AIBU to think DD should have been told about CV in office she cleans?

[WorkplaceQuery]

Talk me down please as I am fit to be peeled off the ceiling but not sure whether I am over reacting..

DD has a part time job cleaning an office workplace twice a week (office with desks etc/kitchen/meeting room no bathrooms/toilets) She cleans all surfaces, hoovers, bags up and takes waste out etc. She wears a mask and uses latex gloves (brings her own)

She turned up tonight and met a cleaner (for another office) in the communal area of the building who asked if she had been told there had been a confirmed CV case in "DDs" office Friday. DD said no and contacted her boss. He said it had all been cleaned and all was OK.

DD realised she had been there Friday and cleaned and emptied the bins plus there had been someone in the office (there sometimes is as people work late). So she contacted boss to ask when the case had been confirmed and what areas the positive person had been in contact with...he said he will get back to her as he didn't know about the case until Saturday morning.

Surely DD should have been told? I am worried she touched and handled contagious surfaces/waste etc on Friday evening - obviously she wears gloves but still?! The person on Friday night was at the end of the office but they exchanged a few words and walked past each other later. DD wore a mask and gloves but other person did not, but I realise this is a fleeting contact, it's more the handling of waste and touching surfaces - maybe they didn't know at that point but on Saturday they should have made her aware surely?

I may be worrying too much as I am clinically extremely vulnerable and was on the shielding list. DD is 17 so still at college and living at home with us.

[WorkplaceQuery]

@Nc967125 I assume they're latex (the box is downstairs and I'm in bed ) they're those stretchy type tattoo artists use. She bought her own gloves as her "risk assessment/induction" thing seemed to be "here is the cupboard there's some spray in there, here's your office key start tomorrow..." and they certainly didn't give her gloves.

Anyway. No point worrying now.

[WorkplaceQuery]

It's not a large office - there are a lot of surfaces to clean though (she does everything, telephone headsets etc) and hoovering/bins to empty, she definitely spends more than 15 mins in there.

[WorkplaceQuery]

Sorry clicked too soon life she realises she may have been a contact, but if the other cleaner hadn't mentioned it, she didn't even know there had been a case for to be a contact! It's a bit that the boss said he wanted access for "quality checking" instead of telling her the real reason.

I think if that had happened at my own office/workplace I would not have been happy, so I understand DD is annoyed at this as well as a bit worried. I'm sure if anyone was in that position with their workplace not informing them at all of a confirmed positive case at the premises they would be a bit too

[islockdownoveryet]

Sorry has your dd been in contact with this person or just cleaned the office this person been in ?
I can't see if it's the latter what the risk is in fact you DD is probably the least at risk because she hasn't been in contact and wearing gloves or a mask .

[WorkplaceQuery]

She doesn't know if she has been in contact as she doesn't know who is positive - there were different people working there the evenings that she was there. She wasn't even told there had been a confirmed case...

Anyway, I'm going to put it bed and go to sleep, no point fretting!

[Lazypuppy]

You're being OTT.

[amy85]

Completely overthinking this!!!!

If your dd had been in close contact she would have been informed but because she hasn't she didn't need to know

[toomanypillows]

Honestly don't worry about this. I work in a school and we have 3 staff and 6 children who have tested positive. I only know the name of one of them (because she's in my form)

Chances are I've been in contact with one or more of the others over the last couple of weeks but I won't be told unless I've been timetabled to teach them. All you/your DD can do is take the precautions available to you at any given time.

Treat all surfaces and people as though they're infected. Otherwise we just have to hope for the best

[WorkplaceQuery]

Well ok I shall go with the majority although I really want to go you're all a bunch of vipers and I'm not coming back

I still secretly think I'm being completely reasonable and that anyone else in the same position (especially someone shielding in a local lockdown area with very high rates) whose 17year old DD found out by chance she had been cleaning the workplace including desk/telephone/mugs etc, and possibly in contact with the person, in a confirmed CV case and wasn't even told, well anyone else would say I'm not BU.

Especially if her boss rang her for the access code and lied said it was to quality check her work, and not saying it was actually to get a specialist cleaning company in for a CV clean...

Anyway you're all a nest of vipers and I'm not coming back

[Threeisnotacrowd]

You need to seriously chill.

You, and she, likely both of you, have been in much closer contact than that with people who would test positive.

Chances are someone in your house has had it anyway.

The fact that someone has tested positive means nothing. You don’t even know if they had symptoms or were tested as part of track and trace and didn’t even know they had it.

The worlds gone mad

[Wishfulthinking1977]

OP just to try and give you some reassurance! I clean holiday lets, in a very busy tourist town! We have been slammed 7 days a week since travel restrictions were removed! I clean up more stuff than an office cleaner from hundreds of people around the country including high risk areas! We don't use ppe as its not possible in our job, we do ventilate and fog all the areas afterwards, we don't get told if people are positive after they have left only if they are tested positive whilst they are here and seeing as our nearest testing centre is 70 miles away I doubt they would get tested whilst on holiday! We still have 0 cases where I live and we have a massively high elderly population, we are all fine so hope that helps to alleviate your worries xx

[rainbowunicorn]

Bloody hell Calm down OP you are over reacting. The chances of you DD catching it cleaning the office are very slim. I really think you need to stop worrying about this. If she was by some miracle in close contact with a confirmed case the she will be contacted by test and trace.

[deplorabelle]

As a fellow shielder I'd feel the same.

Your DD has been treated shoddily with the lack of information and no PPE supplied but it doesn't sound like she has been exposed much/at all.

Given she was wearing gloves and presumably didn't take them off and immediately stick her fingers up her nose, she isn't all that likely to have caught from surfaces, washing up etc. Shared air is more of a problem if the case was one of the people in the office with her (or if office has terrible dodgy aircon with a lot of recirculating air).

As I'm cautious and have a lot to lose (sounds like you're the same) I'd be inclined to keep a little distance from your DD at home, clean surfaces,and keep as many windows open as you can stand for the next two weeks. Then you have done absolutely everything you could.

[shinynewapple2020]

I agree that your DD should have been informed .

I would think by now that she is most likely to be OK though .

[WorkplaceQuery]

Oh god I'm going to be one of the posters, that when everyone says YABU, goes yes but yes but and then thanks the single person that agrees with them I have given it a lot of thought though. DD is fine and is just annoyed she seems to have been forgotten or an afterthought, if not lied to...

For me, I have calmed the fuck down this morning but I still think that they've fucked up a bit by not telling her, and also seeming to deliberately hide it. Which doesn't give any confidence they will have given all the right info to Test and Trace, also that isn't exactly a wonderfully efficient service from the news. I find it that her boss lied to her about the defogging at the weekend and now DD knows has back-pedalled saying he will have to look into what's happened. So far it appears she definitely was in the office between the diagnosis and "proper" cleaning/disinfectant and I do think she should have been told this. I think they've genuinely forgotten about her as she isn't a "proper" member of staff in the office IYSWIM and now realise they've fucked up.

We live in local lockdown area with strict restrictions still and in the last week alone we had over 100 new cases diagnosed every day, over 800 in one week. We are careful in our house and have been since the start but we aren't running around screaming with our hands in the air.

This is what annoys me - as a shielded person for months having been bombarded by the government about not setting foot outside the house/garden for months, advice to get your hospital bag and advance care plan ready - for my DCs missing out on so much of life with lockdown, for them/all of us being careful and responsible, for a workplace to have such a cavalier attitude has pissed me off tbh.

None of us have locked ourselves away in a bath of bleach, I actually failed at total shielding for the sake of my mental health but I've taken informed decisions myself based on weighing up all the available info and risk. I think this is what's annoyed me (not so much DD she is just pissed off to seem to be an afterthought) but for me I feel a bit of "control" has been taken away from me.

Please don't call me controlling I know the risk of catching it is very low, but unfortunately the risk from the consequences of catching it^^ is much higher to me than healthier people and it does have an effect.

I know I'm being unreasonable to worry she will have caught it from this situation but I don't think I'm being unreasonable to think she should have been told about the situation.

[WorkplaceQuery]

I have too much time on my hands I think. I might try and make a cake.

In further justification of my BU I am wired to the moon with stress a bit anyway atm, I have another different DC in and out of hospital, my parents are elderly and one is ill atm, DH lost his job in lockdown, and to top it all off the hoover fell on my knee yesterday and it's not looking too good. And my internet isn't working and I'm using all my data whining on MN.

I know lots of us are having shit times. I hope things get brighter for everyone.

[Tomatoesneedtoripen]

i doubt she would be allowed to touch the telephones and headsets, the staff should do their own.

[juneybean]

Not true, our cleaners do everything but they do it before anyone arrives!

I do feel like a bit of courtesy wouldnt have gone amiss and she should have been told. But I think wearing masks and gloves the risk is so so low, please dont worry!

[Palavah]

I can understand why, if you're shielding, you'd be worried.

It sounds as though your daughter's boss should be doing more to provide appropriate PPE if (given) that there's a risk of CV infection, plua guidance on procedures for standard activity us retrospectively once a positive exposure is known.
A good opportunity for her to ask for clarification on those points, and let her boss know if she's concerned.

[QueenStromba]

I'm what some people would describe as a doom monger and have been wearing a mask and goggles even outside etc and I wouldn't worry about this. The risk of spread via surfaces has been massively overblown. The research saying that covid can survive for hours or days on surfaces was based on completely unrealistic viral inoculums (the equivalent of tens of people coughing directly onto a small area of surface).

[WorkplaceQuery]

Oh she is expected to clean everything, they leave mugs for her to wash up but she hasn't been doing that. She got annoyed when one of the men working late just left his on the sink for her to do instead of washing it himself

I wonder if this will be a bit of a wake up call to the company about risk and procedures. It's not a cash in hand job but she applied, got a call, went to interview at the office and was basically just handed a office key and told to start. Obviously she looks hard working and responsible (she is though ) No conversations about PPE (but she was wearing a mask when she went to meet them)

If the other cleaner hadn't told her (his company told him and he doesn't even clean the office with the CV case! Of course they share communal areas though) she wouldn't have known.

This is where the test and trace (even if it was properly implemented by the government) fucks up I think - they are reliant on people providing the right information. In theory DD could be a close contact if the late night working person is the positive case but I think the company genuinely forgot about her and then, going off her Sunday conversation, decided to hide it.

DD is especially annoyed he told he wanted the building code to quality check her work when really he was meeting the defogging people.

She has gone off to college this morning as usual which she ummed over but it seemed reasonable. Let's hope she doesn't get contacted by T and T.

[WorkplaceQuery]

Ironically, I used to have business dealings with the company in the offices below when they were based elsewhere and their offices were late night party central (it was great ) so I even checked when she started, it wasn't that company as I worried about social distancing.

This is what you get when you work late you see, you put others at risk. If you're going to do that, at least make it worthwhile by partying instead of working

[WorkplaceQuery]

@QueenStromba goggles? Elaborate please

[Rosehassometoes]

‘Full PPE’ is a mask gloves, eye protection (visor or goggles) and a plastic apron.
I’d make sure she wears for all cleaning work.
Then wipes down her shoes (or wear crocs and wash them) and washed her clothes at 60 degrees.

Like in healthcare she should be tested all jobs as high risk anyway.

[Threeisnotacrowd]

Isn’t a “close contact” being less than two metres from someone or in a confined space with them for more than 15 minutes? Being in the same building or even room as someone doesn’t make you even the smallest dot on the track and trace radar.

If it did every school and workplace would be empty.

There was nothing to tell her. She will have been in closer contact with people varying the virus numerous times already.