Face masks and track and trace

[Ginogineli]

Hi my workplace is mandating face masks all day and say n if someone tests positive then no one else has to isolate

Is this true? Apparently this is the case for nhs staff but surely face masks don’t protect against all methods of transmission

Not especially worried just suprised that’s all

Any other people told the same?

Whoever is in charge of that idea needs to resign.

They mandated masks in my work too and nearly half the work force has had to send isolate due to positive tests

I'm sure that's not true. Masks reduce risk but don't eliminate it

What is meant by a ‘contact’
A ‘contact’ is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic up to 10 days from onset of symptoms (this is when they are infectious to others). For example, a contact can be:

people who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19
sexual partners
a person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, including: being coughed on, having a face-to-face conversation within one metre having skin-to-skin physical contact,
contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes
a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19

This is the latest guidance. It does not mention face masks (although it does say that if the contact is through a perspex screen you don't need to isolate) so your employers are incorrect. If they fail to allow employees to follow the correct isolation procedures they are breaking the law and are subject to fines of up to £10,000.

NHS and social care settings have separate guidance, if you work in one of those.

You're right. The face masks worn by NHS staff are more effective than normal face masks, and they have other procedures too, so their risk is reduced.

They are wrong, it’s not sufficient PPE to somehow get round the guidance.