The elephant in the room

[Needsomegoodnews]

So some people are desperate for lockdown to end. Fewer hospital cases. Fewer deaths. These mostly in hospitals and care homes. Mild illness for most etc etc

I’ve been ill now with classic symptoms for SEVEN weeks (otherwise v healthy, slim, active etc). Not tested (so will get flamed that it’s not covid) but HAVE now had a chest X-ray showing ongoing classic infection signs in my lungs. 3 lots of antibiotics haven’t improved things so likely viral and likely covid. I have a fever right now (again - comes and goes). No one has any idea if I’m still infectious or whether I will eventually get better (or worse) and I’ve heard of many others in a similar boat. Without better testing and knowledge of how this virus progresses how on earth can anyone predict the implications of letting it spread again even more?
I have two small children and trying to keep up with a demanding job when I can so I fully appreciate the desire for normality but nothing after lockdown can be normal. I wouldn’t wish how I’ve been feeling on anyone.

We have done the necessary and slowed down the spread. We have identified the vulnerable and given help and advice.

Lockdown does need to happen this summer and will, but if we lift it too soon when the R number is not low enough we risk another surge in cases and then any progress will be undone. As discussed above the focus for this month should be getting sufficient testing, contact tracing and quarantining in place and then significant easing of lockdown measures can happen. If we return to the herd immunity strategy allowing 60-80% of the population to be infected. Death rates will be high and they are bad enough already.

The PHE are hiring tracers from the healthcare professions who are unable to work during lockdown.
There are strict criteria for deployment. The first being a degree in healthcare so doctors, dentists, nurse etc from the pool who are unable to work due to vulnerable or shielded house holds. They will work from home and essentially be conducting hour long interviews with people testing positive.
All volunteers/candidates will have training and will have to have a whole list of qualifications including safeguarding training and many other security checks.
It may be that a private firm has been brought in to administrate. I had my email asking if I would like to volunteer.
Tracing will be done from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

But this attitude that we can ignore the elderly and ill is just so, so gross

Absolutely nobody said that. Such claims are always the last stand of the hysterically uninformed. Nobody wants the elderly or the ill to die. Of anything. Every death is a tragedy to someone.

So your solution is then that we suspend death? Are you going to tell it, or shall I? Death is part of the human condition. You live. You die.

Nobody was going around screaming " we need a lock down" - or even "wash your hands" - in 2017/18 when 50,000 additional deaths above the annual average occurred because of flu. The elderly and the ill were seriously at risk then, but nobody knew and nobody did anything about it. What could have prevented some of those deaths? A lockdown, washing your hands properly, and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Sound familar?

Could we have done better with coronavirus? Yes. Could we have done worse? Yes. Is our economy screwed for many years to come? Hell yes! Coronavirus is not the worst thing that can happen to us, and those who think it is have limited imaginations and experience.

Sorry to hear this.

It’s really pathetic that some people feel the need to still suggest this is ok. A hell of a lot of people who get this get this sick yet people still dub it as scaremongering

I believe that the private companies will be used to contact the contacts identified by the higher level tracers. If an interview takes an hour to gather information about contacts this info will be passed down the line for action and notification. It would be pointless expecting the high level tracers to get in touch with every potential contact. If any contacts are then tested positive they will be referred to the higher level.
The tracing interviews will be done by clinicians not students looking for part time work.
There is quite a lot involved and I may consider doing a couple of evening shifts a week but I also have to do two days a week phone triaging at work.

Are they paying anyone or are you all expected to do it for nothing?

How much profit are Serco making?

Which clinical skills do you think are relevant?

Get tested ? You just book it yourself of the gov website

You need to get tested within 5 days of developing symptoms maddy, presumably because that's when you are producing antigens. OP has been unwell for seven weeks now.

First contact with contacts is an extremely important and skilled job and should not be left to Serco's usual shitwork recruitment practices. You need to get people to trust you or they won't cooperate and so they won't report symptoms so they won't be available for your hour long 'higher level' interview with someone who has irrelevant clinical skills.

This job needs very good people skills at every level and we should be recruiting people who are already active and trusted in their communities as first contacts - third sector, churches, mosques, community groups etc.

None of this needs clinical skills it needs extremely good people skills and a forensic attention to detail and a thorough appreciation of data protection.

And a clean, enhanced DBS check obviously.

I can't imagine many skilled HCP have much free time to volunteer for Serco in any case.

Just want to say sorry OP. A close friend of mine has 'mild' symptoms like you, actually anything but mild and completely debilitating. It's really worrying and I would like to know how many people are affected like this.

I don't think we've even begun to really shield the vulnerable. Nobody really knows who the vulnerable are with this.
The DF of friend is 85, and has many health problems. He has caught and recovered from coronavirus in less time than me. My friend who was in hospital after major heart surgery and caught it there, is recovering.
My dsis, is one week ahead of me at 8 weeks in and is also still really suffering. She wasn't in the vulnerable group. But she can't even get out of bed yet. I don't call that mild, two months later.
My friend who was a fit and healthy 35 year old developed 'a sniffle', 5 days later he is dead. He probably won't go down as a statistic as he didn't get tested, he died at home. His devastated ex is also terrified that the weaknesses to the virus are genetic and that their 3 year old dd is at risk.
And I can't go to his funeral and say goodbye. Or hug his ex and his DM, DF and dsis.
The scary thing about this virus is that it is total guess work, nobody really knows anything about this virus.
I don't like the gamble, the price is too high. I've seen all the bad stuff and its terrifying.

It’s crazy that you can’t get tested. I thought the UK was really trying to ramp up testing now.

Here in Australia you can get tested if you have even the slightest sniffle or sore throat, in fact it’s encouraged.

OP, do you have the ground glass look in your lungs - else what did they see on your chest X-ray?

DH had "classic " symptoms for 7 weeks before 3 weeks with 3 different antibiotics sorted his pneumonia (kind of, still weak for some weeks after) in 2001, so your description sounds like ordinary pneumonia to me, but I understand the ground glass look is distinctive. His chest X-ray afterwards was a pass but he's prone to chest infections since.

Nobody was going around screaming " we need a lock down" - or even "wash your hands" -2017/18 when 50,000 additional deaths above the annual average occurred because of flu

@Moondust001, but it took 6 months without lockdown to reach that figure for flu. The coronavirus deaths have happened over 2 months with significant lockdown since March 23.

crayfishforyou, thank you for sharing your experiences and people you know.

Oral engineer, thank you for your info. I need to look into it more but my understanding is there are a smaller proportion employed such as you but many more who have no training or skills in this kind of work. langclegsinspace latest post was helpful in explaining why this is important.

OP and everyone who’s been sick, I’m so so sorry. And @Crayfishforyou, I’m sorry for your loss. There are some shockingly callous comments here. I really hope they don’t represent what most people think, or I lose all hope.
I’m also amazed at the number of people who think they are invincible and it won’t happen to them or their children. Doctors in ITU are coming out and saying that this is a frightening illness, that it kills people seemingly randomly, and that we don’t really understand it yet. And yet people persist with the glib “it’s like a cold” line.
We don’t have the first clue what the death rate, serious illness, or long term complication rate might be, as people are suffering at home and not getting tested. Some are dying at home. It’s scary stuff.

it took 6 months without lockdown to reach that figure for flu. The coronavirus deaths have happened over 2 months with significant lockdown since March 23

This. Also, there were not iirc many cases with patients who recovered ending up needing continuing dialysis or suffering blood-clots or developing pneumonia after they had seemingly recovered

Quite apart from the personal suffering, we keep talking as if it is only the people in ICU that are going to overload the NHS and cost the economy. What about the people who might end up permanently disabled? What about the people who may never be able to work again?