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Original poster

Going to work with covid..

155 replies

rainbowsunicorns · 17/03/2023 06:28

Woke up with a tickly throat, I've never had covid but my dad is positive so I tested. positive. I'm due at work soon and it's important. But I work with someone who is currently 20 weeks pregnant.
It would be wrong to still go wouldn't it? Or will it be ok if I wear a mask?

OP posts:
silverycurtains · 17/03/2023 09:56

I've had a really nasty cold all week and I've worked from home. A cold, a virus, Covid or whatever might be a few days of inconvenience to you but could be totally devastating for someone else. Get yourself on Zoom!

CaroleSinger · 17/03/2023 09:57

Day 2, 3 and 4 of symptoms was the worst for me and negative by day 9. Annoying I know but just ride it out because you're going to feel pretty rough and you'll be glad that even if you lost money, you didn't put a pregnant woman through it. It's really not nice xx

Pythonhyphen · 17/03/2023 09:58

Hope you're feeling better soon OP, glad you've decided to stay home- appreciate it is harder to make these decisions when you stand to lose a substantial amount of money because of it.

x2boys · 17/03/2023 09:59

Lollygaggle · 17/03/2023 09:53

I have long covid, caught covid a few months ago, spent time in hospital. Have had all the vaccinations .
I am/was self employed and have had to give up the job I loved . I have been living off my small savings and because I have savings and was self employed recieve only a small amount of help from the state.
Some of the damage I have is permanent and life changing.

Every time I isolated I lost a lot of money , being self employed , but having worked on test and trace I was all too aware of the deaths, illness and consequences of peoples selfish actions.

working in test and trace demonstrated both the best of people (90 year old on their own barely able to breath but "doesn't want to bother anyone" ) and the worst ( people refusing to isolate ,people asking can the law stop them still having their cleaners come to their home , people refusing to isolate because they have a holiday booked and feel fine etc) .

I worked in healthcare in possibly the highest risk profession and still people come to appointments knowing they are positive . Not only does it affect us but also our vulnerable relatives to whom we may pass, unknowingly, what we get at work. Many of my ex colleagues are carers for very vulnerable relatives.

I will never know who it was that passed me the virus that has so radically changed my and my families life. I just hope it wasn't someone who put their own interests above someone's life. Money is tight , try living off £76 a week ESA before putting money above people's health.

It was as a pandemic,we can't go around blaming people,yes there were some selfish people who.didn't care and ignored lock down et c ,but three years in with no restriction ,no furlough ,Employers with harsh sickness policies ,most people have no choice but to get on with things it's not selfish ,to put providing a home and food for your family before the welfare of others .

Ionlydrinkondaysendinginy · 17/03/2023 10:01

x2boys · 17/03/2023 09:30

Well you guess wrong ,I also have a CEV,husband and now son ,but still some people can't afford to go sick they just can't that's the reality now.

Show quote history

But did either of them die from covid or have long covid as this will significantly impact your income for a lot longer then a week

x2boys · 17/03/2023 10:02

silverycurtains · 17/03/2023 09:56

I've had a really nasty cold all week and I've worked from home. A cold, a virus, Covid or whatever might be a few days of inconvenience to you but could be totally devastating for someone else. Get yourself on Zoom!

Some people don't have that option ,my husband for example can hardly be a warehouse operative on zoom,shop assistants can't serve the public from home ,you can't get your Amazon deliveries from teams🙄

Lollygaggle · 17/03/2023 10:14

x2boys · 17/03/2023 09:59

It was as a pandemic,we can't go around blaming people,yes there were some selfish people who.didn't care and ignored lock down et c ,but three years in with no restriction ,no furlough ,Employers with harsh sickness policies ,most people have no choice but to get on with things it's not selfish ,to put providing a home and food for your family before the welfare of others .

Show quote history

As a health care professional I am obligated to put patients interested before my own. I am aware that by doing so I not only protect the patient but also everyone they come into contact.

The thought that I can no longer work and have a very restricted life because of permanent damage from covid is very hard . The thought that I am in this position and possibly many others are worse/dead because someone decided that their needs for a few days trumped many others need for a healthy life is very hard. I prefer to think I caught it from someone who didn't know.

It's not just your pregnant colleague , vulnerable relative you are putting at risk but everyone and their contacts that you are in the vicinity of whilst infectious.

If you are infectious , you have a choice whether to spread or not . The people and their contacts you come near have no choice .Last year I was fit and healthy and had a job . This year I am permanently damaged , with no prospect of ever going back to work and my poor family are now carers.

tanksgoggle · 17/03/2023 10:18

I have long covid. Life is unrecognisable.
The fewer people having this, the better.
Stay at home and get better.

user1496146479 · 17/03/2023 10:33

@TortolaParadise
Whatever about the chain reaction, we can't go back to 2020/2021!!! No realistic or sustainable

user1496146479 · 17/03/2023 10:37

MrsH497 · 17/03/2023 09:31

I'm just going to say having had covid while in my 3rd trimester it wasn't pleasant. Also even "mild" coughs and colds to some can be very serious. My 1 year old catches every cough it turns to bronchiolitis and this time she got pneumonia as well and was admitted to hospital with incredibly low oxygen levels. Money is far less important than her health and life

This is a very ivory tower attitude to have!! Not all can take this view! That days wages that one person misses May mean no food, clothes, accommodation etc

BeautyGoesToBenidorm · 17/03/2023 10:44

My now 5mo baby was hospitalised with Covid last week, after the paeds registrar initially suspected meningitis and sepsis. He was incredibly ill and we were petrified.

People testing positive need to stay at home. My workplace are ridiculous about it and insist we go in if we're not bedbound. I was 22 weeks pregnant when a colleague tested positive and he refused to come in, in case he put me at risk - they threatened him with disciplinary action, even though he was hospitalised himself!

Megifer · 17/03/2023 10:46

My dp had covid again recently. He doesn't get sick pay and wasn't particularly ill with it so he had to go in. We couldn't afford to lose the pay. He is also under absence management for the next 6m from an illness he had last year and next step would be gp report so can't have non-genuine sickness on his record.

I know that's selfish but its more important that we can pay the bills and he has a job.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 17/03/2023 10:51

It’s ridiculous that in a wealthy country, which we are, we have a) so many people right on the breadline and b) so many companies that just don’t give a fuck about their employees and c) a government that give equally few fucks.

Butteryflakycrust83 · 17/03/2023 11:15

You are sick, therefore you need to take a sick day.

Long Covid is a health disaster we are sleepwalking into.

thing47 · 17/03/2023 11:16

it's not selfish ,to put providing a home and food for your family before the welfare of others .

Putting your own needs ahead of everyone else's is quite literally the dictionary definition of selfish. I understand that you might need to act in this way for the sake of your family, but at least have the guts to own the truth of what you are saying.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 17/03/2023 11:30

Stay home!

Megifer · 17/03/2023 11:36

thing47 · 17/03/2023 11:16

it's not selfish ,to put providing a home and food for your family before the welfare of others .

Putting your own needs ahead of everyone else's is quite literally the dictionary definition of selfish. I understand that you might need to act in this way for the sake of your family, but at least have the guts to own the truth of what you are saying.

It can also be argued that its selfish to expect people to lose pay and/or have definite risk (financial hardship) which would also affect others to reduce a possible risk of covid.

TurquoiseDress · 17/03/2023 11:42

Yes of course stay home as you've tested positive for Covid- reduce the risk of spreading it to others

Especially a pregnant woman- am sure she'd be grateful not being exposed to Covid!

BashirWithTheGoodBeard · 17/03/2023 12:10

Megifer · 17/03/2023 11:36

It can also be argued that its selfish to expect people to lose pay and/or have definite risk (financial hardship) which would also affect others to reduce a possible risk of covid.

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Yep. Like it or not, this definition works both ways. I personally think the term selfish has been overused during the pandemic to the point of being meaningless, often amusingly so. But if people still want to use it, then it applies across the board.

Thistooshallpass. · 17/03/2023 12:26

I work in education. We are told not to test and to go in 😳

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 17/03/2023 12:46

Butteryflakycrust83 · 17/03/2023 11:15

You are sick, therefore you need to take a sick day.

Long Covid is a health disaster we are sleepwalking into.

It’s not even just that - being obliged to go to work when you know you have a contagious illness that can cause serious issues for people is something that a government should banning. Not actively encouraging with their policies.

Their handling of this whole thing has encouraged companies to be shit with sick pay and sick leave. It’s disgusting.

TortolaParadise · 17/03/2023 13:12

user1496146479 · 17/03/2023 10:33

@TortolaParadise
Whatever about the chain reaction, we can't go back to 2020/2021!!! No realistic or sustainable

Not looking to go back in time - simply an observation.

Itsmyturnnow1 · 17/03/2023 13:17

why test? Pretty sure most people don’t! If you’re testing you then have to deal with the results! If she wasn’t pregnant and you felt ok, I’d go in but knowing I had covid and could make her poorly I wouldn’t.

YearoftheRabbit23 · 17/03/2023 13:28

@Tellyaddict123 I'm so sorry.

I also suffered a pregnancy loss when I got COVID. I'm 100% sure COVID caused it as my resting heart rate was steadily increasing during the pregnancy and it dropped significantly the day I tested positive for COVID. And this was with extremely mild symptoms, just a scratchy throat.

Just because it presents like a "cold" doesn't mean it's insignificant. Anyone who has no choice but to work when infected should be wearing a tightly fitting FFP2 mask at all times to avoid infecting others.

PrincessToad · 17/03/2023 13:43

rainbowsunicorns · 17/03/2023 07:15

I was due to work all weekend so I'm going to lose quite a big chunk of money, I've got 2 young children myself.. I was pregnant during covid (youngest born September 2021) so I know how the anxiety feels.
I'm coughing quite a lot now to the point people might notice so I'm definitely staying at home.
I'm quite worried about my 18 month old catching it too Sad

I've just recently had covid and the whole household got it including my 10 month old. He had a fever and was miserable but he was ok if that's any help.