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Covid working from home, but college looking to open


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I work as support at a college. With all the talk of schools reopening it looks like my college will follow soon. I’ve had an email asking if I have had a shielding letter, which I haven’t. So I’m am now worrying I’m going to be pressured to return to work, even if over the summer when no students or low student numbers will be in.

ive been working from home for about 8 weeks now. During this time as a whole household we’ve only been out twice for prescriptions. Generally I have enough problems going to work as it is, due to checking which can end up making me late for work. Now I’m thinking how am I going to manage going to work with other people who may have covid.

ontop of OCD I’m in my late 40’s and have a bleeding disorder, hypertension, and family history of heart attacks and diabetes.

ive checked the gov website and it doesn’t look like I’m even in the vulnerable category. But surely with all the other factors plus history of teen asthma and childhood bronchitis. I should be kept working from home until the country gets to the same point as New Zeland or South Korea?

im proper scared and convinced if I get this it will kill me.

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Even though 25 per cent of deaths due to coronavirus are diabetics they are not in the extremely vulnerable category. If you go to Diabetics UK Forums you will see the statistics for deaths compiled by epidemiologists for diabetics and other conditions which are considered ‘extremely vulnerable’ as well as ‘vulnerable’ and people in neither category.  Pro rata the greatest risk is being diabetic. This is a global phenomenon. The statistics are also given in terms of age and sex though not ethnicity. The ‘shielding’ category or its equivalent exists in a number of countries but the criteria for membership varies between countries.
 

I quote the Diabetics UK source because we are in the realm of probability. I have had four operations in my life and they always quote the death rate of dying under the anaesthetic as part of the consent procedure. Knowing your probability might help you manage your anxiety. I take it you are not diabetic but members of your family have this condition.

Are you a member of UCU? If so your local rep should be knowledgeable about any plans to return to work. The unions and local authorities are certainly making their feelings felt. The majority of primary schools are still under local authority control.
 

Statistically I think that you are unlikely to die, but putting figures to the risk might help. Like in the cast of having a general anaesthetic. I believe that until the app is ready and we have much more testing as in Germany, Hong Kong, S Korea, Singapore ......plans are little premature.

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1 minute ago, Angst said:

Even though 25 per cent of deaths due to coronavirus are diabetics they are not in the extremely vulnerable category. If you go to Diabetics UK Forums you will see the statistics for deaths compiled by epidemiologists for diabetics and other conditions which are considered ‘extremely vulnerable’ as well as ‘vulnerable’ and people in neither category.  Pro rata the greatest risk is being diabetic. This is a global phenomenon. The statistics are also given in terms of age and sex though not ethnicity. The ‘shielding’ category or its equivalent exists in a number of countries but the criteria for membership varies between countries.
 

I quote the Diabetics UK source because we are in the realm of probability. I have had four operations in my life and they always quote the death rate of dying under the anaesthetic as part of the consent procedure. Knowing your probability might help you manage your anxiety. I take it you are not diabetic but members of your family have this condition.

Are you a member of UCU? If so your local rep should be knowledgeable about any plans to return to work. The unions and local authorities are certainly making their feelings felt. The majority of primary schools are still under local authority control.
 

Statistically I think that you are unlikely to die, but putting figures to the risk might help. Like in the case of having a general anaesthetic. I believe that until the app is ready and we have much more testing as in Germany, Hong Kong, S Korea, Singapore ......plans are little premature.

 

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Thanks for the detailed reply.

my wife is Asian plus has TB damaged lungs, but we can find little info on this in the uk. My Mother is on antibody treatment for an extremely rare autoimmune disorder. Both have not had letters. My Mum has been told by the charity associated with that disease that she should shield. So she asked her GP, he said no you’ll be fine it’s only over 70’s, she is 70 and is so poorly she can only consume inshure milkshakes as the disease destroyed her stomach lining. This is what we are dealing with in the UK.

i think the gov is changing the shielded category as and when it’s found people are dying from this. Like they have done so far in this crisis make it up as they go along instead of looking at other countries.

on my own issues, my grandad on my fathers side died at 63 from a heart attack. My grandmother same side died from type 2 diabetes. My father died at 64 from a heart attack, he also had type 2 diabetes. So yeah bit concerned.

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You're probably in the 'moderate risk' category, same as myself, (I have asthma but it's not classed as severe), previously classed as 'higher risk' but not the extremely vulnerable shielding group. The shielding group is restricted to very specific conditions, they're all listed on the NHS website, in the coronavirus section. I think there's also advice on there about how to protect a person you live with if they are in the shielding group (if you live with your mother). 

 

I'm in a similar situation with work, and would find travelling to work difficult without using public transport. You can talk to your work HR department (if there is one) and make your concerns known now, especially asking their arrangements about social distancing. You could ask if it's possible to work from home, even if that means slightly changing your role for a few months?

If you have a union, you could also approach them, or join a union. I'm in a union which is extremely active and in regular talks with my employer about safety of staff.

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Thanks all for the replies. My Mum lives separate but I do need to support them. I’m in Unison so might ask them again, as first time I got the impression they didn’t see a problem.

with regards the unions I’m fully expecting a large amount of U turning due to pressure from media and gov. As you might have noticed in the press the unions are the bad guys for trying to protect there members. The gov is using vulnerable kids as an excuse, as those children have always been able to attend, as have essential workers kids.

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Hi Logan5. Yes there is public relations/political  battle going on to capture public opinion. I think Unison and UCU (Universities and College Union) will jointly be involved in negotiations with the college’s management. Your union’s policy on coronavirus can be found on their web site and UCU’s policy on their website. Asking your local rep or regional rep might be a good idea.

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On 20/05/2020 at 22:58, Handy said:

There is a big Coronavirus topic on this forum. That says what to do. 

Yeah a big topic meaning it’s going to be hard for OP to find the information specific to their situation. It’s perfectly fine for them to ask here. Stop telling people to only post in that one thread, the forum rules absolutely do not require that. If you can’t link directly to the information from that thread that’s specifically relavent to them or copy it here then there’s no need to bring that other thread up. 

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