What concerns you more about getting Covid: the illness itself or the need to quarantine for 10 days?

[Warhertisuff]

Interested to know whether I'm an outlier... Having had Covid in the house previously and not being infected myself, thinking about it, I'm more concerned about the prospect of 10 days self-isolation than the illness.

Had Covid in August. The isolation was worse than the illness. I hate staying in for just one day, never mind 10.

It used to be illness but now it’s that my IVF cycle will be cancelled and I’ll run out of time

Quarantine. But I'm not vulnerable and I don't live with anyone vulnerable. I do live with a small child who is a right grouch if she doesn't get enough outdoor time! Someone in different circumstances would doubtless answer differently.

Genuinely surprised about how many posters here are more concerned about quarantine for 10 days due to their “mental health”. It genuinely surprises me, I don’t think I know anyone who would struggle having to stay indoors for 10 days especially with the weather like this. And some of these people have some level of anxiety, depression, very young kids etc

@ChocolateinBrugges

It used to be illness but now it’s that my IVF cycle will be cancelled and I’ll run out of time

Good luck with this. My colleague at work just had her 8 week scan after years of IVF and fertility struggles

The illness. 10 days in my house would be bliss. Being ill, not so much

@Maidofdishonour

I thought the quarantine would be unbearable as I am the sort of person that has to be outside each day. I’ve just had Covid and felt so ill that I couldn’t possibly have gone out anyway. Double jabbed but my booster was due last week so I guess immunity was waning.

This is me right now. Day 3

I think the ten days quarantine wouldn't bother me too much if that was it... It's the rolling ten days as different family members got it that would become difficult.

Looking forward to Christmas...I was thinking about my work's Christmas do last night, and the prospect of getting Covid from that, and it was the thought of the impact of the isolation on me and the wider family over the season that worried me far more than the prospect of the illness (for myself at least) itself.

Always been covid , husband now on day 15 still coughing , fatigue, sore throat on and off , feeling pretty rubbish.
He’s back at work has his own company so can take it easy but still a struggle. 3 of his friends who recently had it 1 in hospital with double Pneumonia, friend 2 just been put on strong antibiotics day 12 for him , other had heart attack , he’s ok thankfully so far . All double jabbed . DS 11 day 10 today was still spiking temp of 38 last night . Always said from beginning didn’t want it in house never thought too much about the isolation to be honest. Having just done 10 days it’s not easy but Long covid worry’s me more.

Given that quarantine seems to be more of a concern than the illness itself for a significant proportion of people, that must have an impact in the number who are choosing to get PCRs.

@2boysand1princess

Genuinely surprised about how many posters here are more concerned about quarantine for 10 days due to their “mental health”. It genuinely surprises me, I don’t think I know anyone who would struggle having to stay indoors for 10 days especially with the weather like this. And some of these people have some level of anxiety, depression, very young kids etc

Do any of these people who would be ok with quarantine live alone, with no garden? I think I'd be OK with quarantine if I lived with someone, but spending 10 days indoors literally all the time due to no garden, with no company, not seeing another person, seems awful to me.

@RichardMarxisinnocent yes. Live alone - I have a garden but didn't use it during the first bit of shielding as advised not to and it's too close to my neighbours
I shielded for around 6 months, 3 months of those furlough and the rest working from home
I haven't left the house this week as I'm working and likely won't until Monday

Quarantine but prior to this summer it was the idea of making others have to quarantine.

Every time my DC coughed last year I had such fear that we’d be responsible for sending home the whole year group.

Anosmia so illness.

Do any of these people who would be ok with quarantine live alone, with no garden? I think I'd be OK with quarantine if I lived with someone, but spending 10 days indoors literally all the time due to no garden, with no company, not seeing another person, seems awful to me.

Oh I’d be FINE with it if it was just me or just me and DH. The idea of 10 days at home with both kids however and not being able to even scoot round the roads or return library books or ANYTHING to break up the cycle of whining and me trying desperately to think of things to do.
Obviously most of us did it for a lot longer than 10 days because of all the lockdowns but I guess having gone through all that, the idea of being back there even for 10 days, is pretty scary.

@RichardMarxisinnocent
Tbh none live in a house without a garden of some sort and one is a single mum with very young kids.
My sister has a child with severe SEN (14 years old) as well as 2 young kids and she is often quarantined at home for days alone. Her sen child never leaves the house (doesn’t even attend school) due to severe phobias and as a result she doesn’t work. She does have her DH to help and supposed her though.

@thewhatsit
“ Oh I’d be FINE with it if it was just me or just me and DH. The idea of 10 days at home with both kids however and not being able to even scoot round the roads or return library books or ANYTHING to break up the cycle of whining and me trying desperately to think of things to do.
Obviously most of us did it for a lot longer than 10 days because of all the lockdowns but I guess having gone through all that, the idea of being back there even for 10 days, is pretty scary.”
100% me! Last lockdown will forever be imprinted in my brain, a newborn and 2 primary aged boisterous, hyper, whining boys and 2 large breed equally boisterous and whining dogs!!!

I’ve had covid twice now. I’m not remotely worried about the illness. It was pretty grim second time, like flu. But nothing concerning, I just felt awful.

The quarantining is by far more my worry. Although much better now the household doesn’t have to isolate! My kids could still go out & have fun with DH while I had a nice peaceful house and actually some chance of having a rest! The first time round, when we all had to isolate, it was HELL.

I don’t think I know anyone who would struggle having to stay indoors for 10 days especially with the weather like this

Well you've learnt that everyone different then. Id rarely go 1 day without leaving the house. 10 would have significant impact.

Illness. Quarantine has a fixed end date. Long Covid doesn't.

Most people don’t get long covid though. You can’t go through life worrying about ‘what if’ .. cross that bridge when you come to it. Take precautions if you want too. But I have zero time to be worrying about post viral illness.

Do you have to stay indoors for the whole isolation period? Surely if you felt well enough you could go for a walk outside but not go indoors any where during that walk and maintain social distancing.

For me, I worked far too hard over the past few years. I would absolutely love 10 to 14 days isolation spell at home but I am biult like that. I have many solitary hobbies. An isolation spell would be the best thing ever for me. It would be like Christmas. I would love an isolation spell.

All throughout the pandemic I took the virus seriously. I wasn't going to risk the virus though. It is actually the virus and the potential for long term after effects that scared me.

At this stage though, I have two pfizer vaccines in me, I am nearly willing to risk it so that I can get some time off.

10 days inside with teenage ds which would probably end up being longer as we get it one after another. Self injurious behaviour and attacking us in distress and not having a clue why he is not doing the things that keep him regulated. In reality we wouldn't fully self isolate because it wouldn't be safe.
Also concerned about one of us becoming unwell enough to not be able to care for him ( needs 2:1) but that is less likely and social services would have to provide support if that happened.

With the quarantine it wasn't as much the staying at home for 10 days, it was all the knock on stuff. Such as dealing with an upset 8yo who couldn't see her dad for 3 weeks (as it covered two weekends), 10yo missing all the open evenings for Secondary schools so having to make the decision blind, the relentlessness of never having a break from children bouncing of the walls, then in the evening well meaning relatives phoning to check up on me (I know they were trying to be nice, but sometimes I just needed quiet... I ended staying up to the early hours some nights just to enjoy the silence), worry that i would get ill then there would be no one to look after DDs and really... just that it was the same day in, day out and it felt never ending at the time.

We all have different experiences. And honestly, I'm glad none of us were actually ill. I even feel a bit relieved DDs have a bit of natural immunity now. But at the time, it was stressful and unpleasant and I did feel myself slipping back into depression.

Coming to the end of quarantine in the house which combined with WFH effectively means 4 of stuck inside with each other for 16 days. I am utterly fed up and depressed by it all and doubt we'll ever do a pcr test again. Blocking T&Ts number in the height of ping paranoia a few months ago was a good move though