Do I really need to stay home?

[batmancave]

Me and ds have a cough which i believe is from a cold. We've both had runny noses and no temperature.

Does he really need to stay off school and do I really need to stay off work?

I'm self isolating. I'm due back to work on Monday after maternity leave but now have to go back next Thursday. Still paid the nursery fees as normal but they won't take my daughter in either (understandable). Have had a cough since Monday but only self isolated since yesterday

I would guess that some people don't necessarily have anyone to 'panic buy' on their behalf, faced with self-isolating for a week or more.

If in doubt, just do it.

How new does a new cough need to be?

ANY COUGH WHICH IS NOT THE NORM FOR YOU MEANS YOU MUST SELF ISOLATE

If you have an underlying condition that causes a cough and so a cough is the norm for you then no need to self isolate.

Yes a lot of older people will think they should soldier on. I hope they're now taking it seriously. My dad and mum had a cruise booked for a few days time. A week or so ago my dad was advocating not postponing so "so not to be wimps"! They've postponed it now til December. Thank god! They're in their 80s with health issues!

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 That's true. I dont, so perhaps a bit of common sense to make sure you have what you need in the house so that you dont have to put others at risk having to go to the shops when you should be self isolating. I wouldn't call that panic buying.

Posted on another thread on here:-

"LBC this morning has that health guy on this morning that did the announcement with boris yesterday (sorry no idea of his name) and he clarified the cough needs to be within the last day so not a week ago or a month ago but within the last day and continuous. So constantly coughing."

Lord in heaven. This thread is exactly why we need ways to enforce isolation. OP YOU NEED TO STAY HOME for 7 days as does your child. If you have a persistent cough, regardless of whether you think it is just a cold you need to stay home. It may well be a cold but you need to stay home anyway.

Does it have to be said any more times?

I'm not sure why it's so confusing for people. I don't normally cough, so if I started to cough, or have done recently, I self isolate.

How new does a new cough need to be? Since the advice? A week before? It's nonsense

Absolutely. DS started his cold week ago so long before these latest guidelines. His temp was 36.5 so typical for a cold. He has a minor cough now, no temp, and is bouncing around as usual. If he develops a worse cough and fever i'll keep him off school.
This has the potential to go on for weeks if not months and no one can realistically keep their kids off school or in isolation for that long

Read what it says on 111 and do exactly that. No more and no less. If you've got a cold and no temperature you aren't in the criteria to self isolate. Obviously you can anyway, probably a good idea before some headcases beat you up for having a cold.

As thus measure was brought in because it is expected to have a greater effect thatpn closing schools, it's mildly concerning that people are picking at the definitions to avoid doing it.

If you have a cold or a dough, you should be staying home for 7 days, nit casting round for reasons not to.

At least once seven days have elapsed from the start of the measure, this sort of excuse-finding will expire

Yes but wtf happens in a lock down that lasts weeks? Where do the delivery drivers come from if nobody can leave house? Clearly they must be able to?

Lockdown doesn't mean you can't go to the shops. If you have no symptoms you can still leave the house, but the government will presumably put procedures in place so only a certain number of people are allowed in a shop at any one time.

So if you can't leave the house, you can order online. Or ask a friend/neighbour/family member to shop for you and drop it off on the doorstep.

There was a couple on BBC News the other day who were self-isolating as the husband had cystic fibrosis and if he catches Covid it could kill him. Their family were shopping for them and dropping it off on the doorstep. They'd then wait a few metres away while the couple came and got the food in safely.

But the reason measures like lockdown/enforced quarantine are being considered is because people won't listen to simple advice. Their need to walk the dog/go for a run/take DC out to the park or whatever is more important than any official advice to stay at home. That's what frustrates people and it's why this is spreading as quickly as it is.

If in doubt, just do it.

This is the best advice I've heard on this. I don't care that it means some people will be individually inconvenienced. How inconvenient do you think the situation in Italy and China is/was? We are nowhere near that level of inconvenience but we will have to put up with some inconvenience.

That is how it is, accept it and stop railing against it..

Just stay home for 7 days if you are ill in a way that you can pass it on (ie coughing/sneezing/temperature).

How hard is that to understand?

"This has the potential to go on for weeks if not months and no one can realistically keep their kids off school or in isolation for that long"

Except you might have to, if it turns out that this measure is insufficient (either of itself or because people seek reasons not to comply) and schools close, followed by leisure facilities, public transport, sohoos etc

He has a minor cough now, no temp, and is bouncing around as usual. If he develops a worse cough and fever i'll keep him off school.

Its a really selfish approach to not follow the guidelines. People could die because of it. he has a cough which is not the norm for him. He is supposed to be isolated.

I'm coming off this thread now. I am astonished and really disappointed at how selfish people are and how so many people think they know better than the medical experts.

People are being ridiculous.

It really couldn't be clearer than OP and her child should be self-isolating.

I am amazed by how unwilling or unable people are to comprehend clear instructions.

I don't understand how on one hand people are lambasting the government for not doing enough and then people seem unwilling to do this very simple thing. Hopefully it's not the same people!

Even if it is just a cold. Stay at home and don't spread it about as that will help our health services anyway.

I truly do feel for people that will suffer hugely financially due to this and I hope more help will become available. Some selfish people just don't want to be in inconvenienced though and will cast around for excuses.

Even if you have a cold - if you pass it to anyone else then they have to work out if they have a cold or the virus. Or they might pass it to someone who has a weakened immune system and this person could end up with cold that results in them needing hospitalisation ie taking another hospital bed. So its not just about it being a cold not the virus - its about keeping everyone's immune systems as healthy as possible.

Absolutely. DS started his cold week ago so long before these latest guidelines. His temp was 36.5 so typical for a cold. He has a minor cough now, no temp, and is bouncing around as usual. If he develops a worse cough and fever i'll keep him off school.

KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME.

It's not hard. If you develop a NEW continuous cough then you need to stay at home for seven days. Why are people making out like the rules apply to everyone else but not them?

Yes, you need to stay at home and your child needs to stay at home, AS PER THE GUIDELINES. What are people finding so hard about this?

But I am sure it's just a cold

So are a lot of people. This is the whole point, this is why they have introduced the guideline to self isolate if you have any symptoms at ll. Because you have no way of knowing.

Seriously, it's not that hard. Follow the guidelines, self isolate, don't be a selfish twat and put other people at risk.

official guidance here

I think it’s worth considering also that just because a person has have a common cold or flu doesn’t exclude also having Coronavirus.

You may have a sneezy/runny nose from the cold, additionally have Coronavirus but none of its symptoms. Asymptotic spreading is now assumed to be in the community .

So the sneezing/runny nose etc are still mechanisms for spreading the disease as is coughing, shedding virus onto surfaces etc.

It doesn't mean continuous like, you can't talk because you have physically not stopped coughing for 12 hours.

It's a persistent cough. I.e., you didn't just cough once yesterday after swallowing your juice wrong.

STAY AT HOME.

Do you need to self-isolate if you have a fever (no cough or cold?)