I just walked out of work over covid.

[organisedmother]

When I arrived to work this morning my colleague told me that her friend she was with yesterday had just tested positive for covid and she has done a lft herself and was negative, she hasn’t done a pcr. I work in a very small space with no windows if she has picked up covid I’m more than likely going to get it from her as we share a till, toilet, fridge microwave in such a small space.

I said maybe she should of stayed home until she got a negative pcr, she was with this friend in her house having a drink,no masks of corse, windows shut, I feel like there is a 50/50 chance she will more than likely pick this up.

With Christmas so close and the schools finishing this week I thought is this worth the risk for a 3 hour shift when I could potentially pick this up and spread to my family.

I decided to go home and she said she understood their was a risk and is fine with it.

I feel a little guilty now, but I just keep thinking of the points…

-With her friend in a house chatting who has covid.
-we have no windows so are breathing each others air
-sharing everything at work
-schools closing tomorrow
-Xmas
-only lost out on £30

The nightmare and hassle it would of been if she does have it and I pick it up would of been catastrophic!

Would you of stayed or been out the door

HoldingTheDoor Have you ever seen anyone on a ventilator, HoldingTheDoor?*

Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

No there is no social distance or ventilation

hint: most don't come off them alive

Hint, most people who develop Covid do not require one, and that's even less likely if they're vaccinated.

[quote ElleGettingBetter]@Suranjeep my goodness, so regardless of whether we might get covid or pass it to a family member we just do what the government say because “thems the rules”?[/quote]
You must have a very soft boss, be unemployed or a middle class work from homer if you can not go into work because you know someone who doesn’t have Covid

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Surely if you are working in a tiy little unventilated shop handling stock, cash and face to face with customers, you are likely exposed to covid relentlessly?

Exactly this! I can see why you're anxious, but you're at risk of being exposed every minute of every day and you're not anxious about that.

@organisedmother

This is 100% and thank you! Last year your would of been isolating if been in contact with someone with covid to reduce the spread

In a local school in our state, one (1) child got Covid. The entire school was shut down immediately.

That's how serious it is taken here. So you can imagine how gobsmacked I am at the lackadaisical attitudes on here to a very easily caught and deadly virus.

Mind you, it was the last day of school (happened last Friday) and the very last day of the school year. It's summer holidays now so they're off for 6 weeks, last Friday was mainly just games, a water slide, ice blocks, that sort of thing. So the kids were turned away at the gate and told the school year's over, no school today, go home. They had to miss out of on all the fun of the last day but. But even several months ago there was a similar case, mid school year, mid school term at a larger school hours away from us - school was shut immediately. So it is taken VERY seriously here. No stops aren't pulled, nothing is left to chance. ONE case. Everything closes (school at least). I guess that's why we've been able to have such low numbers.

@claudiaJ1
Who are you so angry with?
Calling people selfish murderers and nasty?
Yes you've seen people on ventilators I can't imagine how distressing that is but coming on a forum and branding people the above won't help anybody.
I pressume we are all doing what we can in our own indiviudual circumstances and it can get very scary. We can't do more then that.

@MiddleParking

Why should she have left? yes, you’re being ridiculous OP.

This! You're making up your own rules as you don't need to isolate currently even if you live with someone who tests positive, so leaving work because someone was in the company of someone else is ridiculous.

Seems like many people are putting themselves into isolation/ lockdown.

I am not with a customer long enough to feel anxious only a couple of mins

If you want to make extra rules for yourself that's fine but just don't expect anyone else to or your employer. It's really irrelevant if we disagree with the law. I would have been fine with your decision and I would have come into work if I were your colleague.

I'd have stopped. Your colleague wasn't breaking any rules if she was vaccinated (nrtft).

I was at a dinner party in a private home a few weeks ago. All indoors, windows closed because winter. Not hugging and kissing, but not exactly staying 6 feet from each other either. 3 days later the host tested positive and we were all contacted. 9 guests tested, 9 guests negative.

The host's wife and kids didn't catch it from him either.

Your colleague having spent time with someone who's tested positive is not a guarantee that she nor by extension you will get it.

Sadly lft are the rules now even if it sounds stupid. Although I don't think it's as easily spread as we think. My other half currently has covid which we think was caught from a funeral last week. All his family have it aswel but I don't. We have been isolating but not from each other so no reason why I shouldn't have it.

If she was with him yesterday, the chances of her being infectious so soon (18 hours later?) are as I understand it, very very small.

Anyway I'm derailing the topic.

You sound silly. Lucky you can afford to not be paid though! :)

@claudiaJ1 Well we just ignore the ridiculous comments don't we I'm sure we've all got varied opinions on what we should do, what our own government stipulates ect but I can assure you when we are going to work to get food on the table or putting our child in school when their mental health is at stake we are not murdering anyone we are thinking of ourselves and our own which we have every right to do. You can't please everyone I suppose and I can imagine like you I wish there was another way but sadly there isn't we gotta work with what we have.

@Suranjeep you make a lot of assumptions. I am a single mum of 2, work from home (since first lock down, I have an understanding employer who looks after the heath of their employees) for just over £25k, with a small amount of UC to top up my wages. I don’t get any maintenance from the father of my children, and most months there is just enough to cover outgoings and food.

Would I rather have to find a new job than potentially risk either not seeing my CEV mother over Christmas, or worse infect her/vulnerable person unwittingly? Absolutely Yes.

There are thousands of jobs out there, there is a shortage in many industries. Why would you risk your health for a job?

@Nickwinkle

I'm going to say that no, you're not being unreasonable. For a normal, healthy person with a normal, healthy family then the risk of being seriously ill or dying from covid is minimal. However, if you do feel like she's put you or your family at risk then of course you're not being silly walking out as you believe that is what is best and safest for you and your family and no one can/should be able to tell you otherwise.

My dad is currently extremely unwell and a common cold would kill him so I would be beyond furious if someone adopted your colleagues attitude of 'oh well' and was willing to pass it on to you because they're okay.

Again, it all depends on personal circumstances and risks and so if you believe walking out was the right thing to do then it absolutely was.

@Nickwinkle - pass what on? Her colleague hasn’t got Covid!

@5keletor

What a compete and utter tit (her). Maybe she doesn't legally need to isolate, but you'd hope people would have the basic common sense to do a PCR before possibly exposing other people. I'd have done the same, OP.

But she'd still have to take time off work while waiting for the results. DH waited nearly 48 hours and that was a couple of weeks ago.

Some of your heads are well and truly in the clouds. You reckon all employers are OK with staff just sacking work off even though 'the rules' say they can be there? Wake up.