No isolation when covid positive in March

[Whathefisgoingon]

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!?

This is inevitable and will certainly happen in other countries soon.

It is not sustainable to continue to force people to stay at home if they are well or only mildly unwell. Of course if you are not well enough to work then you should stay at home.

Once the end of free testing comes (which is also inevitable) then most people with no or mild symptoms are not going to be paying out to get themselves tested. I certainly won’t be.

Me and 2 dc had covid earlier this month. I missed a week of work plus additional days staying at home with dc as we got it one after another. My eldest was the only one with any symptoms at all and he was fine after 2 days.

The majority of people I know would not have needed more than a day or 2 off work if any. A big part of the staffing problems are because people who are basically well are having to stay at home.

@Whathefisgoingon

And how does that work for CEV? No laws in place to force employers to protect them etc. My employers haven’t given a hoot about CEV since it began and certainly won’t in March!

Same as it worked for people who are clinically vulnerable to flu or whatever else in 2019 I'm guessing? I.e. get vaccinated and hope for the best

Of course this was going to happen at some point, you can't keep isolation forever!

If you are not poorly, you can go to work, the same as if you have any other virus that you don't have any symptoms for.

What's the problem?

I quite glad. DH and I can't afford to self isolate.

By can't afford I mean no food, no electric, no rent.

@worriedatthemoment

Have we actually announced this ? Its been mentioned in papers and rules end in march as such but it hasn't actually been announced as definitely will happen has it ?

It’s due to the legal basis ending after two years which is definite

It could be voted on again but unlikely

But colds and flu and chickenpox and many other things can also be dangerous for people who are CEV and we don't have to isolate for them
Its seems the current strains and injections etc are also leading to less hospitalisations as well so I guess thats also taken into account
It clearly can't be eradicated now so i guess living with it is the only option

@worriedatthemoment

Not legally, but when I had the flu I didn’t go to work as I was ill, and my kids nursery send them home when they suspect chicken pox and can’t go in until all scabbed over. Like when the my have runny poo can’t go in for 48 hours after

People will just have to be sensible like they are (or are not) with other illnesses. If you feel ill stay at home, if you don’t then go to work/school. Your less likely to be spreading the virus if your not actually ill as your not sneezing and coughing. The whole point of vaccinations was to release us from restrictions?

Good.

I think having a culture of people staying home when ill would be a good idea as so often you get ill as someone else has come into the office coughing and spluttering all over, or kids of school as someone else not kept their kid of with sickness bug for required time
But with that we need better sick pay ( and people not taking piss) and ofsted realising kids get bugs

Thank god! Whoop whoop!

GCSEs and ALevels can't go ahead unless covid positive kids are allowed to sit them.

@OnceuponaRainbow18 but isn't chickenpox also contagious before you know you even have it

I agree with it. I think we have to start treating Covid like any other nasty virus/flu/infectious disease such as chickenpox.

People I know who are now catching it, including CEV people, who are vaccinated are finding it is flooring them for a few days, then they get better. We can’t isolate forever.

@jytdtysrht yes thats a good point

This hasn't been confirmed yet.

@Whathefisgoingon

And how does that work for CEV? No laws in place to force employers to protect them etc. My employers haven’t given a hoot about CEV since it began and certainly won’t in March!

So just like it was for CEV people pre-covid then. It's being treat as a flu now, and there was nothing in place to protect CEV people from that before now.

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@worriedatthemoment

Not legally, but when I had the flu I didn’t go to work as I was ill, and my kids nursery send them home when they suspect chicken pox and can’t go in until all scabbed over. Like when the my have runny poo can’t go in for 48 hours after[/quote]
But in the main, those things are diagnosed on clinical symptoms. People only know they have Covid if they take a test. So for isolation to stay long term, mass community testing will have to stay long term. And it’s really fucking expensive.

I only wish they'd do it sooner than end of March, but I guess waiting until winter passes also makes sense.

Oh and my family are in Spain and it’s definitely being mooted there too.

Throughout the pandemic the estimate is that around 1/3 cases have resulted in positive test, which is what requires someone to isolate. It may be a bit higher at the moment given the amount of testing in schools etc. Plus people will generally be infectious before they get symptoms and test. So there are already likely to be hundreds of thousands of people who are positive but not isolating. A CEV person can’t currently have the expectation that everyone positive is isolating.

Testing and retaining the infrastructure for it is hugely expensive and can’t go on for ever. Vaccination and omicron have made covid similar in IFR to flu.

So there is really no justification for continuing to make a failure to isolate with covid a criminal offence. There should be a very high bar for criminalising people for leaving their house.

@MilkTwoSugarsThanks

I quite glad. DH and I can't afford to self isolate.

By can't afford I mean no food, no electric, no rent.

At some point this country needs to review sick pay. We are so much worse off than many European nations.

@CakeRabbit

This is already happening in schools

Eh? I tested positive yesterday and am isolating (secondary). Schools all around us are having to close year groups because teachers are off sick.

Self employed people don't get paid, I'm not testing at all since I can't afford to be off for something I'm not ill with or would even notice if it wasn't for a random check.