Aibu to not take a COVID test?

[pepstuw]

So bit of back story, I worked in an NHS role where I was exposed to Covid a lot at the start of the pandemic, had my vaccines and in November 2021 it finally caught up with me and I got it for the first time.

Then in February this year I got it again but was only testing positive for 2 days (the day I needed a negative test for an important work trip abroad, typically!) I'm guessing this was Omicron this time but I had 0 symptoms.

Last Weds my stepmum who currently lives with me tested started feeling unwell and on Friday when she took a test it was positive. She has isolated away in her room etc and I thought it's quite unlikely I'll get a third time?!

I have a spa break from this evening to weds and I've woken up today with a sore throat that hurts to swallow. I really just want to enjoy my time away as it was a birthday present from my best friend. Have spoken to her and she says she'd rather I just didn't test until after our trip but she understands it's maybe a bit irresponsible.

As I understand it, 1 in 13 people currently are walking around with the virus and I have been very cautious throughout the pandemic and followed rules. I know it's not even against the law to go out if I did have covid, but knowing I had it would make me feel bad and I would cancel the trip. Is it so selfish to think if 2 years down the line people are so scared of getting covid that they shouldn't be going to a spa etc? If 1 in 13 has it then the supermarket is a higher risk?!

Opinions please

@thebear1 yes I agree so many people don't know this is the advice still
But then there new guidelines are all over the place
They now say if you have symptoms not tested stay home until you feel ok , if tested stay home 5 days from test ( not symptoms like used to be) plus really its 10 as tells you to wear mask , avoid crowded places etc etc
Basically thats encouraging don't test as then you have less days home

Wait and see OP. On Saturday I had a mild sore/scratchy throat. Other then that I felt fine, did a lateral flow that came up negative and then I went to Tesco.
Sunday morning I woke up and every muscle in my body was aching and I could barely stand up. Did another test to make doubly certain (dmum under going chemo so we are still do lfts) and a strong positive came up.
Today I am still feeling very unwell and there is no way I could go to the spa. So maybe just wait and see how you feel. If you feel fine go ahead and enjoy your time, but you may come down ill and if you do just don’t go. Surely that is the most common sense here?

@MimosaFields legal restrictions have guidance had not
I know as i have covid and received email from them telling me what to do etc

You are obviously going op so why most?

@MimosaFields see the fact you think they are saying just go out even if you have it , prooves the message isn't out there
Read the link you posted

I totally agree @pepstuw If I had a really nasty Flu-ey cold I'd probably stay away from people but just a normal cold I'd always crack on and work etc. this is how it needs to be with Covid now. If we don't test we can just base it on what we feel like. 99% of people I know feel the same, even people you would class as vulnerable. Life is too short.

I’d do a test and obviously not go if it was positive. I’m currently positive right now and my symptoms started with a sore throat.

It’s not like you’re going somewhere you can keep your distance- you’ll be getting treatments done with staff needing to be in close-ish proximity. IMO putting them at risk is selfish.

To be fair though, I would cancel these sort of things for any cold/bug/infection where I’d risk passing it on. Not just covid.

@FairyCakeWings

People who go out in public, including spas, know that they run the risk of coming into contact with covid, and have chosen to go anyway.

Just go and enjoy yourself. Maybe don’t use the steam room.

The welfare side is more about the staff really. I'd agree that anyone who has chosen a voluntary leisure activity that involves being close to other people has for practical purposes consented to encountering covid 19. So with the staff, it's more about whether it's fairer to them to prioritise them not encountering their health or the businesses where they work staying viable.

I personally would prefer not to go when ill and would rather reschedule if possible, I wouldn't fancy doing something so up close and personal while ill at the best of times and would rather go when I could fully enjoy it. But it's not straightforward.

I mean I would test, but you do you. However just wondering why if you think we need to live with the virus and go swanning off on spa visits, why is your stepmum having to isolate in her room, why is she staying away from you?

Most people won’t be testing now as you have to pay to test 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

@SlashBeef

It’s not hysterical to give a crap about others. ‘Oh it’s gone on so long now it’s ridiculous, so let’s just stop caring.’ It’s attitudes like this that have led to already mediocre mitigations and restrictions being even less effective over the past two years. Okay 🤷‍♀️ and yet life continues as normal for millions of people. We have work, school and general life to be getting on with. People like you are becoming less and less relevant. We already suffered 2 years of shrieking about lockdowns and masks and how selfish we are. We don't care anymore

Yep, I work too. In a school. Worked at school through every lock down. I get on with life, I’m just less of a dick about testing when I feel ill and I’ve been in contact with someone with covid than people like you might be. There’s getting on and there’s being a bit mad and hysterical about “oh we’ve given enough. Isn’t it time to stop?” When really all your being asked to do is think about maybe not going to the odd event when there’s a high chance you might actually have covid.

@pepstuw

Exactly!! I'm not saying we shouldn't be careful and I will continue to wear a mask in public settings, throughout any treatments etc but I do feel I have done my bit. I've had my vaccines, isolated whenever I've been required to which has meant I've lost out on money etc but I've done so because it's the right thing to do. I was debating it this morning but after hearing other posters share my view that we must learn to live with COVID, that is the stance I will be taking. I feel totally well in myself, just a slight sore feeling upon swallowing which has gone down a lot since having a drink this morning etc.

I know we don't know individual circumstances but come on, COVID is for most extremely minor and we cannot live in fear forever. Crucify me for this belief if you wish, but I don't think it's selfish after 2 years of following the rules to go somewhere where I personally wouldn't be going if I was vulnerable anyway, and enjoy myself.

So if you have already made your mind up why are you asking opinions?

Legally you can go, morally it’s up to you. Personally I would test and if positive cancel, because I couldn’t live with myself if it was even a possibility I had it, )you have symptoms and have been in contact with someone who has covid,) and I transmitted it to others, who were then extremely ill with it

If you can live with yourself, then go for it

@FairyCakeWings

People who go out in public, including spas, know that they run the risk of coming into contact with covid, and have chosen to go anyway.

Just go and enjoy yourself. Maybe don’t use the steam room.

What about the staff?

My pregnant fully jabbed sister is now in hospital with Covid because someone decided they wouldn't test even after having symptoms. Yes it's been two years but in the scheme of things that's not long at all and a lot of people are still really ill from it.

Yes it's selfish, yes I'd test.

Yes it is selfish.

Vulnerable people do have as much right (after shielding for 2 yrs) to go out as everyone else. I appreciate many are still 'shielding' because they know other people don't give a crap anymore.

You also don't know the background of the staff or the contacts of people you will come in contact with. They may be vulnerable themselves (but have to work), have vulnerable people at home, or simply catch covid from a client then unwittingly pass it to someone vulnerable in the supermarket.

Take the test and don't go if positive.

Selfish doesnt cover it ...

[quote worriedatthistime]@MimosaFields legal restrictions have guidance had not
I know as i have covid and received email from them telling me what to do etc [/quote]
Fine, but Guidance is not Law, so I think it is fair to assume that people will do as they like and not follow guidance. What is the exact wording of the message people receive when they have covid now? It is worded as guidance or as rules?

@courgettigreensadwater

I totally agree *@pepstuw* If I had a really nasty Flu-ey cold I'd probably stay away from people but just a normal cold I'd always crack on and work etc. this is how it needs to be with Covid now. If we don't test we can just base it on what we feel like. 99% of people I know feel the same, even people you would class as vulnerable. Life is too short.

And this type of attitude means that for some people it's about to get even shorter.

You might feel fine, they might be hospitalised. Nearly 1500 people died within 28 days of a positive test in the UK last week. Even putting aside the with / from argument, I think it is clear that covid is not just a cold.

I do think it's quite interesting that acting to protect the staff has almost universally been interpreted on this thread as not exposing them to potential covid rather than not exposing them to loss of their jobs, and the couple of posts making the opposite point haven't really been engaged with. It does say a lot about the messaging over the past couple of years.

The ONS reckons one in every 13 people in the UK currently has covid. About 5 million. Some of those people will be too ill to do anything of course, but they certainly won't all. That's a lot of missed leisure activities if they all stay in. If it happens for long enough, and there's certainly no evidence that people voluntarily foregoing social activities is going to do anything to curtail or shorten this phase of the pandemic, the lost business would make some jobs unviable.

Personally I'd try and rebook for when I felt better, but that's as much selfishness as it is anything else: I'd rather be well enough to enjoy it. It's not immediately obvious to me at all what's better for staff in situations like this, not least because they're not a monolithic bloc and probably have different priorities and concerns.

No wonder it's still rife! Stop being so selfish

I tested positive on Thurs, didn’t feel too bad at all thurs / Fri. Had plans to see friends on Fri night and obviously cancelled, said to my husband though if it wasn’t covid and ‘normal’ times I’d probably have gone. As it was I then took a turn for the worst on Fri night and have been in bed for 3 days and now am off work sick. So I’d postpone your spa trip for sure, just not fair to knowingly inflict this on people.

It's a pretty shitty thing to do to the people that will be doing any treatments for you, particularly if they don't get sick pay

I do think it's quite interesting that acting to protect the staff has almost universally been interpreted on this thread as not exposing them to potential covid rather than not exposing them to loss of their jobs, and the couple of posts making the opposite point haven't really been engaged with. It does say a lot about the messaging over the past couple of years

I think concern for staff catching covid goes beyond them ‘just’ being ill. A lot of these scenarios involve hospitality and leisure staff and often these roles don’t include any type of sick pay, have shorter contracts so fall within the two year timeframe for no reason dismissal etc. Chances are, if they get covid and are too physically ill to work they have a different set of financial and employment stability issues. Particularly if they contract it more than once.

To a large extent it is pissing in the wind with current infection levels but I think there are still a significant number of people who would rather avoid passing on an infection if the circumstances were avoidable. That’s pretty much the government guidance now.

Personally if I was unsure but had suspicions that it was Covid I’d err on the side of caution but nobody is compelled to do that now.

What was the point of us all having three vaccinations, which many of us didn’t really want, if we still have to restrict ourselves and sacrifice the joys of life every time we get a minor cold symptom?