Morals… I know no one cares about COVID but…

[aussierules1]

… I work for the NHS and a colleague tested positive last week. We don’t have to test, and I wouldn’t have bothered, but my Nan and Grandad have travelled from another country and are visiting this week. I had a tickly throat and would hate to make them ill, so I tested. I was positive.

My boss told me that as long as I feel well, I should continue to work. I’m feeling a bit rough and VERY tired but fine enough to work. However, I just feel bad for my clients. I work with kids, who come with their parents, who may have vulnerable family members etc… I just feel a bit bad.

I know many people don’t care about COVID and I don’t really either, but I’ve decided to tell my clients and let them decide. Every single one has declined, saying they have vulnerable family members or don’t want to risk it, so I’ve stayed at home and done a couple of virtual sessions/lots of admin.

My boss hasn’t replied to me; I don’t think she’s particularly happy but I think it’s fine.

Am I doing the right thing? Or am I just overreacting and should get on with the sessions? The more I sit at home, the more guilty I feel!..

I appreciate you.

No one likes being ill do they?

There's currently a hoohah around here because the maintenance guy at the local nursing home has been going in every day with covid with the knowledge of the management and some of the families have just found out.

I haven’t had it , would still like to avoid if possible , the same as I tend to give any ill people a wide berth . Wasn’t super happy that one of the admin staff in my opticians this week clearly had it ( or another nasty germ , causing her to wear a mask , cough fairly constantly and been put on phone duties at the end of the waiting area with other staff avoiding her ). By the time I left another member of staff was going home sick with the same symptoms.

Totally think you did the right thing.

My OH is ECV due to cancer and he DOES avoid close contact as far as possible, i.e. going shopping at quiet times, not flying, not eating in restaurants, not drinking in pubs, working from home, etc.

There are places he can't avoid such as doctor and hospital appointments, picking up chemotherapy drugs from the pharmacy (they won't allow anyone else to collect them due to being controlled drugs), dentist and optician appointments, etc.

It's grossly unfair that he's living a "twilight" existence to try to avoid covid, but that healthcare settings that he doesn't have a choice but to attend, don't give a toss about precautions or social distancing etc.

When he picked up his drugs last week, ALL the staff behind the counter were wearing masks, some were coughing, and laughing when they told the customers that most of them had covid! Utterly diabolical, especially since they'd taken away those plastic screens from the counter so there was no protection for the customers (and as always, it was a tiny floor space with lots of customers all waiting, so impossible to social distance!). It's no surprise that infections are so rife in hospitals - they don't seem to care!

I think you're doing the right thing too! I try and keep my son away from people when he's super snotty and people roll their eyes a bit when I expect the same. It's just so annoying when the whole family is ill! (I realise people have greater concerns than that though...)

I think you have done the right thing! My mum has it at the moment. She only tested as she cares for my elderly grandmother and didn’t want to pass it to her. My mum has been really poorly with it. In bed for days, terrible fevers and pains, bad cough and no smell or taste. If my gran got it as bad as that it would likely hospitalise her or worse. I definitely thinks it best to stay at home with it where possible.

If you knew someone had Covid, would you go sit in the same room as them and not worry?

I'm guessing you'd probably want to at least know they had it so you can make an informed decision.

Especially if you were e.g. going to see your elderly relative straight after.

People are very cavalier about it until they/ someone they love gets very sick.

It's is immoral.......I work in NHS hospital, couple of colleagues had it and were berated for testing as they don't want people going off work. We have a lot of frail elderly patients! Few days later when management were asked re sickness records we were told that covid doesn't count against your sickness record (only allowed a certain number of days in any 12 month period or get put on monitoring) therefore, it follows that a test would be needed to know for sure!🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

You’ve done the right thing OP, thank you xx

Absolutely the right thing. Covid killed my brother last year, caught it in hospital for a minor physical issue.

I think you're doing the right thing. My son's holiday club had to close last week because most of the staff (and some of the children) got a vomiting bug. If they'd had COVID, I would have wanted them to do the same thing. I don't have any fears of COVID and I've been fine every time I've had it and don't have anyone vulnerable in my family. But I still don't want something that essentially feels like the flu in the middle of my summer holidays. I'd rather have the option to miss an appointment than be in bed for a week with my kids melting down around me.

I'm 18 months down the line from chemo. I caught Covid in May, having dodged it for three years. Now the middle of August, my legs still ache and I struggle to run distances that I wouldn't have thought twice about in April.

It may not be lethal any more because we all have some level of immunity but it's still no joke. Staying at home is better for you too. You need to rest.

OP, you are 100% doing the moral and responsible thing. I wish more people behaved this way.

Like a PP, I hate when people say “why are you even testing? ” as if we all have no individual responsibility or conscience any more and would never choose to take a protective action above the legislative minimum. Obviously you tested to protect elderly relatives (as I would too) and you are giving your clients the choice.

Your manager may not be happy but they’d struggle to find any way they could criticise your actions - you’re a HCP and you want to protect people not knowingly infect them.

It’s such a false economy and a short-term view anyway trying to pressure people to work when infectious. It maybe helps staffing in the (very) short term but all you then have is viruses (Covid, colds, flu, noro) which go round the entire workforce rather than being contained.

The fact that all your patients said they’d rather not see you says 100% you did the right thing. They didn’t consent to being treated by someone Covid-positive. I expect most patients wouldn’t consent to this. You are respecting this and are 100% in the right, imo

My fully vaccinated DH caught this illness last April, and died.

It can still be dangerous.🙁

I care. COVID would definitely kill my FIL and I'd be surprised if it wouldn't do the same to my Dad. My asthmatic husband didn't catch it till early this year and he took 6 months to get back to the same exercise regime.

That's so sad. You must be heartbroken. I'm so sorry.

People have become so blase about Covid - it makes me angry that they are so selfish!

You are doing the right thing.

I have a critically vulnerable family member (vaccines probably don't work and the government made the appalling decision not to provide MAB prophylaxis back when it worked - awaiting updated version and funding decision for it)

So the only protection we have is people doing the right thing.
That means either a) following the government guidelines (stay home for 5 days unless essential you go out, but if you have to leave your home, then pratice social distancing and keep away completely from highly vulnerable people) or at least b) letting people know, so they can postpone (without penalty) if they are disinclined to run the risk.

Yes! It was an opportunity to realise that shaming people into going to work when they’re sick with an infectious disease is a bad idea. But now we’re back to square one with people going into work coughing and sneezing all over everyone else.

I'm in the same position at the moment. HCP with covid - not meant to test for work but I did for personal family reasons. I feel unwell so called in sick for that reason. I should be in work really and it is expected with covid, but i see many patients a day and can't sit there knowing i have it and not being allowed to tell them so they could make an informed choice. As a patient myself, I wouldn't want someone with a cold, flu, stomach bug or covid to be at work and see me either! Common sense has gone out the window!

You've done the right thing. I don't want Covid thanks, I've had it twice and it's shit - I've had a 2-3 day fever and horrible aches and cough both times. It's shit that some people don't have the option to isolate or reduce contacts while positive, but anyone who can should.

You are absolutely doing the right thing. It isn’t just vulnerable people who are affected - I’m still feeling the effects of having covid 2 years ago, and had no underlying health issues other than being a bit overweight. I also know a very healthy person (regularly ran marathons and did 100 mile bike rides) who has been left with permanent heart and lung problems from covid. It’s not the same as normal flu and colds at all!

Definitely doing the right thing. I caught it for the first time in February, lost my senses of smell and taste...and they still haven't come back. Due to that I'm now considered to have long covid.

I’ve just been diagnosed with CLL. I’d be very upset if you put me at risk of covid.
It was having a virus in Spring that absolutely floored me, not covid, that made me go to the gp and find out I had this incurable disease.

You are not being unreasonable. A very close member of my family is going through chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the moment, we don’t know how many vulnerable people we could come into contact with at any point.

The right thing to do is stay home and anyone who says otherwise is a bit of a dick.

It's wild that you're being encouraged to come to work with any infectious illness. It makes people varying degrees of unwell. I don't understand why that would be in any way desirable, especially in a healthcare setting.

And for me personally, I caught it for the first time 9 months ago. I'm vaccinated and have had three boosters. I was the most unwell I ever remember being, and I still have a severely compromised sense of taste and smell. I know it's not the end of the world but it's pretty horrible. I get phantom smells and parts of my previously very good sense of smell are just missing entirely. I can't tell if food has gone off by smell (or taste) anymore. So yeah I'll thank anyone who makes the effort not to give it to me again, let alone to someone more clinically vulnerable.

You are doing the right thing. I seem to be suseptible to covid as I've had it 5 times so far, despite being careful. Every time it absolutely floors me for weeks.