Should be isolating? Work wants me in

[Mojitoqueen]

I’ve had one dose of vaccine so far.
At the weekend my grandad was very ill. He was found wandering the streets at 4am, he lives alone. This happened two nights in a row. Referred to memory clinic.
We all rallied round making sure he wasn’t fleeing the house, we all spent the weekend with him.
It now turns out he has covid, first test was negative. He’s back in hospital confused and now testing positive.
Mother in law is now positive and really sick. We last saw them on Sunday. She did a lateral flow test which was positive and a pcr test just yesterday.
My household which includes me, dh and dd did pcr test yesterday. Waiting on results.

Work are saying despite me having one dose of vaccine and despite me been in close contact with two people with covid I’ve to come in because track and trace hasn’t pinged. I’ve tried to explain that pcr results can take days to come through. Grandad doesn’t own a mobile phone and I’ve been told to get him to give the nhs our info for the app. He doesn’t know our mobile numbers and is suffering confusion, plus we can’t visit so that’s impossible!!
I don’t have symptoms and will probably test negative but nhs website says I’ve to isolate for ten days….but I’m pissed off because I work closely with my work colleagues and they will be fuming if I come in for three days or until the app pings, knowing I’ve been in close contact with two people with covid!
My main colleague has just become a grand mother two days ago, which could stop her visiting her grand child. Work are insistent I need to come in. And won’t pay me otherwise.

My mother in law and grandad are both double jabbed and now seriously ill. I’m shocked that you don’t have to self isolate if you are a close contact now, unless not jabbed. Clearly the jab doesn’t stop the spread.
My workplace is huge and we have a pregnant woman there. I just don’t think it’s fair really but that’s just my opinion.

It is short sighted and as your not double jabbed and a close contact I'm not sure you should go in.

I think the choices are to say you have a cough while you wait for the PCR or go in.

Seems weird as we was all being careful last month. Our ds has covid but because dh is double jabbed he is at work. He has had a PCR but he could still get and transmit it. His boss is adamant no one should be at home unless they themselves have covid so he isnt the only person at work with a active covid case at home. We shall see how that pans out for them!

Until and you are informed by test and trace to isolate your employer can ask you to work. No point pointing out flaws in. Intact tracing: it had always been a shit show tbh.

We are not really taking preemptive action to stop covid spread anymore really; unless all your colleagues are single jabbed Or unvaccinated staffing won't be affected until and unless you ultimately get covid and pass it on to them.

Your work has decided having you in is worth this risk.

I think lots of people need to realise that if you haven't had it already you will ultimately catch covid at some point and the govt strategy is to rely on vaccines to stop serious illness. In fact they would prefer you and your colleagues to get it now rather than in flu season.

OP is not double jabbed.

@Aprilx @Purplewithred @FuriousCheekyFucker @ri

Businesses: "Pingdemic! All our workforce is off with covid and we can't operate!"

Also businesses: "Oh, you're extremely high risk for having and transmitting a highly infectious disease? Get into work immediately and work in close contact with your colleagues".

@IncessantNameChanger yes exactly, dd is away to school and dh can go to work. I’m still waiting for my result but both dh and dd are negative. Dh is double jabbed but only from 12 days ago.
He out of all of us was down there the most. We stay two mins from grandad and we were worried sick. He’s just lost his wife so we thought it was stress or early dementia. He was becoming violent in his delirious state which isn’t like him at all, so we all had to sit with him and he was right as rain when he wasn’t actually confused. He had a sore back but no cough or classic symptoms.

Mother in law was dandy until Monday morning. Even Sunday night she was all energy and nothing. Monday she was sick as a dog. Tuesday in an ambulance.
Grandads test didn’t become positive until a week later. So your dh could be the same. Nobody knows.

It’s nuts.

This is what I was a bit concerned about with the rule changes.
I know there won’t be a legal obligation but if someone actually in my household tested positive I wouldn’t feel comfortable coming into contact with lots of people eg at work, and I’m sure colleagues wouldn’t be happy either! But if there’s no legal obligation to isolate people’s employers are going to require them in. I think it’s good in some ways but people need to be able to use their common sense otherwise more vulnerable colleagues are never going to be able to come back to work!

You probably only have one more day of waiting for PCR, if that, mine came back within 24 hours last week, about 36 hours the time before.

So, realistically, there's only one day, and I'd say you are ill/covid symptoms on that day, wait for the PCR and if negative, go back to work.

There is a chance that you might develop covid symptoms after that, but if everyone around you in your current home doesn't have it, and you don't have symptoms initially, you may just have to get back out there. You could get covid at work next week, it's all around us!

I would really really get that second jab right now though, as that makes you 50/60% less likely to get covid. I know it's hard when you react badly, though.

DH caught covid and given we had to share an 8 hour car journey together I was fairly sure I would get it too . My Work said come in until my PCR test result was known . Luckily it came back (positive) about 20 mins before I left for work in the morning .

Op your app won't ping. The app is anonymous and works on Bluetooth. As your grandad doesn't have a mobile then it can't have picked up his Bluetooth to ping you. Test and trace will contact you once your details have been given by your granadad or mother in law

@rainbowandglitter if I get a phone call, how do I prove that to my employer?

I am in my third week of Covid. Had my second jab in early July, 3 weeks before catching Covid. I'm in my early 30s.

I have been too ill to work since my symptoms began. I also developed a secondary chest infection and needed antibiotics for that.

Being double jabbed doesn't mean you can't catch it or become ill. My GP and the Covid doctor expect me to need at least a month off sick and then a phased return to work. Unfortunately Covid can still be very unpleasant even for the double jabbed.

Even if OP's colleagues are all double jabbed it's possible that some will catch Covid from her if she is incubating it. Hopefully they will be fine but the risk that some will catch it and need to isolate is still there. There is also a risk some will become unwell and need a good chunk of time off, like me.

Surely it would be better to isolate OP for a few days now than risk further disruption by bringing her in whilst she awaits her MIL's test results?

OP I would ring 119 for advice, they might be able to contact you formally if you explain that your grandfather isn't in a position to identify you as a close contact.

Test and Trace give you a contact tracing number which is your identifier. It's legally binding that you don't break Track and Trace edicts to self-isolate whereas the app is only advisory.

OP you get a code from the positive test results?

How do you get that? Does it come through with email/text that say you're positive?

Also, what job do you do?

Your employer is correct. You haven’t tested positive yet so you are not required to isolate. So they are correct and fine to ask you to come in.

The app pinging you and T And T are not the same thing.

If you had close contact within 48 hours of their positive case you should be contacted by T and T but doesn't seem like that wil happen in this situation.

"Even if OP's colleagues are all double jabbed it's possible that some will catch Covid from her if she is incubating it. Hopefully they will be fine but the risk that some will catch it and need to isolate is still there. There is also a risk some will become unwell and need a good chunk of time off, like me."

The government are happy with those risks as long as the number hospitalised is manageable.

Not great if you only get SSP or worse are on zero hours)/ gig economy though.

[quote Mojitoqueen]@rainbowandglitter if I get a phone call, how do I prove that to my employer?[/quote]
They text and email you

Actually I don't think they do email you. I just checked mine and I think it was just a text.

Had a T&T call for my daughter. Was then flowered up with an email. If I recall they give you the choice of text or email. But as an adult you might just get the text/email anyway dependant in what details you /the +ve person have given. Has your MIL had her results yet (Appreciate it is already a given now).

Aside from anything else - YOU have to isolate until your own pcr results come back. As far as track and trace on your grandfathers side - why is no one helping him with the track and trace side of things? I’d ring the helpline and get advice.

We’ve got Covid in our household right now - positive person had to complete a form online via an email link. We all then just got emails from track and trace telling us to isolate - no text, no phone call, just email.