AIBU to be upset about people not self-isolating

[igetitigetit]

I work with children in an extra-curricular club setting. We have kids from a number of different schools. We are a private/independent organisation. One member tested positive for Covid, and so we've asked all those the child has been in contact with to self-isolate for 10 days as per the guidance. We've moved our activity to online, seeing different small groups each day. Today, 5/5 kids we saw had obviously been to school and are not self-isolating. I'm really upset. I get how frustrating it is, but there is very good reason to self-isolate as they were all in close contact.

This is bad enough but my employer thinks it's not a big deal and it's up to the parents to decide. If they decide not to make their kids self-isolate, then it's up to them. I disagree. Moreover, the kids will be back at the club next week, and I'm expected to go in and work with them. I expect a certain degree of risk (as in most things at the moment) but I feel now I'm obviously dealing with people who are not taking things seriously, so the risk is greater. I've said I'm not happy going in, but not sure where I stand. This is only one part of a bigger job, and the rest of it I can do from home (I'm self-isolating) so I'm not idly twiddling my thumbs. This is causing big conflict in the workplace though.

Can the parents afford to take ten days off work? Are they even allowed to?

I get your frustration, but the reality is that many people can no longer afford ten days at home.

Personally I’d be notifying the schools!

We have lived with this inconsistent nonsense for 16 months now.

Workplaces have exhausted their understanding when it comes to parents being off for isolating kids.

People are scared of losing their jobs, or they can't afford to take days off.

I would let it go.

In a month, they won't even have to isolate at all.

YANBU.

I’m a teacher and it basically seems we’re expected to suck it up.

Is your activity based indoors or outdoors?

If it is outdoors I wouldn't be happy having to keep my child inside for 10 days. Outdoors is very low risk. You are probably following social distancing procedures as well. If so, the DCs have been socially distant from someone who tested positive. No point in socially distancing if you have to be locked up for 10 days anyway.

Is it an outside activity? If so I’d have to say I’d struggling to justify isolating my child from the world (yet again) in this scenario.

Perhaps their parents don't get paid if they don't work. And so then can't pay their bills. It's just not simple is it.

I understand both points of view parents have no annual leave left. I work with children too and have my own. I would struggle to isolate him now.

It's inside. We've done our best with covid-procedures but, like in school, it's hard because kids will be kids. They've been slack about the mask-wearing (we are still supposed to be enforcing that in out-of-school activities). The risk is probably the same as school, I'd say.

These parents are not hard-up and many are working from home anyway. That's not to say it's not massively inconvenient. I get that - I have 2 kids of my own who have had to self-isolate at various points. In fact one would have been self-isolating himself because of a Covid case at a club but he'd actually missed that particular meeting, so he wasn't a close contact. We'd have sucked it up though.

I think the fact that they won't have to self-isolate in a month is not a reason to not do it now. Cases are increasing so rapidly.

I don't think the majority of people care anymore. Come 19th it's all Ending anyways isn't it

@igetitigetit

I work with children in an extra-curricular club setting. We have kids from a number of different schools. We are a private/independent organisation. One member tested positive for Covid, and so we've asked all those the child has been in contact with to self-isolate for 10 days as per the guidance. We've moved our activity to online, seeing different small groups each day. Today, 5/5 kids we saw had obviously been to school and are not self-isolating. I'm really upset. I get how frustrating it is, but there is very good reason to self-isolate as they were all in close contact.

This is bad enough but my employer thinks it's not a big deal and it's up to the parents to decide. If they decide not to make their kids self-isolate, then it's up to them. I disagree. Moreover, the kids will be back at the club next week, and I'm expected to go in and work with them. I expect a certain degree of risk (as in most things at the moment) but I feel now I'm obviously dealing with people who are not taking things seriously, so the risk is greater. I've said I'm not happy going in, but not sure where I stand. This is only one part of a bigger job, and the rest of it I can do from home (I'm self-isolating) so I'm not idly twiddling my thumbs. This is causing big conflict in the workplace though.

Considering kids under 18 won't have to isolate in a couple of weeks anyway, I wouldn't fret about it

How are you more at risk if they don't self isolate? They've either got it or they haven't. As long as you're not around them for the 10 days, the risk should be the same.

Or am I missing something?

This is precisely why the disruptive messing about with close contact isolation is coming to an end very soon.

YABU. We need to just crack on with it now.

I feel very sorry now for the ones who are taking it seriously and self-isolating, when others aren't bothering. And it's not split along the lines of who can afford to, and who can't afford to. Half of these kids are old enough to be left on their own at home anyway. They're not all little ones. No practical excuse if you're of secondary school age.

Why haven’t you had the vaccine? If the kids are back next week, what difference does it make to you? They either got it off the contact or didn’t.

Go ahead, get upset and frustrated. But it's a waste of emotion because fewer and fewer people give a fuck anymore and no, nothing will happen to them. So crack on expending energy on it, though.

Meh, I think most people just really don't care anymore.

If this had happened in 12 days time, none of them would need to isolate anyway.

@igetitigetit

I feel very sorry now for the ones who are taking it seriously and self-isolating, when others aren't bothering. And it's not split along the lines of who can afford to, and who can't afford to. Half of these kids are old enough to be left on their own at home anyway. They're not all little ones. No practical excuse if you're of secondary school age.

You have no idea what the inner minutiae of others' lives are. If people want to sit at home over this that is their lookout, lots are not bothering, there's no way to enforce it and it's time to crack on, IMO. But again, your emotions are yours to expend how you wish.

Most people are sensible enough to see the statistics and understand that cases are not what matters. Loads of the cases currently being reported are mild or asymptomatic cases among children and young people and arent resulting in hospitalization. Many of the (still relatively low) hospitalizations are people who have chosen not to have the vaccine.

We cant protect people forever. Many employers won't allow people to work from home with no childcare, people have run out of annual leave.

I'm surprised this is the first time you have experienced this.
It happens all the time in nurseries and schools and proceeded covid. Parents sending their children in with flu, stomach bugs and more. Talk to the child and find out they were given medicine/calpol before school, or that they were up all night going to the toilet. Of course some parents will talk to the staff and try various tactics to give some calpol in a couple of hours to keep the temperature down.

@Canigooutyet - yes I realise that this is probably old hat. I do remember from my children's primary school years in particular, how things ripped through entire classes because parents didn't want to keep their kids off.

I've had both jabs, btw. Some of my colleagues are younger and have only had one so far.

@Orf1abc

Can the parents afford to take ten days off work? Are they even allowed to?

I get your frustration, but the reality is that many people can no longer afford ten days at home.

They can if they claim the self isolation payment. If they’re a close contact they legally have to isolate.

I think it’s difficult to take the self isolation advice for small groups of kids seriously when we can see 65,000 people currently in Wembley stadium.