For telling my neighbour he should stay home

[queensonia]

My next door neighbours both tested positive for COVID on the weekend. Today I saw the husband getting in his car to go to work. He works for a medium sized public company with a lot of staff. He said he was told that he’s not legally obliged to isolate and that if he felt well enough he should still go into work. I told him he was morally obliged to isolate because he could infect colleagues who may suffer far worse than he is currently and pass it on to their relatives who may also get very ill or die. Is this what everyone is doing now.? In my industry we are pcr tested twice a week and not allowed on site until the test is negative.

But can I just ask how you would feel if you turned up for work tomorrow and the person working beside you had come into work knowing they had Covid which you then caught, forcing you to take time off from work and losing your income and in all probability your partner's income as well?

But you don't work with this man, so you're not going to get Covid from him sitting next to you. If you were one of his colleagues, then you might have some justification for moaning at him. But you're not, so you should kept your beak out of it. If his colleagues want to have a go at him for it, fine, they can do that. But it's got naff-all to do with you.

(Also, if one of his colleagues catches Covid and is too sick to work, they can get their normal sick pay just like they would if they had any other illness. And if they aren't too sick to work, we've established that their employer won't require them to isolate, so they can carry on working too and won't lose any income.)

It's the bosses fault here.

My frustration lies with capitalism etc. Wouldn't it be lovely to look out for ourselves and others without the threat of starvation and homelessness! The system is geared towards self preservation and unfortunately it will continue to be.

At my last job, you would get a discplinary after 7 days of illness or three instances within a 12 month period. Absolutely no room for being a human where your body is quite unreliable or consideration for colleagues. Company (and shareholders) always come first, as does providing for your family. We all surrounded by threat all the time and respond accordingly.

Mind your own business OP.

I can see hoe pple think like you, however he is not legally obligated to stay at home and may not be a not be able to afford to lose the money now there is no financial support. Most testing will end soon what then?

@queensonia

The majority opinion here is clearly that I was very unreasonable to express my opinion. Fair enough. But can I just ask how you would feel if you turned up for work tomorrow and the person working beside you had come into work knowing they had Covid which you then caught, forcing you to take time off from work and losing your income and in all probability your partner's income as well?

But if it forced me to take time off and lose my income doesnt that mean that my colleague would have to lose their income too if they stayed off?

Are you really saying that people should take time off work even if they wont get paid for it to prevent someone else potentially catching something in case they need to go off and not be paid? They may not even catch it and again this would be the case if someone came in with a stomach bug or the flu. There are numerous places that someone could catch covid, not just their workplace.

I am assuming now that you are on the wind-up given some of your recent comments, particularly the ones about not being sure whether your neighbour is being forced to go to work or whether it is his choice. Either that or the reaction here hasnt been what you expected so you are just trying to get people to agree with you with benign questions that make sense.

that dont make sense

MYOB.

You have no idea what pressures his workplace is under; or what arrangements they have made to isolate him from other workers.

@Shgytfgtf111

that dont make sense

Sorry if you think my replies don't make sense. He didn't want to go in to work, but was told by his manger that he should if he felt well enough. Ultimately it was his decision to say whether he felt well enough or not, but he was under pressure from his management to go in. He wasn't happy about it, and I AM CATEGORICALLY NOT BLAMING HIM personally and he knows that. I'm blaming the government for putting people in an impossible position by saying that from some arbitrary date they have plucked out of thin air, Covid is no longer something we should try to contain. And I am also blaming employers for failing to protect their workers' health and safety. You shouldn't be deliberately exposed to Covid in the workplace any more than you should be deliberately exposed to asbestos or second-hand smoke.

@2bazookas

MYOB.

You have no idea what pressures his workplace is under; or what arrangements they have made to isolate him from other workers.

Actually, I do, because my neighbours and I talk to each other.

I'd be surprised if this particular neighbour will still talk to you....

YANBU, and shocked at the vicious replies. Sadly, 'minding your own business' takes precedent over public health. Should we mind our own business as well when children or the elderly are being abused?

If someone went to work with the flu (similar level of fatality to Covid now), their colleagues would be rightly disgusted at the person's selfishness. The same applies here.

Or are those in the 'mind your own business' camp OK with sharing a desk, eating lunch, having a face to face meeting, sharing toilets with a person with Covid?! Probably f' not.

@queensonia direct your issue to your local MP - your neighbour and his employer are literally following government rules

@Abaababa

YANBU, and shocked at the vicious replies. Sadly, 'minding your own business' takes precedent over public health. Should we mind our own business as well when children or the elderly are being abused?

If someone went to work with the flu (similar level of fatality to Covid now), their colleagues would be rightly disgusted at the person's selfishness. The same applies here.

Or are those in the 'mind your own business' camp OK with sharing a desk, eating lunch, having a face to face meeting, sharing toilets with a person with Covid?! Probably f' not.

I'm fine being around people with Covid. I am not scared of Covid. I've had it before, don't care if I get it again. I would not be disgusted if someone went to work with flu, because I'm not stupid or privileged enough to think that everyone can afford days off work.

@Abaababa

YANBU, and shocked at the vicious replies. Sadly, 'minding your own business' takes precedent over public health. Should we mind our own business as well when children or the elderly are being abused?

If someone went to work with the flu (similar level of fatality to Covid now), their colleagues would be rightly disgusted at the person's selfishness. The same applies here.

Or are those in the 'mind your own business' camp OK with sharing a desk, eating lunch, having a face to face meeting, sharing toilets with a person with Covid?! Probably f' not.

But OP is not the self appointed COVID police!

@queensonia

The majority opinion here is clearly that I was very unreasonable to express my opinion. Fair enough. But can I just ask how you would feel if you turned up for work tomorrow and the person working beside you had come into work knowing they had Covid which you then caught, forcing you to take time off from work and losing your income and in all probability your partner's income as well?

We need to stop with the blame culture that's sprung up around Covid.

You could catch it anywhere. It's a risk of stepping outside your front door.

If I caught covid (again) I wouldn't be looking to blame anyone. I didn't blame anyone the first time round either.

I'm off out tonight to a football game with thousands of others. I have no idea if any have covid. Just like I don't know if any have the flu etc.

Soon no one will know if they have covid or not and certainly won't know if they have it with no symptoms.

[quote ChampagneLassie]@queensonia direct your issue to your local MP - your neighbour and his employer are literally following government rules[/quote]
I respect your opinion. but I'm genuinely surprised that so many people are now happy to follow government rules without question, when for the past two years the overwhelming national consensus was that government policy in regards to Covid has been an absolute shit show.

Or are those in the 'mind your own business' camp OK with sharing a desk, eating lunch, having a face to face meeting, sharing toilets with a person with Covid?! Probably f' not.

It wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

I spent time with someone who tested positive last week. The world didn't end.

I'm genuinely surprised that so many people are now happy to follow government rules without question, when for the past two years the overwhelming national consensus was that government policy in regards to Covid has been an absolute shit show.

The vast, vast majority of people adhered to the isolation/lockdown/social distancing/mask wearing rules.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

Or are those in the 'mind your own business' camp OK with sharing a desk, eating lunch, having a face to face meeting, sharing toilets with a person with Covid?! Probably f' not.

It wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

I spent time with someone who tested positive last week. The world didn't end.

I did exactly this last week. Colleague was positive but didn't know at that point. She tested positive the day after we were sharing an office, in meetings, and sharing toilets etc. Nothing horrendous happened.

I don't share toilets with anyone at work - whether they have covid or not. I wait for them to finish using the toilet before I go. They're only standard sizes.

YANBU, and shocked at the vicious replies. Sadly, 'minding your own business' takes precedent over public health. Should we mind our own business as well when children or the elderly are being abused?

Deliberate and callous abuse of vulnerable people is in nowhere near the same camp as going to work with covid. Ridiculous comparison.

@girlmom21

I don't share toilets with anyone at work - whether they have covid or not. I wait for them to finish using the toilet before I go. They're only standard sizes.

🤣

Can I just clarify that I did wait for my colleague to exit the toilet cubicle before I went in myself....

I wouldn't take too kindly to a neighbour lecturing me about my morals at the ass-crack of dawn when I'm just trying to leave my house.

Yes, he probably should isolate, but it's absolutely none of your business!

@girlmom21

I don't share toilets with anyone at work - whether they have covid or not. I wait for them to finish using the toilet before I go. They're only standard sizes.