Seeing key worker friends and family

[Racoonworld]

Now lockdown is beginning to ease and we are allowed to see groups of 6 outside, and assume we will be able to do more in the next stages, what are you doing about seeing key worker friends and family? As much as I want to see everyone again I am worried about seeing those who work in high risk places like hospitals, especially when we are allowed to see them inside again. What is everyone doing about this?

My daughter (nurse) has only seen us outside at social distance. She has not seen her sister and nieces at all. It’s not very nice as she lives alone.

I'm seeing keyworker family and friends, I'm not worried at all. I've been doing it from the start technically, as I'm divorced and DS's dad is a keyworker - DS has continued to see his dad as normal.

I met up with a keyworker family member for a walk the other day and have seen my mum a few times now who is frontline NHS.

You might consider that those who know how to wear PPE and are tested regularly could be safer than other randoms who don't know they have covid. Some might even have positive antibody test results so after a hand wash they're very safe. NHS in general have had similar infection rates to the rest of the population according to ONS, so if your worry is NHS staff then you might be looking in the wrong place. If you want to be careful, keep all activities until transmission rates drop much lower still. I'm really worried about this "othering" of key workers and in particular their children. They are humans, just like you. Children in particular shouldn't be made to feel segregated in any way because it's cruel. If you're concerned about risk then don't meet anyone, but please don't put up barriers between kids based on things out of their control.

For adults, the kind and respectful thing to do is to ask them what they feel the risk is and discuss it. My friend wants to wait until her last covid patients stop being infectious before even a distanced walk for example, that's being incredibly careful but she's had an emotionally rough time. I'll leave it up to her to judge safety because she's been doing that every day and not got infected.

(Meant to say keep all activities outside.)

Happy to see keyworkers. I am not concerned.

Depends on your own assessment of risk. If you're very vulnerable it makes sense to minimise or avoid contact if you feel it's necessary. My partner and I are both NHS. I saw my parents last weekend for the first time since early March. We stayed outside, I took my own chair and juice, I stayed about 3-4 metres away. I'm very aware that as a young slim female I'm likely to be asymptomatic if I get it so you can't be too careful. They thought I was being OTT. I don't.

Saying that, covid isn't going to be gone any time soon (if ever) so avoiding people forever isn't realistic.

I'm not meeting up with anyone currently because I'm a key worker in a situation with no PPE and where social distancing is impossible, so I don't want to put anyone at risk.

Wow a lovely pay back to your key worker loved ones putting themselves at risk- you ostracising them 😂

MRex I agree what is happening for keyworker children is awful. I am an NHS clinician. I have been working full tome throughout in a pt facing role, (although not direclty with COVID patients)
I have been told in Spet school is likely to be back part time only, my children have to choose between part time to join their freinds and have proper teaching, (which will be impossible due to me and DH - also a keyworker - working full time) or if they need to go full time they will have to stay in their keyworker bubble, so wont be with their freinds and will not have proper taught lessons. So thanks Boris. I've worked my bloddy guts out for months in your shit NHS and now my kids will be penalised for it.

Wow a lovely pay back to your key worker loved ones putting themselves at risk- you ostracising them 😂

I’m not trying to ostracise anyone, but I’m in the vulnerable group and have to put my families safety first. There are obviously going to be some people who are more at risk than others to see. I’m just trying to find out what others are planning to do about this to see if I’m being too extreme or not!

If you follow distancing (and it can easily be more than 2m) and hygiene, then you should be ok. DD and I have both continued working with the public throughout and each had a meet up with a friend who appeared willing

ifonly4 yes I’m happier with the 2m outdoor meet ups at the moment, but looking ahead to when we are allowed to do more then that.

We can only meet 1 other household in one day here I've seen my dd ( emergency services) , my sister is a carer in a group home she isn't meeting anybody just yet which is fair enough. It really is up to your F&F on what they are comfortable with.

@Racoonworld I'd cross that bridge when you come to it. Two months ago we couldn't have predicted how things would look today. Back then you might have felt even outdoor meet-ups would be too risky and now you're comfortable with that so just wait and see. Also you don't have to do something just because it's allowed.

I'm really worried about this "othering" of key workers and in particular their children

Absolutely this. It's an absolute slap in the face.

Oh I read on and misunderstood you think keyworkers will infect you is that what you are saying? In what way are you "vulnerable "

I have/will meet up with keyworker friends at a distance. Don’t see them as higher risk than anyone else (as a PP said, more likely to have been tested). However am not vulnerable and don’t have vulnerable family members so this is obviously colouring my view.

Do they want to see you?

I don't mean on a personal level as a reflection of how much they love you, I mean on a practical and socially responsible level they may not want to see you except socially distanced outdoors. They may not be as much in need of social contact or may in fact currently be exhausted by too much demanding social contact at work and within their own households and not want to give up what precious little down time they have at the memoent to effectively meet your needs for social contact. Which in this case obviously is a happy cooincidence if you are also worried about risks of meeting them and would secretly rather not.

I'm a key worker and quite peopled out by very intense needs of my client group at work (far more intense than usual as they have problems adjusting and many have regressed and become far more emotionally demanding). I also have my own family, who want more from me as soon as I walk in the door because they're at home and I'm gone for 14 hours at a time and working a lot of overtime.

I'm emotionally and socially exhaused and have nothing left to give people on my wider social circle waiting for increased social contact, and certainly no need of my own for social contact.

Additionally I work with clients who are very high risk and it would be irresponsible of me to risk being the canal that channels the virus to them from an extended family member or aquaintance.

Just throwing in that it might not be a punishment for Key Workers not to be deluged with friends and family wanting closer contact. It may be a blessed relief to people in certain types of keyworker role if those friends and family understand that some of us have been in the firing line of other people's pretty intense social needs for the last 3 months and additionally need to protect their patients/ clients. Not everyone has been able to have any alone time whatsoever in the last 3 months.

As a keyworker my main concern around CV is infecting someone else. I have now started to meet with friends and family, in the appropriate socially distanced manner. But I'm so aware that most of them have been WFH and only going out to the shops when needed etc, so all feel pretty safe. Then there's me, out everyday with large groups of people. It's a scary feeling

@Weepinggreenwillow I've had some negativity from fellow keyworker friends for not sending my DCs in. DH is working from home, so it hasn't been necessary. I've recently considered starting to send then in for a bit of "normality", but their years aren't back yet so they'd be in the KW bubble. As none of their friends are in that, I've decided do continue to keep them at home until they can return in their year group bubble. Personal choice, no judgement to anyone else, but for me, I want them to have the best chance of returning to their friendship groups, and can do that as we can manage part time schooling. However, I've had some snide comments from friends about how much their DCs have thrown themselves into the new KW friendship groups, how resilient they've been etc. That's great. I'm pleased they are happy. But it's not what I'm choosing which is fine too!

Dd has met some of her teenage friends from school this week. Just one at a time mind.
Her friends mums have all been working at home so I've had them explain that dh and I have worked throughout lockdown in a factory with 250 other people per shift. Sanitised to high heaven but not exactly socially isolated.
Parents have been fine with this but I wouldn't have wanted them meeting up without explaining this first.