End of isolation

[AnEpisodeOfEastenders]

Boris Johnson has indicated the requirement to isolate after a positive Covid test will be scrapped at the end of this month. All I can say is about time too! Let's get back to life.

@Whammyyammy What can't you do now that you will be able too once all restrictions lifted (baring in mind travel is a bi lateral thing)

@Whammyyammy

It’s not locking yourself away, most people isolate about 7 days a year max… hardly that terrible when everything else is back to normal

@treeflowercat

Unless you happen to be an immunocompromised teacher of course

If you're immunocompromised to the extent that Covid is a major threat to you, then sadly teaching really isn't a suitable career for you.... And that would be the case even if Covid didn't exist!

Not quite true.

I am CV and my immunity is compromised.
I've taught for 25+ years.

Colds don't normally make me too ill .

I've had flu once that I'm aware off. It was before I became compromised.

I've had pneumonia once, after a nasty cold visits that developed. I was in hospital and off work for 7 weeks , took a year to recover fully.

I don't really pick up many stomach bugs luckily.

Covid has knocked me back twice in two years, causing more problems than the rest of the viruses altogether.

I'm desperately hoping the 4 vaccines and ready access to antivirals will reduce the risk for me. I've another 11 years til I retire. I enjoy my job and don't really want to leave just yet.

I wish it was this week got a hypo 6 year old at home isolating with covid who apart from having a slight temp on Sunday night is absolutely fine and should be in school.

@DoctorSnortles

Fucking marvellous. Schools will continue to be great fun to work in. All the folk who talk about how 'the poor children have suffered enough' let's see how you like it when teaching staff drop like flies and your precious moppets are back to remote learning.

Dropping like flies? Surely that's been happening already or there off isolating when they feel absolutely fine! Some people are just enjoying this shitty situation we have to live in a little to much! Let's get back to normal.

@toomuchlaundry

Every teacher I know who has had COVID recently have been ill for a number of days, so wouldn’t matter what the isolation rules are, they would have still been off. So not sure whether this will help schools, certainly in the short term

Every single 1 of them really?

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@Whammyyammy

It’s not locking yourself away, most people isolate about 7 days a year max… hardly that terrible when everything else is back to normal[/quote]
It's not "just" 7 days a year. Where are you getting that from?

All 3 of our kids have had it at different stages, one twice, meaning someone had to be home with them during that time.

Add into that when DH and I have then gone on to catch it ourselves half way through the DCs isolation extending it even further (and none of us were bad with it)... It's ridiculous. I've had colds worse.

And it's especially annoying when you're sat at home for what is often 10 days, being unable to work (which for lots, including us as DH is self employed, can mean no pay) with a perfectly well child who could easily be in school. It's a piss take quite frankly and it needs to stop.

The last time DS had it he literal had not one single hint of a symptom. We only knew because of a LF test (which I'll never do again now). He was FINE and we had to lose income AGAIN so we could isolate a fit and well child. Utter joke.

The time before that it was a mild headache for a day. Me and DH had tickly throats and were a bit tired for a couple of days.

“But obviously in the same way that someone with flu, we wouldn’t recommend they go to work, we would never recommend anyone goes to work when they have an infectious disease.” Bojo

I’m pretty sure schools will still say not to go in when you’ve got covid to staff and students.
But at least they can go outside and get fresh air!

I welcome this, time to adopt the common sense of staying home if you are too Ill to be at work/school.

How will we know we have COVID, will people still test?

@GirlInACountrySong

i was referring to the poster saying they had lived like that (isolating) for 2 years....hence assuming they are being supported financially.

No, I'm not entitled to any benefits whatsoever - I only started getting free prescriptions because my body dumped Hashimotos on me My work has allowed me to WFH since Feb 2020 but I can't once restrictions are removed as work doesn't offer WFH/hybrid

I’m sure restrictions could be reduced gradually and sensibly. Lifting them all at once… (doesn’t seem scientific or proportional.

The people who will suffer are-

• HCPs & those on the front line
• Anyone with a shitty employer who forces their employees to come in whether very ill or not, to transmit this superspreader of an illness to the rest of the staff and their families.
• ANYONE can go on to develop long Covid & no one has any treatments for it yet… So imagine a scenario where we all go on to catch COVID 2-3 times a year. Multiply that by 71 million people… How many people will have long Covid then? You don’t have to have a bad case of Covid develop long Covid, and many people have it we know fir at least 2 years. If you’re not concerned yet then maybe you should be?

@toomuchlaundry

How will we know we have COVID, will people still test?

My guess is lots of people still will whilst free LFTs are still available and for as long as stashes are being worked through, but it'll trail off during that time. Then once there's a charge, very few people will do them except in specific situations like travel.

@Sparklingbrook

That's quite rude *@Mickarooni*, you have no idea what I have gone through personally these last 2 years. 'Plonked' is also quite rude but I don't think it's a bad thing for people to know that even the most CEV can get Covid and get through it. It's not fair to share my (or my relative's) whole story on here and it would be most upsetting to do so, so I won't.

Of course I don’t know what you’ve gone through. Equally, as you’re not CEV, you don’t know what it’s like either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I wouldn’t tell someone who’s lost their business due to covid that my relative lost theirs but now has a fabulous new job in case it makes others feel bad.

I was not asking for your relatives personal medical history - it’s personal to them!

It’s irrelevant that many CEV people are fine. I mean, clearly it’s good for them but it’s a bit patronising to share someone else’s medical story when you don’t know ours. I am hearing of more severely immunocompromised patients doing ok but can feel extremely belittling from people who don’t know what it’s like to live with an immune system that doesn’t function properly.

@toomuchlaundry

How will we know we have COVID, will people still test?

Why do we need to know ?

@toomuchlaundry

How will we know we have COVID, will people still test?

I hope not.

I'll be treating it like anything else. I won't test. If I'm visibly pretty unwell I'll stay away from people until I feel better whether that's 2 days or 10.

But I won't be testing.

@Pootle40 because they have said even when isolation is scrapped they would not expect people to go to work if they have an infectious disease like COVID. So how will we know if we have COVID?

Free tests will also stop. So if you want to test you’ll need to pay.

We need to do the same as we do for other illnesses. Stay at home when you’re unwell until you feel better.

I'm feeling very happy. I'm also CEV and have been seriously ill several times in the last decade and I really really don't want to waste any more of my limited life like this. I want to have fun. If I get seriously ill from covid it'll be crap but life is for living and I want to get on with it.

I'm actually feeling lighter hearted today than I can remember feeling for a very long time.

@Delatron

Free tests will also stop. So if you want to test you’ll need to pay.

We need to do the same as we do for other illnesses. Stay at home when you’re unwell until you feel better.

how much will they be?

CV/CEV people, and those who meet certain criteria will need to know in order to access antiviral treatment within the first 3-5 days or so.

So these people will need to know quickly and formally, and before they are ill. The antiviral infusion and/or medication needs to be given before more serious infection occurs, and needs to be done before hospital treatment is needed.

The idea is that is should be given quickly to prevent serious illness rather than be given once the infection takes hold too much.

Many of these people are on lower incomes, sometimes as a result of their health, so some free testing will need to be provided.

Interestingly today's YouGov poll is very much in favour of free testing remaining, at least for the next few months if not longer.

@Taptap20

"I hope not.

I'll be treating it like anything else. I won't test. If I'm visibly pretty unwell I'll stay away from people until I feel better whether that's 2 days or 10.

But I won't be testing."

++++

I think many others will adopt the same approach. If the advice for a Covid case is the same as for a bad cold - namely stay at home and away from people until you feel better, then why bother with. LFT?

The net result however will be Covid cases sharply reducing (as less people bother to test.

Hey presto Boris has "miraculously beaten" the dreaded Covid virus especially if we can stop publishing those pesky daily deaths data.

@GirlInACountrySong

"how much will they be?"

++++

You can buy LFT privately for between £12 and £15 a test (not sure why anyone would do this when they are currently free).

The NHS bought in bulk so the cost for them is between £7 and £8 per test.

@toomuchlaundry

How will we know we have COVID, will people still test?

Well I doubt tests will continue to be free, and why bother testing? Whats the point

In other countries they pay for their tests so it will end up the same here. No idea how much they’ll be though. I doubt less than £10. I’m not sure what the incentive to test will be.