I’m not wrong here, right?

[TheTempest]

DH and our housemate work with a man. He has been in work all week including today with a wife who has tested positive, and he has tested positive today. It’s a small place and everyone there has been in ‘close contact’ with him.

They have not sent anyone home and are carrying on as normal, they are breaking the law right?! What can I do about this? Report it to HSE?

How close are we talking?

I go out to work every day and we have people at home positive for Covid. You only have to isolate if you have been in close contact (more than 2 metres) for more than 15 minutes with the positive person I believe.

@Waxonwaxoff0

How close are we talking?

I go out to work every day and we have people at home positive for Covid. You only have to isolate if you have been in close contact (more than 2 metres) for more than 15 minutes with the positive person I believe.

But the workmate should be isolating surely? Presumably they live with their wife?

Well the man with the wife with the positive test shouldn't have been in.

As for everyone else - it depends what you mean by "close contact". Test and trace will use a definition of under 1m for 5 minutes or 2m for 15 minutes.

I presumed the person who tested positive is isolating?

If someone is positive they and the household must isolate surely

I go out to work every day and we have people at home positive for Covid. You only have to isolate if you have been in close contact (more than 2 metres) for more than 15 minutes with the positive person I believe.

Eh? If you live with someone, you have to self isolate regardless.

If the man knew his wife was positive and was still coming into work then he has broken the law.

@AlexaShutUp

I go out to work every day and we have people at home positive for Covid. You only have to isolate if you have been in close contact (more than 2 metres) for more than 15 minutes with the positive person I believe.

Eh? If you live with someone, you have to self isolate regardless.

Yes, I know. I thought that the OP meant they hadn't sent anyone else at work home. Perhaps I read it wrong.

He'd have to tell the employees he's got to self isolate. Then do it.

Did the man tell anyone that his wife was positive for covid? Or tell anyone she had tested and was waiting for a result? If he did tell anyone, when did he tell them? Who did he tell? or did he just keep this information to himself?

What do you mean by "close contact"?

He’s not been self isolating. He bloody should have been though. By that definition they have all been in close contact.

He didn’t tell anyone until today when he was at work and got his positive test through. His wife tested positive at the weekend.

He’s definitely broken the law. I think that the company is as well saying that everyone has to come in regardless of being close contacts? As well as each person who goes in?

Yes, I know. I thought that the OP meant they hadn't sent anyone else at work home. Perhaps I read it wrong

I think the PP read your post as you have household members at home with COVID, but you are still at work because you haven't been in close contact with them, and so was saying you need to self isolate.
Having re-read it and thought about it I think "people at home" means you have colleagues who are self isolating at home, and that you don't need to self isolate because you haven't been in close contact with them.

Christ

What a dickehead, I'd be bloody furious. He should have isolated until wife got her results in, then because she was positive, he should have continued to isolate. Now everyone at his work who has been in close contact will need to isolate too.
I'd report this idiot, totally deserves a massive fucking fine and I hope everyone gives him shit for being so selfish

Your DH's colleague should have been isolating from the moment his wife went for a covid test. If that was at the weekend he shouldn't have been in work this week.

Now that the colleague has tested positive himself, your DH and housemate should be self isolating, as should any other colleague that has had close contact with the covid positive person.

I would be advising your DH to email so he has something in writing - "Dear Work, as XXX confirmed yesterday that he tested positive for covid, and I have been working in close contact with him for the past 3 days, I will be self isolating as required by law. If you need to contact me during my period of self isolation you can get hold of me on this email address. Regards, Tempest's DH".

I think the PP read your post as you have household members at home with COVID, but you are still at work because you haven't been in close contact with them, and so was saying you need to self isolate. Having re-read it and thought about it I think "people at home" means you have colleagues who are self isolating at home, and that you don't need to self isolate because you haven't been in close contact with them.

Yes, that is how I read it but now understand what was meant.

Regardless, the man mentioned in the OP should have been isolating at home instead of going to work.

I’m fucking raging to be fair!! I’m also really really cross about how shit his company are being. They are all talking about getting tests and going back in if they get negative tests. How hard to understand is it?

Close contact: isolate for 10 days regardless of test results!!

That’s a good idea @Bornin78 I’ll tell him to do that. He has just spoken to the general managers and had to tell him what the law says!

Have you all been told to isolate officially by tack trade and protect? Did he give your names?
If not, then there’s not much you can do. We worked with someone who tested positive and ttp did not count sitting next to this person as close enough to warrant being a ‘close contact’.

If someone in your household has symptoms, the whole household isolate while the person with the symptoms gets a test.

People shouldn't get a test without symptoms.

So, if she was tested, we can assume she had symptoms. And if she had symptoms, the husband should NOT have been at work.

If she had a negative test, isolation ends for the household (unless the person still has a temp in which case they isolate until 48 hours after temp returns to normal)

If she tested positive, whole household isolate for 10 days from when her symptoms started.

He has most definitely broken the rules it would seem.

The employer also now seems to be breaking the rules.

According to PHE in schools, close contact is 2m for 15 mins or within 1m for a minute. Any form of mask or PPE does NOT alter close contact UNLESS it is medical grade PPE. Not sure if schools advice regarding that is different because there is no social distancing.

@RichardMarxisinnocent

Yes, I know. I thought that the OP meant they hadn't sent anyone else at work home. Perhaps I read it wrong

I think the PP read your post as you have household members at home with COVID, but you are still at work because you haven't been in close contact with them, and so was saying you need to self isolate.
Having re-read it and thought about it I think "people at home" means you have colleagues who are self isolating at home, and that you don't need to self isolate because you haven't been in close contact with them.

Ah right! Yes, when I said "we" I meant people at my work are isolating, not peoplein my household.

This makes me really fucking angry. The man should have been isolating at home, now he has tested positive and has potentially spread it around the work place. If he had stayed at home then he wouldn’t have put others at risk. Your DH needs to send the boss links to NHS info etc showing what people need to do. Even with a negative result you can still become positive at any time within the 10 days that’s why you are meant to isolate, it’s really not complicated

He’s sent them the link from gov.uk about it all. He’s not got the track and trace app, and no one has contacted them from the track and trace people get. I’m not sure if he’ll tell the truth though, as he’s not exactly followed the rules so far!

That's appalling behaviour by the employee and now all who were working with him should self-isolate. It's shit for the company but tough. They should discipline the bloke whose wife was positive for endangering his colleagues. What an arsehole.

To the person who said you should test if you're asymptomatic - that's bollocks. Everyone is now encouraged to be regularly tested and there are numerous centres that have been set up to do just this.

The worker should totally have been self isolating.
However, for his colleagues surely it depends on the definition of close contact.

Eg based on what others have said above my staff would not have to self isolate as they should not be within 5 m of each other.

I have sneaking suspicions when we're not around they ignore it as they think they're invincible and it only affects other people. If however, one were to test positive they would be shit scared and wanting to isolate.