collegue in work with temperature

[Toomboom]

I work in a school and yesterday one of the other teachers was obviously not well. They have had a temperature for over 24 hours and look really ill.
I said the advice is to stay at home, you really shouldn't be here. They just said I know, but if I don't come in who will do my work and I am letting others down!!

This seems to be the answer others have if not well [ not as ill as this person looked ] as this is the pressure we get from senior staff and management , therefore they are infecting everyone else.

Not sure what I want in writing this, but just incredibly annoyed that people just aren't listening to the advice given and think it doesn't apply to them.

That’s awful and incredibly selfish of them. Can you speak to your superiors and insist they are sent home?

This is why it wont work.

Talk to the head. Unacceptable risk. They are doing their work but at the same time will be causing unnecessary deaths. Literally.

When you say a temperature, how high?
I have been feeling unwell, and feel warm to the touch. Some kind of respiratory thing, but no cough. I have a slight temperature so I was concerned about going to work. When I measured it, it was in the range of 36 degrees. Normal. So although I felt unwell and felt that I had a temperature I was fine for work. I’m a teacher and they need me.
If you have a temperature of 37.8, which is the threshold, I think you would struggle to get out of bed.

You could walk round quite easily without realising you had a 37.8 temperature. 38.0 and upwards is more the range you’d ‘feel’ it. Nuffaluff

Did you speak to the headteacher? I'm sure they would have sent them home. I don't like going behind peoples back generally but these are unusual circumstances.

Someone came into my DH's work with a cough, he had called in sick and then decided halfway through the day that he was ok. Before he had even sat down at his desk he was hauled in to a room by his boss and yelled at how selfish and stupid he was being and to get home right now. The boss said 'I've got kids and people in this office have kids, this is not the time to take risks no matter how much work is on your desk'. Well no one in the office has done anything as stupid since! You need to go straight to management and get them sent home. If they aren't dealing with it properly then go home yourselves. In my area 4 schools are closed for deep cleaning and 1 for understaffing. If there are not enough staff your school will just have to close too.

Also @Nuffaluff about 4 weeks ago I was feeling a little shivery and just a bit overwhelmed and went about making the tea and getting the kids to bed. Once all sorted I took my temperature and it was 39.8! I still managed to walk about 10 minutes to the doctor and back to discover I had mastitis and to pharmacy to get antibiotics. Not everyone is quite as sensitive to temperature spikes.

@Nuffaluff that respiratory "thing" sounds consistent with the mild effects of Covid 19. You should be self isolating.

Weirdly @Nuffaluff, I felt the same the other day. As if I was flushed and hot but on measuring only 36.4. The most I registered was 37 degs. I guess it could be the menopause though as I haven’t had a period in months.

I didn't physically take their temperature. You could see for yourself how unwell they were. They told me themselves they had a temperature. They looked very ill, very flushed in the face like when you get a high temperature..

I will be speaking to HR today, though don't hold out much hope. As I said the pressure we get for any illness is to still work. It is very frowned upon to take any time off.