Outbreak at work. Could’ve been avoided with isolation!!!

[Dandy008]

Work colleague came in to work last week whilst her husband was at home, positive with Covid.

She was doing daily LFT’s and had been for a PCr test at the beginning of her husbands isolation.

Monday she was in work, Tuesday morning she got a positive LFT.

Yesterday 4 other colleagues have also had positive LFT’s.

Surely it’s got to have been spread by the lady who’s husband had Covid? Perhaps her LFT’s were just late in showing her positive?

I just cannot understand the logic behind not having to isolate when someone in your household is positive.

Thankfully I’m not affected by this as it’s in a different office to me!

@QueenHofScotland

It makes no sense at all.

And is causing huge issues in schools in Scotland. I am aware of parents who ate positive for Covid but who have children in school.

Wondering if the rules will change again.

Feel like in education settings it is just going to result in more teachers becoming unwell and schools not having enough staff to cover the sickness.

It's about sacrificing people for politics.

The rules won't change back unless they can prove someone following the guidance was directly responsible for deaths.

I feel anxious because people in my office are not going to self-isolate when they easily could. It's worse for people like teachers, because even if they wanted to be responsible and be more cautious than the guidance forces them to be, they wouldn't get the support for not coming in, due to the requirement to pay for supply staff.

For all teachers/ teaching staff what are your unions saying / doing to support you ?

@CyclingIsNotOuting

My impression is that they want it to spread now though. Partly before the usual winter numbers hit the nhs and partly because unvaccinated people dying encourages those who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated.

I think you're dead right there.

I wish they'd just be honest about it with people - especially parents of younger unvaccinated children. The expectation is that you're going to get it now, Term 1 at school is going to be chaotic, but they are hoping that the chaos will be 'over' by the time the winter bugs kick in. At that point they'll start doing boosters for the vulnerable. I reckon.

If they were honest about it, 'we' could make choices.

kids on third week back at school and there’s no carnage and no mega spreading of Covid

Some schools in Scotland are into week 3 of term and, yes, it's mayhem. Our school have had more covid positives in this past 3 weeks than in the previous 18 months combined.

Those are two good quotes which could sum up the entire last 18 months. You go from nothing to carnage in half a day in a school - that's what happened to us in November. We were blissfully bobbling along, still sticking with the risk assessment mitigations, but feeling a bit meh about it, then within 2 hours it had all gone to shit and three quarters of the school were home.

Just because it's fine now, doesn't mean it'll be fine tomorrow.

Like I say - I just want some honesty from the government about the 'plan' so some families are able to make decisions.

@glitterelf

For all teachers/ teaching staff what are your unions saying / doing to support you ?

Nothing.

Guidance states all double vaccinated adults and all under 18s do not have to isolate if a family member is positive and are advised to take a PCR test although this isn’t mandatory.

DfE guidance states once there are 10% positive cases (still not sure if that’s a class or a school!) then we can move to other measures such as ventilation or masks but this should not compromise loss of education.

@Carycy

Do you no if it had been isolate if someone in household had it and not all this bubble nonsense then Maybe people would have been more willing to do it. But my kids have been in and out of nursery and school all year. If someone has covid now am sending them in. They have missed too much.

Honestly, words fail me.

Yes - if it's 10% (of whatever) we can open a window and wipe the door handles and light switches.

@twinkletoesimnot

Yes - if it's 10% (of whatever) we can open a window and wipe the door handles and light switches.

We can only open the window if it’s not too cold though…

Regard Unions - I expect that if things get really shit (and that's an if), they'll encourage us to do the Section 44 letters again.

Our schools have been back for two weeks and whilst it's not 'mayhem' yet, the test centre staff told us that they heard that unless they get 50% of today's tests returned negative then the county would be going be an into restrictions. Not sure how true that is, but it's what we were told and there is definitely a spike locally because half the families I know currently have at least one case when there were zero before.

I've been ill for weeks with all the classic symptoms of Covid19 so I have been testing myself and they're all negative.

My 16yo came down with the same exact symptoms and we did a lft test anyway, just in case, and she tested positive.

We all booked in for PCR tests that morning and my dh and I still tested negative (he has no symptoms), but hers came back as positive again.

I'm CEV, but double jabbed, as is my husband, so technically we're allowed out and about as usual. My daughter has to stay in for 10 days.

I've been staying in as I'm still not well, although I'm still testing negative.

My dh stayed in and worked from home for the 1st 6 days, but had to go back into the office after that as he wasn't allowed any more time out/off.

He tested negative every day and the 10 days are now up, with both of us still testing negative.

I don't really know the right approach, tbh. I do believe that we can't keep staying off work, etc, so I guess this is the next logical step in moving forward.
Covid obviously isn't going away, so we need to learn to live with it, whilst getting back to as near normal as we can.

I'm starting to think that all the lockdowns are just prolonging it as it comes back every time we open up again, and it isn't feasible to stay in lockdown forever.

I remember in February 2020 when there were threads on mumsnet where people just couldn’t work out why the government were saying you could only have Covid if you’d been to China. Everyone knew it was bollocks as there were people coming back from Italy with symptoms. But they couldn’t get a test. It jut didn’t make sense and felt like a car crash waiting to happen.

That is exactly how I feel now due to household contacts not needing to isolate. Just one little change to the government guidance could make so much difference.

It makes so little sense that there has to be something else going on

I do think that the intention in schools at least is to infect children as quickly and effectively as possible, especially in primary as there is no intention of vaccinating younger children.

Although there is no possibility of reaching herd immunity, due to re-infection, the level of temporary immunity conferred by such mass infection plus vaccinations for everyone else should be able to keep cases, hospitalisations and deaths down over the difficult winter period for the NHS.

I don't, however, think that the Government has any intention of articulating this to everyone, as if spelled out I think there might be outrage and more importantly those who suffer collateral damage - school staff, CEV children - would gave something concrete (other than gross incompetence and callousness) to pin on the Government, and they don't want that.

@thebeatingofthedrums

I really want to vomit with anxiety at the OP's post.

This is exactly what I'm terrified of, when it comes to going back to the office. No one at work takes Covid seriously anyway, so if they don't have to isolate, they're not going to - even though it's really easy to work from home at my company.

If you think you live with someone with Covid, why would you risk spreading it? Why? Even if you don't have it straight away, chances are you're going to catch it shortly!

Because some people have no choice. I would not be allowed to stay home - I teach, school know I am double vax, I am expected to attend school regardless of who has covid at home.

Also you won't always catch it even if someone in the household has it. Even with Delta that isn't a given. Pre delta but also pre vaccines I had covid - neither dh nor Dd caught it and we did not self isolate within the house.

Dd has now been in close contact with covid several times - both before and after her vaccinations, both pre/post delta variant. She has tested throughout and has never tested positive, nor has she had symptoms. A few weeks ago her antibody test came back negative so we know she hadn't had it by that point.

It's not a given everyone will catch it, even if spending close time with them.

@ThanksIGotItInMorrisons

Stop trying to blame and bully her.

Oh pipe down, please 🙄

No one is bullying anyone.

My colleague suggested herself that she was the one to spread it at work!!

@Savoretti

Well if it’s someone in their household then they should be isolating with them. People are not reading the rules properly

Incorrect! If you work in healthcare/NHS you have to still isolate unless there's a good reason not to...ie you had Covid recently but you have to discuss it with your manager before you go to work. Anyone else can go to work as normal (if double vaxxed) - it's mainly because you could be forever isolating!

@cantkeepawayforever

I do think that the intention in schools at least is to infect children as quickly and effectively as possible, especially in primary as there is no intention of vaccinating younger children.

Although there is no possibility of reaching herd immunity, due to re-infection, the level of temporary immunity conferred by such mass infection plus vaccinations for everyone else should be able to keep cases, hospitalisations and deaths down over the difficult winter period for the NHS.

I don't, however, think that the Government has any intention of articulating this to everyone, as if spelled out I think there might be outrage and more importantly those who suffer collateral damage - school staff, CEV children - would gave something concrete (other than gross incompetence and callousness) to pin on the Government, and they don't want that.

I agree this seems to be their strategy. Would getting infected plus vaccines in the school and work age population also reduce the need for boosters perhaps?

Even the PCR is optional and you do not have to isolate whilst waiting for the result.

I am expected to attend school regardless of who has covid at home.

Me too, but if my child has Covid and has to self-isolate then I will have to be at home at least half of the time, split with DH, as they can't stay home alone. I suppose the difference this time is that I will have to take unpaid parental leave as I won't be self-isolating myself.

Agree. School situation is crazy here in Scotland. Dropping like flies in our school. The lack of isolation is meaning it sets in much quicker.

@mistermagpie

Our schools have been back for two weeks and whilst it's not 'mayhem' yet, the test centre staff told us that they heard that unless they get 50% of today's tests returned negative then the county would be going be an into restrictions. Not sure how true that is, but it's what we were told and there is definitely a spike locally because half the families I know currently have at least one case when there were zero before.

It’s not mayhem at our school in Scotland as such . But more kids are off with covid now the past week than has been off combined the entire 18 months .

" Feel like in education settings it is just going to result in more teachers becoming unwell and schools not having enough staff to cover the sickness."

This is exactly what's happened in Scotland. Very disruptive already and I can't see it getting better. The kids are not testing or isolating now so it'll just keep circulating resulting in more absence and disruption. I think this might be worse than it was before!

The other thing is that double vaccination is central to all of this, and yet it must not be reliable protection. DH and I are part of a survey doing monthly antibody testing and this month he tested negative for antibodies despite only getting his second jab in April! Less than 4 months for his antibodies to drop!

@SLT90

The other thing is that double vaccination is central to all of this, and yet it must not be reliable protection. DH and I are part of a survey doing monthly antibody testing and this month he tested negative for antibodies despite only getting his second jab in April! Less than 4 months for his antibodies to drop!

That's really interesting. I had my second jab in April too, and caught Covid in July. So it's probable that antibodies are not lasting as long as was hoped. Hence the upsurge!