

Working poor as the OP term it are more likely to travel to work on public transport and much less likely to be able to work from home.

Consequence not cause. Don't blame them blame government for their inactions and lack of the right type of support.

There is a lot of anger growing in working class communities. Getting blamed for something that they didnt cause or create while having to take the risk of going into their low paid job (if they still have one) having to ask for help to feed their kids and then receiving a box of something that wouldnt even cover two days all the while being hassled and bullied into having to buy face masks while having to worry about being evicted because they cant afford to pay their rent while the so called protection from eviction isnt there in yet another lockdown. And all ppl care about is that they continue to wear face masks to protect their "betters"

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4131223-Government-sneaks-loophole-into-eviction-ban

I would like to apologise for the term working poor -I certainly didn't intend it to be insulting .
I was merely trying to highlight that there are people who are working as hard as they can but still find it difficult to make ends meet .
On a positive note ,it seems to have sparked discussion of these issues which is what I was hoping for .
Some brilliant posts on here .

The problem is also with management! I’ve heard of many people who have had symptoms and when they have told management they have been told they must come to work until they actually get a positive test, I rent housing association and we had two plumbers in working together and one of them returned the following week and told us his partner had tested positive for Covid but his manager had said he must come to work until he got his positive test! I was mad because my daughter is extremely vulnerable and it all comes down to money. The working class get screwed

I think there are also a lot of people who get paid cash (some cleaners, builders etc...) who can't apply for any government funds as they're outside the tax system, so they keep going to work. And they don't bother getting tested, as a positive test will be extremely detrimental to their household income. I know at least one person in this position.

Not yet read whole thread. I just want to add that nurses in nursing homes only receive ssp etc if they need to isolate( if they are lucky) so 70ish quid a week. They receive nowt else..

It is fuelled by the government not being clear in their guidance and not putting funding in place to support people who can't work from home to stay at home.

YES. You are right.
I am on benefits and I do work. I don't qualify for the £500 isolation payment as my firm will pay "sick pay" for isolating. BUT that means I lose out on all my other premiums connected to my pay. So despite isolating and receiving some income I am out of pocket, but not entitled to the £500 payment.
I am pretty sure that there are people in the same boat as me who are deliberately not getting tested, so they don't show up as positive cases and lose money.

[quote MercyBooth]@JamJamMum

order-order.com/2021/01/10/finally-piersmorgan-confesses-he-went-to-antigua-for-christmas-ignoring-government-advice-to-only-travel-if-it-is-essential/[/quote]
This really got to me.

Calling government ministers morons for not closing boarders and then travelling. Just because you could isn't a valid reason imo after all his verbal about it.

Vegetarians don't eat meat just because it's legal. They don't believe in it and so don't do it.

He really doesn't practice what he preaches and that makes him a twat imo!

Oh yes, all those low-paid workers at the checkout, and driving delivery vans, and packing things into boxes in warehouses, and cleaning hospital floors, those ones?

You mean the people who have continued to work despite the risks to their own health and have kept this country running for the past year?

Around here the main waves of covid were brought in by everyone who absolutely had to have a skiing / summer sun holiday in the summer in the middle of a pandemic

We are on a pre payment meter. We have ALWAYS kept it well topped up. We were told to make double sure of it at the start of the first lockdown. So we did. But two months ago EON got hacked. People couldnt top up on the app or with keys or cards. Our key took the money in the shop but it wouldnt go on the meter. EON were telling people to keep going round different shops to try and get new keys making a mockery of stay at home They also told my DH to share his mobile phone with the shop assistant so they could give instructions. In a pandemic. None of the shops we tried had a key so EON sent one out to us. Which they could have done in the first place. NOW here is where they change their tune about us keeping topped up NOW we have to run our electric right down before we try the new key as it may wipe out what is already on the meter. We are nearly there but what if the new key doesnt work. They have already left a disabled man without electric for five days. They kept sending someone else blank cards.

Many more cases here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4143223-WTF-is-going-on-at-EON One woman had to sit in her neighbours house with her phone on charge so she could talk to EON

Why the fuck are members of the public being fined while that shower of shit gets to act like this and put people at risk. Sending ppl all over, leaving them without electric , and yet this company arent being fined.

I have some insider knowledge over the undocumented migrant community due to my background. There were plenty of people there testing positive and even symptomatic, but still going to work and meeting other families for playdates. Not only because they have to work, many of them also don't believe in covid.