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Covid

To be amazed at how many people are making excuses

385 replies

Sunshinesky1981 · 13/03/2020 10:14

Looking through these threads I'm feeling pretty horrified at the amount of people that either dont seem to be able to understand what self isolate actually means or are already making excuses as to why it can't possibly apply to them ?!?
Have read so many.. oh I'm not going to self isolate, I'm pretty sure it's just a cold. Can I still go for a walk. I need to go out for a run or else I'd go crazy, how am i going to walk the dog, I'd only pop to the shop really quickly

No wonder the schools aren't shutting, and we are not banning gatherings. I really can't understand how people are either not getting this or feel happy to just think sod the risk

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Straycatstrut · 13/03/2020 11:14

I'm not allowed a CC due to ex and his financial mess (bailiffs got involved in the end).

£50 to last a week feeding 2 kids. No savings.

Some people cannot afford it at all.

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Coldemort · 13/03/2020 11:14

*sickness record

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aroundtheworldyet · 13/03/2020 11:14

@isabellerossignol
I agree there will always be exceptions. And people will struggle.
But it’s for 1 week. 2 max.

You are not going to lose your house for having one month payment missed on anything.

You’re not really going to end up homeless unless you are at the end of the road and have already taken all of the breaks you can get and you haven’t paid a bill in 12 months.

In that case, I don’t think it’s going to be the self isolating that’s going to tip you over the edge. You would tip over the edge regardless. It would just be sooner

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Marlox · 13/03/2020 11:15

@MisguidedAngel
The advice is very clear that self isolating means no dog walking, no matter how deserted it is

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BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 13/03/2020 11:16

Sunshinesky1981

I'm guessing then you aren't self employed or on the breadline on a zero hours contract or the sole wage earner in your home or an NHS worker in infectious diseases.

Are you a SAHP?

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IfYoureNotIntoYoga · 13/03/2020 11:18

Might not lose your house after one missed payment no, but colds are so common this time of year that we can't be self isolating at every bloody sniffle!

This time of year I get a cold, it goes always then usually comes back again after a couple of weeks no way would I take time of repeatedly for that.

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SonjaMorgan · 13/03/2020 11:19

@aroundtheworldyet I am in a fortunate situation that we are prepared and have savings. My post was highlighting that people are scared and are already struggling. We live in a world of everything being just in time and we would be far better off to change that.

The people not following advice will fall into 2 groups; the ignorant and the scared. For the people who are scared and struggling I doubt getting angry and swearing on Mumsnet will make a difference. Donating to food banks and finding local charity's to try and support those people might.

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aroundtheworldyet · 13/03/2020 11:19

@IfYoureNotIntoYoga

Do you have a persistent cough and a temp above 37.8 when you get a cold? If so you just have to suck it up.

But they are not the usual symptoms of the common cold.

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Unshriven · 13/03/2020 11:20

aroundtheworldyet That's quite the bubble you're living in there.

I guarantee that if I miss a rent payment, or even ask for a delay, the landlord will serve notice.

The only need to give two months notice for any or no reason at all, and they will.

SSP wouldn't cover the rent, council tax utilities, travel to school.

No credit cards, or likelyhood of getting one.

People in private rentals can't jeapordise their homes on the off chance that they might have CV.

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Marlox · 13/03/2020 11:21

@IfYoureNotIntoYoga

The difficulty is that we are trying to slow the spread. I understand your priority is keeping your family financially secure but you must understand that others priority is keeping their family alive?

Unfortunately you can't just isolate the vulnerable as some vulnerable people will need to still interact with others, wether thats carers or in shops. So its about trying to limit the likely hood those people have corona and that carers are coming in contact with those carrying it. So while they may be home they are screwed if everyone in shops etc is passing it on.

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Sunshinesky1981 · 13/03/2020 11:21

No I'm a single parent in a part time job and am also a carer for my elderly mum with COPD. And have a lot of experience in being on the bones of my arse financially having been homeless with a toddler, and through temportly accommodation.

Yes ,self isolating would hit me hard. I'd fall behind with rent / Bill's and have some really hard choices to make. None of the above worries me more than the thought of my mum dying as people were choosing not to follow basic instructions in a pandemic

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aroundtheworldyet · 13/03/2020 11:21

@SonjaMorgan

I do all of that already thank you. I’m annoyed at people coming up with frankly rubbish excuses. I didn’t realise that wasn’t allowed.
And I would hope it would make people realise the seriousness. You can’t just say you don’t really fancy doing it. And it’s going to be a bit hard

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Geepipe · 13/03/2020 11:23

I should point out i dont have a dog i couldnt afford one Grin

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MrKlaw · 13/03/2020 11:23

Self isolation is one thing - if you have symptoms you are protecting other people more than yourself.

But social distancing doesn't require such strict actions - its about reducing interation with people in close proximity - not locking yourself in the house.

So if you're working from home now for example, it should be fine to go for a walk/run/go to shops.

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HopefullyAnonymous · 13/03/2020 11:23

I am going to struggle if it comes down to it. H and I both work full time on a reasonable wage but we live payday to payday. Zero savings, credit cards maxed out due to a run of bad luck. It’s easy for those in a more comfortable position to say it’s “only £250” or whatever, but for us that literally would mean that we didn’t eat or priority bills went unpaid.

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FourTeaFallOut · 13/03/2020 11:24

I'm guessing then you aren't self employed

How are people self employed and not capable of taking one or two weeks off work in an emergency? Were you just crossing your fingers and hoping that you'd never get sick for the rest of your working life?

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1forsorrow · 13/03/2020 11:24

17,000 people die from influenza (normal flu) in the UK each year. That isn't true, it is an average from 2014/2015 to 2018/2019. For 2018/2019 PHE estimate the death rate was 1,692.

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AParallelUniverse · 13/03/2020 11:24

I don't even believe that there is a Coronavirus

Do you believe the earth is flat as well?

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aroundtheworldyet · 13/03/2020 11:25

@Unshriven
You know that’s false don’t you?
You can’t just be given two months notice.

That’s not how it works. If you go to shelters website they can explain your rights to you as a tenant. Or also CAB can advise. There is a lot of help with tenants. Even those with bad landlords of which I am sure there are many.

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Thefaceofboe · 13/03/2020 11:26

How can people actually afford to be self isolating? completely agree, although I find it selfish to still go to work if you have symptoms, people can’t afford it! Many will fall into debt and it will spiral out of control. Luckily for me, I can afford to self isolate if needed but I appreciate others can’t Sad

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alloutoffucks · 13/03/2020 11:28

@FourTeaFallOut There is a difference between genuinely self employed and self employed so your boss puts all the risk onto you. My DP is one of the latter. He is basically a low paid worker for one employer who is deemed self employed. And yes they have asked unions to back them in challenging it, and were told no. None of them can afford a court case.

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Meruem · 13/03/2020 11:28

Honestly I despair. People just aren't taking it seriously. This is why many people will die. I'm just limiting my contact with the outside world as much as possible as I can't trust anyone else to do the right thing.

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aroundtheworldyet · 13/03/2020 11:28

@HopefullyAnonymous
Then you don’t pay some bills. I’ve been in the situation where I had to chose. And I chose not to pay any non essential bills. That included council tax. It took me a long time to catch up with the debt. But I did it.

You might get a bad credit rating but you won’t be killing anyone.

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Unshriven · 13/03/2020 11:29

aroundtheworldyet of course it's true. Hmm

Two months notice is absolutely the standard.

You can string it out and wait to be evicted through the courts, but that won't magic up a secure tenancy, and will guarantee that no landlord will ever touch you again.

Not an option with children.

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Unshriven · 13/03/2020 11:30

And you can't just not pay council tax. Hmm Shock

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