The big Coronavirus thread
Comments
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ballysmate said:
You obviously missed my post to Brian when I said that was an option for some.shirley_basso said:You're clearly deliberately missing the point that people would wfh where possible.
Unsure why it's taking so long to get the point across.
But wfh is not phoning in sick is it? Wfh is a way of mitigating the chance of passing your cold on and is certainly not an option for everyone.
My initial post was regarding people taking time off due to a cold. Wfh is not taking time off. Or is it?
Forgive me if I got the wrong impression, but you seemed to be saying that a cold was just a sniffle, and people should go into work anyway. That was my main takeaway from the last three pages...0 -
Mad_Malx said:
OT: I remember struggling to a garage payphone to phone in sick with a bout of food poisoning from dodgy takeaway the night before. By the time I got to the box the bug had decided to take the rear exit .ballysmate said:
I am quite aware that I am in a minority of 1 and perhaps my view is out dated. Not wanting to sound all "when I were a lad..."First.Aspect said:
You aren't on the right side of this argument. And you probably know it.ballysmate said:I accept that some colds are heavier than others, but most are not debilitating are they?
Rjs' workforce must be particularly unlucky as not only do they seem to be susceptible to any cold virus, but all seem to get the most debilitating symptoms.
If we don't want to be exposed to viruses we would have to live in hermetically sealed units. We are talking about the common cold here, not Ebola.
But
When I started work in order to "phone in sick" you had to walk to the phone box up the road and the general feeling was that if you were capable of that, you were probably capable of getting into work.
A totally outdated view now, I accept.
But the general idea that is is standard practice to phone in sick with an illness that will not affect your performance in case you pass it on to a colleague who would as a result, suffer no loss in performance, quite odd.
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Eeww! Phone boxes used to reek of pish, yours would have been Premier League.Mad_Malx said:
OT: I remember struggling to a garage payphone to phone in sick with a bout of food poisoning from dodgy takeaway the night before. By the time I got to the box the bug had decided to take the rear exit .ballysmate said:
I am quite aware that I am in a minority of 1 and perhaps my view is out dated. Not wanting to sound all "when I were a lad..."First.Aspect said:
You aren't on the right side of this argument. And you probably know it.ballysmate said:I accept that some colds are heavier than others, but most are not debilitating are they?
Rjs' workforce must be particularly unlucky as not only do they seem to be susceptible to any cold virus, but all seem to get the most debilitating symptoms.
If we don't want to be exposed to viruses we would have to live in hermetically sealed units. We are talking about the common cold here, not Ebola.
But
When I started work in order to "phone in sick" you had to walk to the phone box up the road and the general feeling was that if you were capable of that, you were probably capable of getting into work.
A totally outdated view now, I accept.
But the general idea that is is standard practice to phone in sick with an illness that will not affect your performance in case you pass it on to a colleague who would as a result, suffer no loss in performance, quite odd.1 -
FWIW, until my brain bump, the most time I took off work in 35 years was three days, for full-blown flu, in 1990. Being self-employed, I was delighted that of the five days I was in bed for, two of the days were days when I wouldn't have been working anyway.2
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I have not said my company loses many man hours to the common cold. Just that a bad cold is one of the more common reasons for the small amount of sick leave that is taken. Hardly surprising given its name. You've invented all this bollocks about a 'culture' and people living in hermetically sealed units.ballysmate said:
Not inventing anything. Just musing why your company loses so many man hours to the common cold.rjsterry said:
You're now just inventing things, which is a bit silly. The strawiest of straw men.ballysmate said:I accept that some colds are heavier than others, but most are not debilitating are they?
Rjs' workforce must be particularly unlucky as not only do they seem to be susceptible to any cold virus, but all seem to get the most debilitating symptoms.
If we don't want to be exposed to viruses we would have to live in hermetically sealed units. We are talking about the common cold here, not Ebola.
I assume you must have given it some thought as it must impact significantly on your business.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
It's interesting that people have moved on to talking about Covid in the same breathe as a common cold when it is still killing* several hundred people a week in the UK alone.
Sure, it's good that the vaccine seems to be doing its job and that Omicron seems substantially milder than previous variants but it is still in a similar range to those dying of lung cancer. It's still too soon to get blasé about it, yes try to get on with things with a degree of normality but surely a few precautions are still sensible?
* Yes, noted on the within 28 days of a positive test etc.3 -
https://www.reddit.com/r/CoronavirusUK/comments/s8ljc6/analysis_is_covid_just_like_the_flu_yet/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=sharePross said:It's interesting that people have moved on to talking about Covid in the same breathe as a common cold when it is still killing* several hundred people a week in the UK alone.
Sure, it's good that the vaccine seems to be doing its job and that Omicron seems substantially milder than previous variants but it is still in a similar range to those dying of lung cancer. It's still too soon to get blasé about it, yes try to get on with things with a degree of normality but surely a few precautions are still sensible?
* Yes, noted on the within 28 days of a positive test etc.- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
Did you not sayrjsterry said:
I have not said my company loses many man hours to the common cold. Just that a bad cold is one of the more common reasons for the small amount of sick leave that is taken. Hardly surprising given its name. You've invented all this bollocks about a 'culture' and people living in hermetically sealed units.ballysmate said:
Not inventing anything. Just musing why your company loses so many man hours to the common cold.rjsterry said:
You're now just inventing things, which is a bit silly. The strawiest of straw men.ballysmate said:I accept that some colds are heavier than others, but most are not debilitating are they?
Rjs' workforce must be particularly unlucky as not only do they seem to be susceptible to any cold virus, but all seem to get the most debilitating symptoms.
If we don't want to be exposed to viruses we would have to live in hermetically sealed units. We are talking about the common cold here, not Ebola.
I assume you must have given it some thought as it must impact significantly on your business.
I reckon we lose more staff days to colds than any other illness
That tends to imply that it would be a problem. Btw, you have now qualified colds to bad colds. So for clarification are you now saying they only go sick with bad colds because your initial post obviously seems to include slight colds.
If they only go sick with heavy colds, you are obviously relaxed about them coming in with slight colds and the risk of spread.
IIRC the hermetically sealed units was in response to someone else concerning avoiding viruses.2 -
The fuckers can wear a mask if they have to go on a train/come into the office with a cold. We're all used to it now.1
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blazing_saddles said:
Closer to 500,000 yesterday and today is the 4th consecutive day over 400,000.First.Aspect said:400k infections in France.
The bad news is that tomorrow they will almost certainly overtake the UK in the Covid Olympics league table.
Looks like the peak might not yet have been passed, @kingstonian - Haute Savoie gone back up a bit. Must admit, the French map needs a bit of colour...
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But I know you'll all be pleased to know that France's smallest least-populated commune's (Rochefourchat) single resident is well. It amuses me that the world can see if he catches covid, even if it does breach his patient confidentiality.
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Pre covid my colleague from Hong Kong did this anyway. Would seem like a sensible thing to do and might stop Bally moaning about how he used to struggle into work with TB or something.kingstongraham said:The censored can wear a mask if they have to go on a train/come into the office with a cold. We're all used to it now.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
kingstongraham said:
The censored can wear a mask if they have to go on a train/come into the office with a cold. We're all used to it now.
Just needs a system to remove all the streaming snot so it doesn't fill up the mask and suffocate them. Perhaps they could have some sort of face nappy inside.0 -
I think you are just reading in what you want to see. Point is: if the option to WFH home is there - and I've put a fair bit of effort into making sure it is in my case - bringing one's snotty self into the office and spreading it around when one doesn't need to is a bit inconsiderate to one's colleagues and employer. I'm sure it may be different in other workplaces.ballysmate said:
Did you not sayrjsterry said:
I have not said my company loses many man hours to the common cold. Just that a bad cold is one of the more common reasons for the small amount of sick leave that is taken. Hardly surprising given its name. You've invented all this bollocks about a 'culture' and people living in hermetically sealed units.ballysmate said:
Not inventing anything. Just musing why your company loses so many man hours to the common cold.rjsterry said:
You're now just inventing things, which is a bit silly. The strawiest of straw men.ballysmate said:I accept that some colds are heavier than others, but most are not debilitating are they?
Rjs' workforce must be particularly unlucky as not only do they seem to be susceptible to any cold virus, but all seem to get the most debilitating symptoms.
If we don't want to be exposed to viruses we would have to live in hermetically sealed units. We are talking about the common cold here, not Ebola.
I assume you must have given it some thought as it must impact significantly on your business.
I reckon we lose more staff days to colds than any other illness
That tends to imply that it would be a problem. Btw, you have now qualified colds to bad colds. So for clarification are you now saying they only go sick with bad colds because your initial post obviously seems to include slight colds.
If they only go sick with heavy colds, you are obviously relaxed about them coming in with slight colds and the risk of spread.
IIRC the hermetically sealed units was in response to someone else concerning avoiding viruses.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
I'm guessing the light and mid shade blues never get used in that one.briantrumpet said:But I know you'll all be pleased to know that France's smallest least-populated commune's (Rochefourchat) single resident is well. It amuses me that the world can see if he catches covid, even if it does breach his patient confidentiality.
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No I just wondered if you’ve been in an office in the last 5 years.ballysmate said:rick_chasey said:Bally do you still work?
Actually i do work part time for, well 'pin money' is the wrong term, but you get the idea. A few hours a week in a supermarket putting stuff on shelves. Keeps me active and I enjoy the craic with people. And I suppose your attitude to work is different when you know that you don't have to do it and can jack at any time. When they are looking to save hours, I volunteer to finish early.rick_chasey said:Bally do you still work?
But even in this job, I would feel embarrassed to phone in sick with a cold.0 -
briantrumpet said:blazing_saddles said:
Closer to 500,000 yesterday and today is the 4th consecutive day over 400,000.First.Aspect said:400k infections in France.
The bad news is that tomorrow they will almost certainly overtake the UK in the Covid Olympics league table.
Looks like the peak might not yet have been passed, @kingstonian - Haute Savoie gone back up a bit. Must admit, the French map needs a bit of colour...
Common sense keeps telling me that case numbers in France will have to drop soon, hopefully the drop we saw over a few days will start again in the coming days.0 -
Got cold symptoms yesterday evening. 3 out of 4 of us tested positive this morning. Still just cold symptoms for now.
Timely, given the discussion yesterday.- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
I'd much prefer someone with a cold came into the office than an increased workload.
The majority of colds are spread by touch, so we all have the option to wash hands more to protect ourselves.
In any case, the spread of covid shows that most people will contract viruses irrespective of social distancing. The speed of spread is slowed, but the overall numbers who get sick doesn't change, so unless colds rip through workplaces so much they can't operate, isolation seems pointless.
Finally, a pet hate of mine is people who when they find out someone is sick immediately react with "stay away from me".2 -
I think you will increasingly be regarded as a dinosaur I'm afraid BB.0
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That's without doubt, but not on this matter.First.Aspect said:I think you will increasingly be regarded as a dinosaur I'm afraid BB.
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I see that the Lurking Liker is still in action. Still weird.1
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TheBigBean said:
The majority of colds are spread by touch, so we all have the option to wash hands more to protect ourselves.
Maybe that's out of date too.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3039011/These results suggest that contrary to current opinion, rhinovirus transmission, at least in adults, occurs chiefly by the aerosol route.0 -
And this is more recent (2004)
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.2403002The findings supporting aerosol transmission include: a positive association between CO2 concentration, a higher level indicating less air exchange, and the rate of virus detection in air; and isolation of the same rhinovirus, based on nucleic acid sequence, from the air of one building and a nasal lavage specimen in an individual with a cold during the same week.0 -
If a Tyrannosaurus rex evolved like humans and managed to use their little hand things, computers n stuff and had Covid. They would have looked quite odd with masks on, they haven't gone protruding ears either, so it would have been difficult to keep them in place. So I don't think they'd have bothered come to think of it.0
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Why? Maybe they don't like catching infectious diseases.TheBigBean said:
Finally, a pet hate of mine is people who when they find out someone is sick immediately react with "stay away from me".0 -
Just for reference, that's a T-Rex's hand.0 -
No concern for the sick person, just concern for themselves.kingstongraham said:
Why? Maybe they don't like catching infectious diseases.TheBigBean said:
Finally, a pet hate of mine is people who when they find out someone is sick immediately react with "stay away from me".
For clarity, I think being sick and alone is really miserable.0 -
I understand most of that except the last paragraph. Why would you want someone who is sick getting close to you?TheBigBean said:I'd much prefer someone with a cold came into the office than an increased workload.
The majority of colds are spread by touch, so we all have the option to wash hands more to protect ourselves.
In any case, the spread of covid shows that most people will contract viruses irrespective of social distancing. The speed of spread is slowed, but the overall numbers who get sick doesn't change, so unless colds rip through workplaces so much they can't operate, isolation seems pointless.
Finally, a pet hate of mine is people who when they find out someone is sick immediately react with "stay away from me".
Out of interest to all those who aren't bothered about people going into the office with colds, do you feel the same to people coming in with a stomach bug? If not why would you differentiate?
FWIW I do go in with cold as they are just too frequent to take time off every time you get one but as I've been set up to work from home for much of the past 20 years I do so whenever possible. It also means if I'm feeling particularly rough I can rest up for a bit then carry on. Excluding a 5 day period recovering from donating bone marrow I suspect I've had less than 10 days off sick in 32 years working and when I think about 'throwing a sicky' think of the extra pressure I'm putting on others.
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Wikipedia states that primary transmission "has not been determined", so my statement was inaccurate. That said, colds never seen to spread like covid to me.briantrumpet said:And this is more recent (2004)
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.2403002The findings supporting aerosol transmission include: a positive association between CO2 concentration, a higher level indicating less air exchange, and the rate of virus detection in air; and isolation of the same rhinovirus, based on nucleic acid sequence, from the air of one building and a nasal lavage specimen in an individual with a cold during the same week.0
