Would you go out for lunch with a cold?

[Cloud44]

I feel ridiculous asking this question but post covid I’m never sure what you are meant to do! People seem to come into my work with all sorts but what do you tend to do when you have a cold / virus? Would you go out for lunch for example?

If I had a temperature and was feeling ill and coughing and snotting everywhere then no I’d stay at home. But if it was a cold and I didn’t feel terrible then I’d go out.

Depends how bad I feel and also who I’m going with. If I felt well enough to go, I’d tell the person I’m going with and let them decide if they want to risk catching it or not x

If I felt crappy, I would speak to the person I was meeting and tell them-then make the decision together about whether to postpone.

I wouldn’t mind going out to lunch with someone who had a cold. You’re in a big space. Depends how ill you are? There’s loads of people at work and on public transport with colds.

I would prefer a heads up about illness if people coming over to stay - you’re sharing bathrooms then and in close quarters.

As an aside all the nasty colds/Covid I caught last year was from sharing /giving lifts and people coughing in a car on me. So close proximity and air space is important.

Only thing is there’s so much illness around at the moment some people just can’t catch a break. So you may want to warn your lunch companions. Then they can decide.

pre covid, I wouldn't go for lunch with a cold

The person who will be meeting up with you is the person to ask, they might not be bothered but I hate it when people turn up with colds.

No, they aren't good company.

Depends on the cold. I'm just getting over a very mild one. Slightly runny nose but not all the time, bit of mucous in the throat and gungy eyes now and again, couple of sneezes twice a day, no temp, fatigue minimal, no change in appetite. I'd go out for lunch like that.

But if it's a very heavy cold where I've got a temp and feel a bit shivery, achy and generally fatigued and crappy, my nose is like a tap and I keep having to blow it, I can't really taste much, appetite isn't good, I've also got a cough, then I wouldn't WANT to go out for lunch anyway and would cancel plans if I felt like that.

I would always like a warning - they may have a big event coming up that they don’t want to be ill for or a holiday. They may be completely relaxed.

Mild cold sure. I have 2 young kids. There’s always a cold in our house at winter. If I was feeling shitty then no because not only spreading the germs to others but also it just wouldn’t be enjoyable.

I’d rather you told me so I could ask to postpone. A cold is a week to 10 days off work sick for me as have an immune system issue.

I hate going to lunch with someone with a heavy cold, I spend the whole time hoping I don't catch it . Give the person you're meeting the choice I'd always say.

A mild one no bother. If you’re coughing and snotting and blowing nose constantly that’s not nice for your companions

Well surely those people wouldn't be going out in public mixing with others if they didn't want to catch anything before a big event or holiday? They could catch something from ANYWHERE, not just their dining companion.

We had a big trip to the US planned 18 months ago. I deliberately minimised contact with people for a few days before we went and turned down an invitation to an evening wedding do.

It's just a cold. People go to work with colds. The waiters and waitresses have to go to work with colds. So does your taxi driver, or maybe a lot of the other people you're sharing a bus or tube carriage with on the way to your lunch. They're just not avoidable.

I would not want to catch a cold and would be annoyed if someone came to a lunch ready to infect me without giving me the choice whether to reschedule.

I would ask your friends beforehand and at least give them the choice.

My elderly mother caught Covid for the first time from someone who believed they “just” had a cold and rocked up to their arrangement without letting her know beforehand. She felt she couldn’t leave and felt put on the spot because of their “it’s just a cold!” reassurances. When she got sick and tested positive a few days later, that person then finally tested and also tested positive.

Having said that, I have been to events that involve buffets and been there with people with VERY heavy colds. It's no surprise when you then come down with it a few days later after touching the same serving spoons etc, and eating some things with your fingers. Stay away from fucking buffets if you have a very heavy cold or something obviously catching, please, people.

A sniffle - yes.

A bit of a runny nose - possibly, possibly not. I would give the other person the option of postponing.

Frequent coughing and blowing nose and/or a hint of a fever - no.

Was your mother in poor health, or did she have problems with her immune system at the time? Was she fully vaxxed against COVID? Presumably if she felt ok to go out and mix in public she was prepared for the risk that she would catch a cold or COVID from ANYONE in the proximity?

People just don't stay home for a sniffle and no-one tests for COVID anymore, so COVID is all around us. The person sat on the next table could have it. As could the waiter who stands at your table right next to you, and hands you your drinks.

And I DO understand the issues, Henndigo, because my mum who was in remission from leukaemia was annoyed a couple of years back when going for a meal out with friends, one of whom had COVID symptoms and hadn't bothered either testing (at a time when it was advised that everyone tested), or letting her know beforehand. My mum was very cross about that and thought her friend was being selfish. I agreed with her. I think everyone there had only had one vaccination at the time - it had taken a lot of encouragement for my mum to start going out the house and living her life after she'd been shielding.

But it's 2024 now, 4 years on from the height of the pandemic. Everyone is vaccinated apart from kids, so if you work with kids (like I do) you're getting repeated COVID infections all the time unknowingly, as no-one tests.

It's incredibly selfish to turn up to an optional social event with a contagious illness like a cold. It was selfish before Covid, it was selfish during Covid and it is selfish after Covid.

Why would anyone think it's ok?!

Yes I would. I go about my business unless I'm at deaths door tbh.

It depends on the cold.

Coming out the end of something with one of those annoying residual tickles, or a mild cold I probably would.

A bad cold, coughing and spluttering lots, temperature and requiring lemsip to get through the day, absolutely not. I've never understood people who turn up with heavy colds and clearly unwell.

Depends on the cold, depends on how far into it I am. The tail end of a mild cold, no problem. During the early days when I am most infectious and could get a lot worse, probably not.

However, I would give my lunch partners a heads up I have a cold and make it clear it is totally fine if they prefer me not to come or to rearrange etc.