Please someone tell me i an over reacting.

[Starling100]

Today a friend came to drop off some nappies which she no longer needed.

She knocked on the door and I went to answer.

I totally expected her to leave them on my step and move away, but she didn't.
She stood there and just handed me the nappies.

I took them and she said she couldn't stay as she had the baby in the car.
So we were stood together for less than a minute.

I've not stopped panicking since she left about how close she was to me.

Last week she messaged in our group chat saying she thought she had tonsillitis as she has a white spot on her tonsil, but said the next day said it had gone.

All sorts of thoughts are going through my mind.
Of course I washed my hands down but I'm more concerned by how close we were.

I'm a new mum (5 weeks) and very very anxious.

Am I overreacting? Do I need to be concerned?

You are overreacting. The advice is to avoid spending more than 15 mins in an enclosed space with someone, unless you are 2m apart.

1 minute on the doorstep, in the fresh air, is a tiny risk. Don't worry yourself about it.

You will be fine - try not to give it another thought

You are overreacting. She was outside, it took seconds, you didnt hug or anything like that. Simeone came to my door at the weekend, got wrong address. He passed me his phone to show me the address he needed, I took it and showed him where it was. He went, I washed my hands thoroughly, thought no more of it.

There is a minuscule risk of catching anything when she’s outside and you were only anywhere near each other for less than a minute. I can understand you being surprised by it and worrying, but please try not to worry.

Thank you! I can't believe how anxious I felt.

I had to isolate for two awks before having the baby as I had a planned section, and for the last 5 weeks we've not seen anyone.
7 weeks of hardly any contact and I'm an anxious mess!! 😖

Really don’t worry.
White spot on tonsils will be either a tonsil stone, or the beginnings of tonsillitis that she managed to fight off.
I am sure you will be fine as you were only close to her for a short time and she was outside.

Massive overreaction. Wash your hands and relax.

She was thoughtless but you should really try and no to worry.

It's highly unlikely you will contract anything from being near her for less than a minute.

Leave it 10 mins before opening your door next time

I have a 10 week old so can understand you being more worried but I wouldnt give it a second thought. My daughter has been handled by so many doctors, nurses, midwives, health visitors that I wouldnt even worry about a short encounter like that.

Why have you not seen anyone for the past 5 weeks? I had a baby during lockdown and we've been meeting family in the garden and in parks as soon as we were allowed to. The risk to children is tiny.

Good heavens. Huge, huge, huge overreaction.

I can imagine being similar if I had a new baby, @Starling100. Don’t worry about ‘over-reacting’ either. We’re in such a strange situation, and it’s utterly natural not to know quite where to draw the line.

@Starling100

Today a friend came to drop off some nappies which she no longer needed.

She knocked on the door and I went to answer.

I totally expected her to leave them on my step and move away, but she didn't.
She stood there and just handed me the nappies.

I took them and she said she couldn't stay as she had the baby in the car.
So we were stood together for less than a minute.

I've not stopped panicking since she left about how close she was to me.

Last week she messaged in our group chat saying she thought she had tonsillitis as she has a white spot on her tonsil, but said the next day said it had gone.

All sorts of thoughts are going through my mind.
Of course I washed my hands down but I'm more concerned by how close we were.

I'm a new mum (5 weeks) and very very anxious.

Am I overreacting? Do I need to be concerned?

A very very understandable over reaction. I have often thought how grateful I am not to have been a new mum with this going on. You have all these new hormones designed to protect you and your little one and all this thrown on top. And the whole new mum thing is completely mind blowing - well it was for me for the first 6-12 months! Completely can see why it freaked you out but like the other mums said you can rest easy I’m sure! Take care x

OP, your friend would have to have to be infected with Covid-19 for you to get it. Hopefully, she isn't.

However, although there is no point over-reacting, we need to think things through sensibly. The 15 minute thing is obviously total rubbish if you think about it realistically. Think of whether you can easily inhale someone else's breath (which incorporates droplets from your lungs if they've coughed or sneezed). Okay, we can't see someone's breathing now because it is warm outside. Imagine someone breathing out in cold weather. You can see their breath and how far it travels. In warmer weather you may not see it but it still travels that distance. I don't mean to worry you though as the figures per thousand of population who are infected are low so chances of contracting it are low BUT I believe you could catch it in a fraction of a second if you are in the company of someone who definitely has it.

However, even if you contract Covid, you may not have symptoms, you may have mild ones or you may have severe ones. Lots to consider but just do your best to keep socially distant as much as you can.