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Original poster

No isolation when covid positive in March

516 replies

Whathefisgoingon · 30/01/2022 18:19

I just cannot get my head around this.

As far as I know, no other country has announced this.

For two years they’ve told us that it’s dangerous and now they’re prepared to send me to work directly next to someone infected with covid?

I had always believed it should be more socially acceptable to simply stay home when sick, as too many feel forced in to work with flu etc, but this takes the biscuit.

I understand we need to find a way to get back to some kind of normal but this seems extreme.

Will this really happen in less than 2 months!?

OP posts:
treeflowercat · 01/02/2022 22:58

@Theimpossiblegirl

This is exactly what has floored me. I've been constantly exposed to a high level for weeks, as when numbers of children in school dropped classes were merged rather then closed due to staff shortages. I even had children sent in obviously unwell, having been given Calpol. Now I'm bedridden, exhausted and feel really ill and I'm not the only one.

I'm sorry you're ill... I get you can be too ill to work, especially as a teacher, but not be so I'll you can't go on MN... but I do raise an eyebrow when people come onto MN and write a well formed paragraph about how appalling ill they are. When I've genuinely been "bedridden, exhausted and really ill" (thankfully only rarely) I could barely lift a phone, let alone write a nice few sentences on it.

Theimpossiblegirl · 01/02/2022 23:09

@treeflowercat
Yes but have you seen my shocking grammar and punctuation. I'm not fully functioning, just can't sleep and feeling bored and lonely. I'd love to be back at school.

treeflowercat · 01/02/2022 23:19

[quote Theimpossiblegirl]@treeflowercat
Yes but have you seen my shocking grammar and punctuation. I'm not fully functioning, just can't sleep and feeling bored and lonely. I'd love to be back at school. [/quote]
I'm sorry I came across as harsh.

You clearly feel crap, and I hope you feel better.... But isn't this just what having a nasty cold is?... The type I've had many times pre-Covid? You are too rough for work, but you're still ok to watch a bit of tv, make yourself a cup of tea (even if it's a bit of a struggle and you feel exhausted doing so) and mess around on your phone in between naps.

My point is, it's shit, but for most, even when they are unwell (and it's more than a slight sore throat), it's not really different to nasty colds they would have had in the past, and generally not the full on flu when you genuinely struggle to get to the toilet without passing out. So why is Covid so different?

treeflowercat · 01/02/2022 23:20

Ps Yes, I know there will be some who have genuinely been extremely ill with Covid even after vaccinations.

TheWaterNokk · 02/02/2022 00:37

Yeah. Everyone gets sick sometimes. It’s part of life.

Nat6999 · 02/02/2022 04:36

I'm going to try & stock up on LFT kits just so that if ds starts with symptoms I can avoid him. Both me & my 83 year old mum are vulnerable & really need to avoid getting it. I'm still waiting for my third jab as my doctors can't get their act together to come & jab me despite me being ECV.

marieantoinehairnet · 02/02/2022 06:04

I thought we had moved on from being so selfish, just because you don't get "too sick" doesn't mean that'll be the case for everyone.

Sparklingbrook · 02/02/2022 06:11

@Tealightsandd

Everyone I know has had no symptoms or at the most an afternoon of headache and temperature.

Data is more relevant than personal anecdotes.

Yes let’s dismiss my personal experience if it suits you…
JangolinaPitt · 02/02/2022 07:04

Everyone I know has had no symptoms or at the most an afternoon of headache and temperature
Same here. For any other illness with these symptoms you might stay at home for a day max. Am zooming lessons out to kids who would be absolutely fine to be in school where they really should be for their mental health and development.

DontWantTheRivalry · 02/02/2022 07:06

I had Covid last week and I was absolutely fine. I had a few achey muscles on the day I took my first LFT but apart from that I was as well as I usually am. I had to miss 6 days off work when I would have perfectly been able to do my job.

My husband had it at the same time and again he was fine. He had a cough but it didn’t impact on his ability to function and would also have been okay to work.

Our eldest son had it at the same time too (7 years old) and he too was symptomatic apart from the odd cough.

I went back to work on a Monday and on the Sunday evening my childminder messaged me and asked me to LFT my youngest son (4 years old) who was completely well “just in case.” I was so nervous about doing it because if it had been positive it would have meant me and DH having to take more time off work to look after him (an essentially well child) when we’d only just gone back to work ourselves.

Thankfully he was negative though and went back to the childminders as normal.

I do think testing well children shouldn’t be the norm anymore and those who are well enough to work should be able to do so.

I get why it’s a scary prospect….but we cannot continue with prolonged isolations of well people….it’s just not sustainable.

UnmentionedElephantDildo · 02/02/2022 07:36

^Everyone I know has had no symptoms or at the most an afternoon of headache and temperature

Data is more relevant than personal anecdotes

Yes, over 98% of cases of current variant are mild.

But mild doesn't mean trivial - it simply means you don't require hospital attention. It can still be really rough (and can still lead to long covid)

Waxonwaxoff0 · 02/02/2022 07:47

@marieantoinehairnet

I thought we had moved on from being so selfish, just because you don't get "too sick" doesn't mean that'll be the case for everyone.
I thought we had moved on from calling everyone "selfish" for wanting to do what's best for them. Beyond boring.
Sparklingbrook · 02/02/2022 07:52

But mild doesn't mean trivial - it simply means you don't require hospital attention. It can still be really rough (and can still lead to long covid)

I don’t agree that mild just means you don’t need hospital attention. It can mean you barely know you have it or in some cases it’s only the positive LFT that makes you aware.
The two people I do know with long Covid caught it back in 2020 and we’re really ill with it.

nether · 02/02/2022 07:57

I thought we had moved on from calling everyone "selfish" for wanting to do what's best for them. Beyond boring

Not boring in the slightest.

One action is rooted in community and remembering that more vulnerable people matter. And the balance between lives and the economy (all lives that is, keeping healthy services open safely and considering effects of poverty)

The other is selfish 'I'm all right Jack' and completely disregards any effect on anyone other than 'self' and tend to advocate the shutting away of the vulnerable and prioritising the economy at all cost. See U4T and the harder right parts of the Tory party

MarshaBradyo · 02/02/2022 08:00

@nether

I thought we had moved on from calling everyone "selfish" for wanting to do what's best for them. Beyond boring

Not boring in the slightest.

One action is rooted in community and remembering that more vulnerable people matter. And the balance between lives and the economy (all lives that is, keeping healthy services open safely and considering effects of poverty)

The other is selfish 'I'm all right Jack' and completely disregards any effect on anyone other than 'self' and tend to advocate the shutting away of the vulnerable and prioritising the economy at all cost. See U4T and the harder right parts of the Tory party

Selfish doesn’t work, people have done too much for others. I know some like to dismiss all of it but they’d not be right.

The situation is changing and will change late March

As pp said they don’t want it when it’s winter peak, that will be over by then.

Sparklingbrook · 02/02/2022 08:01

It's not selfish, it's realistic.
I say that as someone with a family member in THE most vulnerable category that caught covid and was fine. They had three jabs and a booster and were given anti virals as a precaution on Day 3. They won't be shutting themselves away.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 02/02/2022 08:08

@nether

I thought we had moved on from calling everyone "selfish" for wanting to do what's best for them. Beyond boring

Not boring in the slightest.

One action is rooted in community and remembering that more vulnerable people matter. And the balance between lives and the economy (all lives that is, keeping healthy services open safely and considering effects of poverty)

The other is selfish 'I'm all right Jack' and completely disregards any effect on anyone other than 'self' and tend to advocate the shutting away of the vulnerable and prioritising the economy at all cost. See U4T and the harder right parts of the Tory party

Covid isn't the only thing that people are vulnerable to. It's equally selfish to act as if that's the only thing that matters. Restrictions cause vulnerability in other ways to other people.
Waxonwaxoff0 · 02/02/2022 08:10

@nether

I thought we had moved on from calling everyone "selfish" for wanting to do what's best for them. Beyond boring

Not boring in the slightest.

One action is rooted in community and remembering that more vulnerable people matter. And the balance between lives and the economy (all lives that is, keeping healthy services open safely and considering effects of poverty)

The other is selfish 'I'm all right Jack' and completely disregards any effect on anyone other than 'self' and tend to advocate the shutting away of the vulnerable and prioritising the economy at all cost. See U4T and the harder right parts of the Tory party

And it's hilarious that you think those in poverty were helped during restrictions. They weren't.
nether · 02/02/2022 08:10

Yes, varying by season, by overall case rates, and according to setting are all things that fit the balance of being concerned for both lives and the economy. And are the most future-proof (who knows if another variant will come along or what it'll be like)

They are of course irrelevancies for those who think the vulnerable should just get out of the way and all precautions shouid be ended asap and permanently regardless of such factors (and potential new variants)

PandorasBex · 02/02/2022 08:11

@Sparklingbrook

But mild doesn't mean trivial - it simply means you don't require hospital attention. It can still be really rough (and can still lead to long covid)

I don’t agree that mild just means you don’t need hospital attention. It can mean you barely know you have it or in some cases it’s only the positive LFT that makes you aware.
The two people I do know with long Covid caught it back in 2020 and we’re really ill with it.

That isn't the clinical definition of 'mild'. That reads:

Mild Illness: Individuals who have any of the various signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, malaise, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell) but who do not have shortness of breath, dyspnea, or abnormal chest imaging.

From: www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/overview/clinical-spectrum/

So, yes, not asymptomatic, but you certainly are ill. Just not quite hospital-level ill.

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 02/02/2022 08:11

Isn’t it selfish to expect other people to give up 5-10 days of pay?
We’re all selfish, everyone is looking out for themselves and their family predominantly. And to be honest, many on here gave a shit about some of the horrendous struggles we faced in lockdown (I was told to ‘suck it up’), so I’m over worrying about being selfish to be honest.

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 02/02/2022 08:12

Many on here didn’t give a shit, I mean. Shouldn’t type when enraged.

Blubells · 02/02/2022 08:13

The mini "firebreak" resulting from each isolation will have led to this stretching over weeks. Without it, you'd all most be back at school again with Covid behind you until the autumn

Yes, by 'avoiding' covid in the short term due to isolating positive cases, we're just prolonging how long it takes for pretty much everyone to catch it and build up immunity!

Sparklingbrook · 02/02/2022 08:17

The 'mild' list could be any other things that are floating about at the moment, that you may or may not be off work for depending on what your tolerance to mild illness is.

Squeekybummum · 02/02/2022 08:21

I can't wait till we don't need to isolate. I'm currently isolating with my 3, who all tested positive a few days after eachother. They had 24hrs of illness, now no symptoms for 3 days. But still have to stay in and I am loosing a full weeks wage. Maybe more if it carries on to next week.