This contact tracing thing?

Waxonwaxoff0 · 27/05/2020 22:56

They test people you have had contact with between 2 days before and 7 days after your symptoms start to show, according to an article I read. It will be for people you've had contact with for more than 15 minutes.

They won't have to isolate for 14 days, they will all be tested and if the results come back negative they won't need to isolate.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 27/05/2020 22:59

Ah no I read that wrong. They will have to isolate and they will only be tested if they have symptoms themselves.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 27/05/2020 23:00

It doesn't seem like it's going to work.

QueenofmyPrinces · 27/05/2020 23:16

How on earth can anyone know all the people they’ve been in contact with for the previous 14 days?

I come into contact with God knows how many people a day because of my job, 99% of whom are service users and so I have no idea at all who they are in terms of being able to contact them.

I just don’t get it.

And those people that I do know who I’ve spent time with, (colleagues, friends and family) why would I need the NHS Track person to contact them when I could just tell them myself?

I just don’t see how it’s going to work?

ARudeTerriblePerson · 27/05/2020 23:18

Queen, I read that as "I come into contact with God".

TingTastic · 27/05/2020 23:20

And those people that I do know who I’ve spent time with, (colleagues, friends and family) why would I need the NHS Track person to contact them when I could just tell them myself?

Exactly this. I really don’t understand the point without the app (and then you can have an automatic message through the app so won’t need anyone to ring people you have been in contact with)

sleepyhead · 27/05/2020 23:22

We'll be expected to socially distance as much as possible which will minimise the number of people you're in close contact with for the required length of time.

But yes, if people lie about who they've been in contact with because they don't want them to lose money, or because they worry that it will cause resentment, it won't work.

Meredithgrey1 · 27/05/2020 23:26

How on earth can anyone know all the people they’ve been in contact with for the previous 14 days?

To be fair it's not the previous 14 days. It's 2 days before your symptoms started to 7 days after, and assuming you do what you're meant to and self isolate, the only people you'll be in contact with after you show symptoms will be household members. So it's really just the two days before symptoms show up.

QueenofmyPrinces · 27/05/2020 23:32

.....and assuming you do what you're meant to and self isolate, the only people you'll be in contact with after you show symptoms will be household members. So it's really just the two days before symptoms show up.

Like I said, I’m a nurse and spend a prolonged time with a lot of people, colleagues and patients.

And why do they only want contacts within the last two says when they reckon you can harbour the infection for up to 10-14 days before you even show symptoms?

ScreamingKid · 27/05/2020 23:37

Good point

Original poster

Inoneminute · 28/05/2020 07:24

Yes, it's the resentment thing that makes me think people won't comply and for anyone who's going back to work, we will have quite a lot of contacts, plus the requirement is to SD "where possible".

For example DS is going back next week to his job at a fast food chain. They've actually been very good employers through all of this and have arranged "bubbles" of 20 people per shift. If one of his colleagues has a positive test they have to take responsibility for everyone going onto SSP for 14 days? That's a big ask IMO.

OP posts:

Original poster

Inoneminute · 28/05/2020 07:26

Plus how do you make peope have the test in the first place in this situation? If e.g. DS or a colleague just stays home until he's well, there's no benefit to him in taking a test and avoiding doing so avoids having to disrupt his colleagues' lives.

OP posts:

milkysmum · 28/05/2020 07:31

I would imagine also that the people who are not adhering so much to social distancing guidance ( I'm not talking now about working) might just be the people less inclined to give the details of these contacts to the call handlers, the maybe?
And then the people with increased contact with work colleagues may well be very anxious about causing many of their team to self isolate, particularly if they know they won't get paid. I'm just not convinced this will have any impact on reducing transmission rate at all.

NELass · 28/05/2020 07:34

@Inoneminute

Have I understood correctly.

If I have a positive test, someone from the government will contact me and ask me for details of those I've been in contact with in previous days?

How many days?

I wouldn't necessarily know, for example, who I've sat near on the bus.

If I do give details, these people then have to take 14 days off work, probably on SMP or worse if SE. I'm not sure I could do that to people I'd only had relatively short or distant contact with. Could you? Or maybe I wouldn't need to? What does "contact" mean?

It’s not the goverment! It’s Public Health England. If you want this virus to go away then this is the most effective way. I don’t understand why people are backlashing against it. It’s to contain the virus and to save lives.

manitobajane · 28/05/2020 07:37

Queen, I read that as "I come into contact with God".

It's ok, he's got social distancing down to a fine art

Original poster

Inoneminute · 28/05/2020 07:39

I'm not sure there's a big difference between the government and PHE, but if you prefer "the authorities".

Will you family or those you know have to live on c. £80 pw or less while self isolating? I think that will be the big difference between those who think it's a great plan and those who don't.

As we've seen previously, there are far more of those people than "people" were previously aware.

OP posts:

GirlCalledJames · 28/05/2020 07:42

Isn’t contact being at less than 2 metres of someone without PPE for at least 15 minutes? So nurses shouldn’t have patients on their contact list. And you shouldn’t be that close to someone else on the bus.
We need to be living and working in a way to keep that potential list as short as possible. Otherwise cases would go back up to a level where contact tracing becomes impossible again.

Lindy2 · 28/05/2020 07:43

QueenofmyPrinces

why do they only want contacts within the last two says when they reckon you can harbour the infection for up to 10-14 days before you even show symptoms?

Because you are generally only infectious for 2 days prior to showing symptoms. The period before that is the incubation period where you are carrying the virus but have not reached the infectious stage or symptomatic stage.

This is just like most viruses. For example, chicken pox can be carried for upto 21 days before showing symptoms. People are infectious for 2 days before symptoms show, not the full 21 days.

You're a nurse? Why don't you already know this? You should understand this about viruses surely.

MoreW1ne · 28/05/2020 08:17

Just another class divide system. Those that can afford to live on ssp for a couple of weeks and those that can't.

HeadSpin5 · 28/05/2020 09:16

This might stop employers pulling people back into offices who can wfh

AugieMarch · 28/05/2020 09:26

It’s what’s been happening in Australia from the very early days. My husband, for example, was a ‘casual contact’ of a confirmed case (a colleague of his) so had to just be aware and watch for symptoms but not isolate. Other colleagues who were ‘close contacts’ had to self isolate for 14 days. But that was 2 months ago. Much easier with a smaller, geographically dispersed population I guess. Seems a bit late coming in for the UK. It is hard if people don’t have leave or can’t work from home, but it probably did help here. I imagine it might be a bit late for that in the UK though (like the quarantining of air travellers... may have worked if done a couple of months ago, like in NZ and Aus, but not now).

qweryuiop · 28/05/2020 09:30

@Inoneminute

Plus how do you make peope have the test in the first place in this situation? If e.g. DS or a colleague just stays home until he's well, there's no benefit to him in taking a test and avoiding doing so avoids having to disrupt his colleagues' lives.

Except if they have caught the virus.

In which case they merrily go about their lives, spreading it further.

Well done DS. Instead of spreading it to two other people he works with, he's spread it to all of them.

sleepyhead · 28/05/2020 15:48

I guess there'll be a tension between, on one hand

"you reported me as a contact and I lost my income"

and

"you didn't report me as a contact and I caught the virus and spread it to my family and we've all lost our income" (or worse case scenario are severely affected/someone dies)

Up until now the social norm/public shaming has been about fear of spreading of the virus, but if that swings towards fear of losing someone their wage (or losing your own wage) then the only option to swing it back is legislation - fines or ultimately prison if you spread the virus by avoiding a test/not informing about contacts and someone died.

Hopefully it naturally burns itself out even with partial compliance and it doesn't come to anything more draconian.

BakedCam · 28/05/2020 16:50

@manitobajane

Queen, I read that as "I come into contact with God".

It's ok, he's got social distancing down to a fine art

MrsFogi · 28/05/2020 16:56

I will not be cooperating with this until DC is sacked.