The costs of self isolating.Do you think people will have to risk their symptoms in winter?

[whatisforteamum]

I've had a week off and never off sick so I had accrued see sick pay while my test went through.My dh as far as I know will get SSP..bu gger all.!
Surely people on low incomes cannot afford.to do the right thing going especially as we head into winter and all the bugs?
Am I missing something.I am all for following the guidance and have done through out.Who can afford.to self isolate though.

[Chaotic45]

@Kazzyhoward thank you for remembering the self employed people like myself. I've had no financial assistance, and had to stop working for 9 weeks of lockdown so my income was zero.

I got up and running as soon as I could. I will struggle so much of I have to self isolate as I've used all savings, and relied on help from friends and family to get through those 9 weeks. I've now no financial buffer and do not qualify for any help despite working my ass off and earning a decent wage paying a high rate of tax since I left uni 25 years ago.

Self employed people who decide not to self isolate are a real risk. Not belonging to a company, or having a boss makes it easier to just do what works for you without anyone noticing, or calling you out. That plus feeling forgotten and already being skint means we are a real risk to the model where people should isolate as needed.

[whatisforteamum]

I agree with personal responsibility.I don't have anyone in the house visiting anyway.I don't socialise especially in pubs or cafes.However I do work in a pub as a chef which is my chosen career so with less hours now isolating this is reducing my income massively.I am grateful I do have some work though.

[Madein1995]

I do think you have a point op. I have a funny taste in my mouth but thats it, 99.9999percent its a cold. Nhs 111 would prob tell me to isolate. If every adult in this country is going to have 2weeks off whenever they get a cough or lack of taste, the economy will be fucked. Likely, most people will be sensible (like i am!), not reaxt in a panic of 'ooh a tickly cough for 5mins/ooh a funny taste in the mouth, leta isolate ' and just not bloody self isolate. It isnt realistic to isolate every 2seconds and quite frankly unless i have proper symptoms i wont be xoing it. I know many who have isolated for 2weeks based on one cough or a slight lack of smell, and have stopped indoors for fuck all because all tests have been negative

[twinkletoesimnot]

I agree that we need better testing - at the moment aren't you only supposed to have a test if you actually have symptoms?

[Alex50]

@twinkletoesimnot or you do it at home say On Sunday night ready for Monday morning, we need better testing though with results in a few minutes a bit like a pregnancy test but I can’t see this materialising anytime soon. Luckily I have a testing centre 5 mins from my house which seems to be empty most of the time, results come back in less than 24hrs, I think I will be there once a week when schools go back 😊

[Kazzyhoward]

I get full sick pay, as do all college staff, but people like cleaners and janitors, catering, security, are on SSP as contractors.

Another big group of people who don't get SSP are self employed, many of whom have already been screwed over by falling through the cracks of Rishi's support packages. Many have already used their savings just for food, so havn't any backup if they can't work. Rishi is under mounting pressure to deal with the "forgotten" self employed and he really needs to man up and solve it.

[twinkletoesimnot]

@Alex50
That's an interesting idea.... Testing in schools.

Who would do that? Surely it's a parent's responsibility to access a test if their child needs one?

[Alex50]

That’s why we need regular testing in schools otherwise it’s never going to work, children will be off every 5 minutes and most of the time it won’t be Covid. My daughter will be tested every time she has symptoms, if negative test and it’s just a cold, she will go to school.

[BKCRMP]

I genuinely have no idea how I will test my 5 year old DD. I'm dreading it. She needs a lot of handling from.staff so feels higher risk

[Greenandcabbagelooking]

The worst thing is the fact that parents will send children to school with fevers or coughs because "it's not Covid and I need to go to work". If people do that and it turns out to be covid, schools or groups within schools, will be sent home and then you'll be more screwed than if you'd just kept your coughing kid at home and got a test.

This is how I caught chicken pox as a teacher. It's just a few spots, says parent. Errr, no it's chicken pox, and now the teacher is off sick for ten days.

[Bupkis]

Ds has complex health needs. Some of the symptoms he will randomly have are -
Vomiting (reflux)
Explosive bowel movements
Random temperatures (alongside going very pale and sweaty)
Asthma cough (worse in Winter months)
Reflux cough
He also catches everything going.
Even his paed and GP say that doing a swab test would be impossible...and I don't know what we'll do if school insist on one.

Dreading the next few months.

[IgnoranceIsStrength]

To the poster who asked earlier what happens now. Well none of them have been symptomatic as they haven't been in school and only mixing in outside environments so limited chance of catching it. So it hasn't been an issue yet...

[twinkletoesimnot]

I was talking about having the usual illnesses in addition to COVID - I don't think anyone would need longer than usual off for them.

But no actually schools do not have to 'be sensible ' about this - parents do! ANY symptoms then stay away!

[cologne4711]

It would also seem rather silly to make a child who obviously has chicken pox to have two weeks off if they are ok to go back after one week. Chicken pox is very demonstrably different to covid! Schools have got to be sensible about this, you can't send every child and staff member home with a slight symptom.

[cologne4711]

They need the 90 minute test rolled out across schools and colleges as a priority - potentially even above medical staff, as they are allowed back with a standard negative test, whereas it doesn't appear that schools are going to take any notice of a negative test.

If the test is so unreliable why are we even bothering with it?

[BluebellsGreenbells]

But they have been away from each other during lockdown - so who’s got it to pass in?

[twinkletoesimnot]

@BluebellsGreenbells

They won't be away from each other though will they!

[BluebellsGreenbells]

you are going to have other illnesses like chicken pox and norovirus going round on top of Covid symptoms

Aren’t these illness dying out as well with kids being away from each other? And hand washing?

I’m sure I read a school did an experiment and made hand washing compulsory and their attendance went up by 80%

[Alex50]

It’s ridiculous, people aren’t going to be taking 14 days off work every 5 minutes in case they may have it, they need to test all secondary and the work place once a week, positive test you stay at home, negative test you carry on. Most people could just about cope for one or two quarantine period throughout the year but anymore than that is ridiculous. You can’t ask people sit just in case they may have it.

[Aridane]

I work in a team of 15 with 6 of us having primary children. What happens if we keep having to take time off?

@IgnoranceIsStrength - what’s happening now (if I may ask)?

[twinkletoesimnot]

I think it's going to be awful. Then chuck in the fact that most kids have been away from other kids for so long..... you are going to have other illnesses like chicken pox and norovirus going round on top of Covid symptoms.

The government telling employers to be 'understanding' isn't going to cut it for long.

This is why I think returning to school should be done in a much more managed way - the implications are enormous!

[TabbyStar]

I'm another with absolutely no Government support throughout and massively reduced income, the Government don't seem to care, we have just been told to claim universal credit if we don't have savings or a partner's income, which of course isn't enough to cover living costs so people are losing their homes through no fault of their own. Rishi Sunak is now saying they can't support everyone, which is a bit different from "no one will be left behind".

[voxnihili]

I’m dreading this. I get full pay so that’s not the issue. The issue is the number of times I might have to be off and my attendance record becoming a disciplinary issue. I work in a school and have a DD in nursery. I don’t know what pay DP will get if we have to isolate - I think just SSP. We’ll cope with the financial aspect short term, but I’m concerned about the long term if it carries on.

[IgnoranceIsStrength]

The implications of unpaid leave needing to be taken to look after a young child who has been told to isolate is being overlooked. I work in a team of 15 with 6 of us having primary children. What happens if we keep having to take time off? Do we get paid? We wouldn't be isolating as such bit equally our children can not be in school

[Frazzled13]

@YewHedge

If a child develops or displays symptoms of COVID at school they will immediately isolated (have to sit outside in the playground with a staff member appropriately distanced) and will need to be collected straight away and have a test.
If parents send their child in with symptoms they will just be called straight back to collect them.

Of course, but a child with a temp on Saturday/Sunday that's gone by Monday could be sent to school (along with any siblings they have) with no one being any the wiser.