Covid positive at a party

[folly115]

We were at my auntie and uncles golden wedding party yesterday and I was chatting away to my cousin who I haven't seen for a couple of years - within the conversation he mentioned that him and his son both have covid and his wife had it last week and she is a hairdresser and still went to work. I was a bit shocked they were at the party to be honest. He said something about no one worries about it anymore - we do especially as we go on holiday at the end of the week.

I mentioned to my mum what my cousin said and she said I probably heard him wrong so she asked my auntie who was so blase about it and knew he had it and that everyone now just gets on with life and doesn't give it a second thought.

Am I right in thinking if you knowingly know you have covid it is selfish to mix with people?? Completely different if you are not aware because you aren't testing.

@AppleandRhubarbTart Most credible estimates of PASC (long Covid) are far higher than the 10% I mentioned - 3 or 4 in 10. The ONS reported today that 2 million people in UK have self reported long Covid, but I guess you’ll argue that their ill health isn’t bad enough to count…

Whatever the actual percentage, it is clearly substantial, long Covid can be hugely debilitating, and we don’t yet know the long term effects for everyone else who has had had Covid, even those lucky enough to have mild or no initial symptoms. Anyone who treats Covid like a cold or flu, and mixes with other people when they know or think they are infected is utterly uncaring and selfish.

Ah yes, the ONS. You clearly haven't read much beyond the headline there.

They are exactly who I was thinking of when I talked about ridiculously wide definitions of long covid. They define long covid as people who have symptoms for more than 4 weeks, and that can include tiredness and a cough. So as per their definition, someone who's still a bit knackered after 29 days has long covid.

Speaking as someone who according to the ONS is a long covid sufferer, that's ridiculous. I do indeed argue that the symptoms I've experienced for longer than 4 weeks shouldn't be used like the ONS are using them, yes. There's clearly a colossal gulf between people who take a bit longer to shift it and people whose lives are upended by their condition and can't function in their normal way for years after infection.

You just don't get to those kind of stats from a properly wide data set (and the ONS is good at that latter part) without incredibly broad definitions. And it's simply not helpful to conflate incredibly different responses. If it matters enough for people to make claims about 2 million in the UK (which is much less than the 4 in 10 you cite as a credible estimate, incidentally) then it matters enough to point out exactly what that 2 million actually means. You can't simultaneously argue that it doesn't matter how many people have long covid because the fact that it appears to exist is enough whilst also making claims about 2 million.

@AppleandRhubarbTart I was not arguing that the prevalence of long Covid doesn’t matter at all, just that whether it is 5% or 40% it doesn’t matter to the question - it is still utterly selfish to knowingly put others at risk.

You questioned the 1 in 10 estimate and I provided two pieces of robust statistical / scientific data as evidence, and provided the links / references so you can make your own view on their credibility and definitions. As expected, you think some people who report long Covid aren’t ill enough for you to care…

You also clearly misunderstand the difference between prevalence and incidence. I won’t patronise you by explaining that a prevalence of 2 million people in May is not necessarily inconsistent with an long Covid incidence rate of 30-40%.

Rich that you talk about not understanding when you imagine that what you posted was robust. It's a fact that to get estimates as high as you claim here from good sized data sets, you have to have a definition so broad as to be meaningless. Like the ONS. Because yes, a cough after 29 days isn't ill enough for me to care. It's laughable to put people like me who've taken a while to shake it off in a category with people whose functioning is severely impaired. There is a vast gulf between the two.

As for selfishness, that's not what I'm talking about and there was nothing about that in the post you took issue with. My point is specifically about the absurd claims people make about long covid.

I've got covid atm. Second time. Timing fits with the last week of term when my class was just full of coughing snotting children. I've been told I can go back to work on Monday whether I'm positive or not.

I'd be furious if my colleagues came to work with a positive covid test. Kids have been doing it all along though.

Do your colleagues get fully paid for their time off sick?

The virus itself is no different, it's only attitudes/ perceptions that have changed. It's still a nasty thing to get and people who are elderly, vulnerable or unvaccinated will still get very poory if they catch it.

So yes, of course it was selfish to attend a party when they were positive. Especially a golden wedding, presumably your aunt/ uncle and many guests were not young.