To avoid meeting with colleague day 10 post covid.

[Halloweenrainbow]

I have a face-to-face meeting scheduled with a colleague who has been off with symptomatic covid. The meeting is on the first day of their return - day 11. To be clear it's perfectly possible to hold this meeting remotely but everyone else wants to do it FTF. I understand that most people are less likely to be contagious at this stage but a small risk remains and I would rather not take any chances and bring covid home to vulnerable relatives.

What are your thoughts?

YABU - They are very unlikely to pose a risk by day 10. Get on with the meeting face-to-face.

YANBU - Some people are still contagious beyond day 10. Why risk it when you can hold the meeting remotely.

YABU, just get on with it.

@OnFormbySands

YABU, just get on with it.

Yeah, get on with it, do face2face meetings unnecessarily and risk everyone's Christmas again.

I mean, I think the risk will probably be fairly low, however, I think you are totally fine being unsure about doing this face to face meeting. If it can be done remote, and the person has had covid then just be safe and hold the meeting remote, why bother risking it?? YANBU - tell them you are getting your own PCR test due to symptoms and cannot make the meeting, that's what I'd do.

Mask up and sit apart in a well ventilated room

Be ill that day and offer to dial in remotely. Or just be ill. Don't blame you at all.

Isn’t that what the wonder vaccine is for?

If they are still symptomatic then they need to isolate for longer. But if they've recovered, then there's very little risk.

Can you sit 2m away, not facing them and wear a surgical mask? As if the meeting has to go ahead you can still reduce your personal exposure.

If you live with CEV family members though, can you speak with your HR? Our place of work is being very reasonable for anyone who can show they need to make personal adjustments to reduce risk on medical grounds, and would permit you to dial in to that meeting.

There's a reason that ten days is the isolation period. It's so that at the end of that time you're no risk to anyone.

For goodness' sake, tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, hospital staff and all the other people who deal with the public, don't have the luxury of remote working and are stuck in a room with many people all day. Teachers teaching kids with covid positive members of the family or who have just returned after isolation, for instance. Imagine if they all stayed off and lied to cover themselves.

Doctors and nurses catch it at work and then have to go back ten days later to care for vulnerable people. If hospitals are happy with that, then ten days had to be scientifically safe.

Now count yourself lucky. There won't be another thirty people sharing that room with you and ten day person, and you'll be allowed to wear a mask, unlike a teacher. Maybe even the others in the meeting will too. How lucky are you?

Now put your grown women pants on and stop catastrophising.

I assume you're jabbed??

Maybe accept that if you've survived 18 months of the sniffles and are now vaccinated, that you're probably safer in a room with someone who's recovered than the other 10 people that you have no idea what their status is??

@PinkiOcelot

Isn’t that what the wonder vaccine is for?

You'd have thunk it no??

I’m in a similar situation. The average time is 10 days which is what the isolation is based on, so yes there’s a chance of catching it.

I would probably still attend though and keep my distance. And hope the viral load is low and it’ll be ok.

@TotallySuper

Be ill that day and offer to dial in remotely. Or just be ill. Don't blame you at all.

Or just stay indoors forever & let the rest of us live our bloody lives....

@PinkiOcelot

Isn’t that what the wonder vaccine is for?

Dh has had 2 doses of the wonder vaccine (as have I), but is currently feeling very ill with Covid. I am torn between trying to look after him and trying to avoid getting infected myself.

@PinkiOcelot

Isn’t that what the wonder vaccine is for?

The vaccine isn’t 100% effective and if you’re coming up to 5-6 months after your second, then your protection drops. Unless you’ve missed the booster campaign.

@saraclara They reduced the isolation period from 14 days to 10 days to increase compliance. Some people are still contagious beyond 10 days although the risk is much lower.

Just wear a mask and stay 2 metres away which would just be common sense.

I had a negative LFT on day 10 I tested before I went out.

You could potentially catch it off anyone there who isn't at a stage of showing symptoms. The known low risk of day 11 isn't different to any other interaction.
Best just crack on with life and not what-if about it.

We run hybrid Teams/F2F meetings. Is that an option, for the others to meet in a room and you join via Teams?

Having experienced a very rough time with covid and been off work 6 weeks now recovering I think it is madness to risk f2f is not necessary.

I am 30s, double vacc, nothing underlying and have been surprisingly unwell. Several doctors have told me that your severity of covid is simply luck at this point (given so little know of virus) so why risk it if not needed?!

Where would you draw the line as it being 'safe'? 11 days, 12 days, 2 weeks?

I’m pregnant & I wouldn’t go. Are you at any increased risk?? If not i would go with a ffp2 mask and ventilate the room. If you are at any increased risk or have someone living with you who is, I’d refuse on those grounds and dial in. Xo

Friend works in test and trace. Some people still catch it after the 10 day isolation period however this is rare. I don't think I'd be too concerned but you say you've got vulnerable family members then you might want to err on the side of caution.

My dad's got Covid and is on day 10 now. He's planning on seeing friends tomorrow OP - I think he's mad. He's still not feeling well and got symptoms.

How do we know that at exactly 10 days we're no longer contagious?

The isolation period was shortened from 14 to 10 because most people are no longer infectious AND also because people weren't sticking to it. I'm with you, OP. I wouldn't risk it. The ten days is a public health compromise. They could easily be infectious at day 11.