To believe that a lot of people don’t go bother to test for covid and don’t isolate when they should

[Fedupofcovid78]

Just to say I’ve followed all rules throughout including the social contact and isolation ones. But to be spreading as it is I honestly believe people suspect they might have it and don’t test as they don’t want it confirmed that they do and infect people.

It seems the symptoms of the Delta variant in young people/children are so pedestrian that you can't really believe it could possibly be Covid.

Blocked nose for one day, hayfever symptoms etc.

Sometimes, by the time you've contemplated testing, its pretty much gone!

@MereDintofPandiculation

Those that can’t will always be vulnerable so perhaps those few people have or restrict their activities rather than the rest of the entire population Like we used to say for those with disabilities, you mean? It's just tough if nowhere is wheelchair accessible, or you can't get important documents in braille?

The number of vulnerable is in the many millions, it's not a handful. I'm in my 30s, work full time, we're not all frail old people who've lived a life. Many of us live with children or family, who presumably also have to isolate too? And people who get pregnant or have new babies also?

Yes, those of us who are vulnerable will have to accept some higher risk and that's ok. But while numbers are high and vaccines aren't fully rolled out, putting other people at risk of death because you don't want to stick a swab up your nose or spend a few days at home is unbelievably selfish.

@lannistunut

Yes, some. Please bear in mind the huge numbers who get no sick pay and have no savings.

Easy to judge, better to try to understand. Reality of life is isolation is costly - some would lose their home.

I follow all the rules myself, but wouldn't if my home was at risk.

Agree. It's relatively easy for me and my family to isolate. If I was at risk of losing my job and livelihood I'd feel differently

But thats just it isn't it, it's not 'a few days a home'. The current system requires quite possibly perfectly healthy people to isolate for 10 or sometimes multiples of 10 days, without pay or risking losing their job.or children to stay in, not always with access to a garden or even much space. It's not sustainable. The braille and wheelchair analogy is nonsense.. Putting those things in place doesn't negatively impact anyone else.

We are doing LFT twice weekly and before we attend hospital appointments etc.

If DH or I test positive it doesn't really impact us unless we're poorly as we're already WFH and can continue WFH if we need to isolate. If we need time off with Covid it's on full pay and it doesn't count as sick leave which can be considered when assessing if you've had 'too much' time off sick in a year. All isolating for us means is that we can't go for a walk and might have to cancel plans.

I can understand why someone who would lose out on 10 days wages would be reluctant to test unless symptomatic. I have worked for enough bad employers in the past to know some people will have employers who will make life difficult for anyone who says they're positive/a close contact and need to isolate.

The £500 isolation payments are very targeted so many people who will be affected financially by isolation won't qualify. If we want people to isolate we need to make it as easy as possible to do especially when it comes to financial support.

Why are so many people not eligible for the isolation payment?

@HugeAckmansWife

But thats just it isn't it, it's not 'a few days a home'. The current system requires quite possibly perfectly healthy people to isolate for 10 or sometimes multiples of 10 days, without pay or risking losing their job.or children to stay in, not always with access to a garden or even much space. It's not sustainable. The braille and wheelchair analogy is nonsense.. Putting those things in place doesn't negatively impact anyone else.

But a lot of pps aren't talking about isolation - they're talking about testing at all.

I have a lot of sympathy with people who are on low incomes, have no symptoms, get a random ping and decide to go to work. I'd probably make the same call in their shoes.

No sympathy for someone who knows that they or their DCs have symptoms, often after contact with people who have tested positive, and decide not to test because it may take a few days for results or they don't want to isolate if they do have it. And that's a load of people around here, most of whom are well off and WFH.

I’m certainly not testing for every cold like symptom. I have heyfever, I’m always snotty & feeling groggy! And I always have a very slight cough from the snot. More like clearing my throat a few times a day.

I know Delta can appear like this but the problem is, do I go get a PCR test every flipping two days or do I just use my judgement best I can? 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Shelovesamystery

A lot of people can't afford to self isolate. If a positive test means that you won't be able to pay your bills that month/will get into debt/don't know how you will feed your kids etc then taking a test is a big risk.

Exactly this! If the government honestly wanted everyone to self isolate properly they would be paying people to do so. The £500 they bleated on about to enable low income families to isolate if they had a positive test, 1)it isn’t enough and 2) I don’t actually know anyone who has qualified for it! It also doesn’t take in to account those who have to take a day Or two off every month to get tested. Depending how strict your school is, This could have been frequent. I know a school who have insisted on a test for any of the minor symptoms and dc have been tested multiple times. If you Are a parent who doesn’t get paid for this type of day off, the cost could be a lot over the year. Add in having to take a week off because your child is a close contact so you can’t go to work, I have no idea how some families are surviving at the moment.

@BillyAndTheSillies

We as a household have been strict with it. Saw my FIL last week who said he had been pinged by t&t but just deleted the app. He was poorly and I suggested maybe he take a test - his response was he wasn't going to take a test because he was going on holiday and didn't want to find out he was positive and miss it!!

I was shocked. People just don't seem to care any more. All I hear at the moment is "well, I'm double jabbed"......everyone I know who is positive at the moment has had both vaccines. I'm not anti vaccine in the slightest, and have had both doses but I feel it's making people complacent.

The government messaging is 'it's gone away'. No matter what they might actually be saying, the overall message is 'back to normal'. If delta + vacc gives a mild case, then loads of people will either not really notice, or not care if they do because it's probably just a cold. No testing required for domestic travel, no one wants to miss a holiday, they are thinking they'll be outside a lot, so meh.

Not saying that's right or wrong, just I expect that's what is going on.

@DumplingsAndStew

Why are so many people not eligible for the isolation payment?

I think The isolation is only for those on certain benefits. Which is great, but there are a lot of people who are not on benefits, who can not afford to take 10 days off work (With the possibility of having to take another week off work as soon as the first week is finished -if you have multiple children at school, this is entirely Feasible).

My dd was identified as a close contact on the last day of school and completed isolation for 10 days as required however lots of her friends who were also notified didn’t, went on holiday and have been hanging out with friends etc. I completely understand how frustrating it is to get pinged at the start of summer (being one of them) but it made my job sooo much harder keeping dd in when she was seeing all her friends out and about as normal.

I agree @Fedupofcovid78
I know of people who readily admit to being close contacts of a positive case, but have chosen to continue to go about their daily business, making no additional measures and not informing those they're around. One even wandering around other people's houses for viewings!
One friend I have been absolutely disgusted with tbh. She has continued to go out to zoos and soft play despite the close and sustained contact over the Eid holidays.

Of course there are people that aren’t testing and isolating when they’re supposed to, they can’t afford to. The government were wankers for expecting healthy people to stay in for free when it meant that they couldn’t pay their bills.

Well I lost almost £500 due to having to isolate and I wasn’t eligible for the support payment, so to be honest if I’m expected to isolate again I won’t be doing it. I’m still struggling now from losing all that money.

@Bobholll

I’m certainly not testing for every cold like symptom. I have heyfever, I’m always snotty & feeling groggy! And I always have a very slight cough from the snot. More like clearing my throat a few times a day.

I know Delta can appear like this but the problem is, do I go get a PCR test every flipping two days or do I just use my judgement best I can? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Lateral flow kits are free, and are relatively reliable for people who have covid with symptoms. Personally I don't log my results, but at least it's a starting point if you are planning to go out and think there's a good chance it's hay fever but also can't be sure, certainly better than nothing at all if you might be spending hours on a train or visiting a part-vaccinated pregnant friend, for examples.

DCs class bubble burst prior to school holidays and she showed me via her snap maps and social media where all those supposedly self isolating were. It's pretty hard as a parent to hold firm when this is happening. I also know that many people are not getting tested as the criteria for testing does not match common delta symptoms and/ or because they have holidays planned or cannot afford the disruption to work and income having possibly already isolated before.

I think this is the case for several reasons:

• won't get paid/affordability
• have got fed up of isolating
• don't want to miss education
• sadly, I think in many cases, they may feel ok, which is good, but don't want inconvenience of isolating - assume all that want to have been jabbed, say people will be ok as x/y/z was ok, dismiss covid/long covid, purely don't care about passing it on, have an event/holiday they want to attend, point out government inconsistencies/illogical acts such as major test events and saying certain people don't have to isolate so why should I? Sometimes these people may tell their so called friends/family/colleagues that they should be isolating, so it at least gives the people they will meet a choice of whether to knowingly be in contact or not

My DC and a friend of a friend had hayfever type symptoms and turned out it was actually COVID. One person requested we didn’t give their name to track and trace and they also failed to contact my DM who had been with us all weekend so we told her to isolate. I think there are people that make their own judgments or simply don’t want to know.

I would isolate if I had covid but that’s all! I also wouldn’t get a PCR test. I can’t see the point if I myself know i have it or have had it confirmed by a LF test at home.

I don’t agree with the 10 day isolation for contacts when I can easily test and if it’s fine for healthcare workers to go in and mix with vulnerable people when they are a close contact by just testing each day, it’s fine for me to do the same. It’s utterly ridiculous that you shouldn’t even really go out to exercise In the fresh for the 10 days If you are a close contact and it’s not something I am willing to do to myself or my baby, my mental health couldn’t take 10 days stuck indoors with a very active 11 month old on the off chance I might have covid. Some may think it’s selfish but I think it’s selfish to expect people to lock themselves away when they have been fully vaccinated after the sacrifices we have been expected to make over the last 16 months!

The current system requires quite possibly perfectly healthy people to isolate for 10 or sometimes multiples of 10 days, without pay or risking losing their job.or children to stay in, not always with access to a garden or even much space. It's not sustainable. The braille and wheelchair analogy is nonsense.. Putting those things in place doesn't negatively impact anyone else.

I agree with this

I don’t think it helps when even the government are complacent! I’m NHS staff, double vaccinated and had covid last month after both vaccines. Many of my double vaccinated colleagues are currently off work work covid yet we now get told we don’t need to isolate if we are a close contact. Well actually we do but we can still go to work and isolate before and after our shift, wtf!! So the vulnerable people in hospital are ok to be nursed by staff potentially incubating covid but those same staff can’t go to the local shop. It’s madness! No wonder no one is bothering.

@Shelovesamystery

A lot of people can't afford to self isolate. If a positive test means that you won't be able to pay your bills that month/will get into debt/don't know how you will feed your kids etc then taking a test is a big risk.

It's also a risk if you've got a holiday, a day out or maybe a tradesman booked. I usually test twice weekly for work but confess I didn't when I was expecting someone in to decorate our hallway (when I had already waited weeks for him - I didn't want to miss our timeslot)

It's not about "not bothering", it's that I cannot afford to self isolate.

If I got tested, and tested positive, and followed all the rules, the result would be

• having to close down my business for 10 days and so having zero income (self employed = no sick pay, no SSP). Bear in mind I have also found myself ineligible for SEISS, furlough and Universal Credit - I'm one of the 3m Excluded from financial support, so I've already lost out on a huge amount of work, and the financial support given to my competitors, and I'm still trying to run to catch up.

• having to bin perishable stocks

• having to refund customers - worst case scenario, even a single days' isolation could mean having to refund £1500

• risk losing some of my ongoing contracts permanently if they decide to find a more "reliable" supplier.

• still having to pay out for all my business overheads

• having to pay out for a dog walker, because you're not even meant to go out to walk the dog. He's got issues so it would need to be a professional. That would cost me about £140 for the ten days.

• still having to pay all the usual rent, council tax, utility bills, food etc.

... and there wouldn't be any financial help available to me to cover the costs of these things.

"Doing the right thing" doesn't pay the bills I'm afraid. For me, not getting tested / isolating isn't a matter of laziness, it's because I need to work to pay the bills.

@DumplingsAndStew

Why are so many people not eligible for the isolation payment?

Lots of reasons.

First and foremost, it's only guaranteed to people on certain in-work benefits like UC.

For those of us who aren't on benefits, there's the "discretionary" scheme and you can be rejected for any number of reasons, including

• your income isn't low enough to qualify as low paid in their eyes (this figure varies from council to council, but is generally less than minimum wage) even if you stand to lose 100% of your income by self isolating. Likewise some councils base it on the vague "will face financial hardship".

• the paperwork doesn't match up - there's all sorts of issues around who tells you to self isolate.

• your council has run out of money

• in Wales (not sure about elsewhere) you can only get a payment for 3 isolation periods; after that you're on your own regardless

One of the issues is also that you are expected to start isolating with no guarantee as to whether or not you'll actually receive the payment. Having been treated appallingly by the government with regards to loss of income and refusal to grant me SEISS, I just don't trust them an inch, and I assume that I would be turned down.