Covid Secure

Roline83

bradders1983 said:

If the office is nowhere near clinical areas then making people wear a mask all day sat at a desk doing work nowhere near the public is beyond absurd.

It’s next door to a covid ward. 

sharpe106

You will have to see what your supervisor says, although as with many things you have to wonder what the point is they are fine today but come the 15th it is a risk. Either it needs implementing so needs doing now or it does not need doing.

[Deleted User]

The term "Covid-secure" is just spin, it does not really mean anything. Companies are undertaking risk assessments to bring employees back, but the thing is in reality this falls down on standard risk assessment protocols because the risk is incredibly low and the likelihood is incredibly low, the practical application of a valid risk assessment would be "change nothing which materially affects the functioning of the business". However businesses are having to make changes because the political and fear climate dictates that they do. 
In practicality the way to comply with the political spin around this has been screens between staff and the public where possible, hand wash stations and/or alcohol hand sanitiser, masks offered to all staff who interact with the public. Increased cleaning of common shared areas and touch points (eg door handles) and some slight changing of office configuration and desk layouts. 
None of this will materially change your chances of contracting Covid-19, which is currently around 99.99% lifetime risk, it is really just an expensive farce to make people feel better.

jimkelly

Roline83 said:

Sorry, I should have said it was in a hospital. So yes, it’s an office within the main hospital building near the wards. However I wasn’t sure what was meant by covid secure

On that basis, I would expect you will have to wear a face mask (not just covering, i.e. a scarf) at all times in the building.  You may be able to remove it in your office as it sounds like that bit may be "Covid Secure"


EDIT - just seen the bit about office being right next to a covid ward, on that basis I would say you should be pushing for more protection, not less.

Thrugelmir

MadMattUK said:

None of this will materially change your chances of contracting Covid-19, which is currently around 99.99% lifetime risk, it is really just an expensive farce to make people feel better.

Let's see how the less developed countries cope with Covid. Then assess whether taking precautions is worth the effort and "just to make people feel better". 

Roline83

jimkelly said:

Roline83 said:

Sorry, I should have said it was in a hospital. So yes, it’s an office within the main hospital building near the wards. However I wasn’t sure what was meant by covid secure

On that basis, I would expect you will have to wear a face mask (not just covering, i.e. a scarf) at all times in the building.  You may be able to remove it in your office as it sounds like that bit may be "Covid Secure"


EDIT - just seen the bit about office being right next to a covid ward, on that basis I would say you should be pushing for more protection, not less.

Our office is the only office on a floor with  6 Covid wards on the same floor. We’ve asked for a risk assessment, H&S came in said you’re 2m apart if you pull your desks a few inches back, it should only be 1m but the government say 2m so we have to check. The office is overcrowded. Feel like we’re banging our heads against a brick wall. 

lincroft1710

sharpe106 said:

As with everything the government announce wait until the details come out.

And then get changed slightly from what was originally said

gettingtheresometime

In fairness I think the govt have announced a policy without consulting or forewarning those that are expected to implement it so I bet there's a lot of trust managers wishing to buy Matt Hancock a drink this weekend

sharpe106

Thrugelmir said:

MadMattUK said:

None of this will materially change your chances of contracting Covid-19, which is currently around 99.99% lifetime risk, it is really just an expensive farce to make people feel better.

Let's see how the less developed countries cope with Covid. Then assess whether taking precautions is worth the effort and "just to make people feel better". 

Think the better thing to do is look at how similar countries have coped and what they have done.

Jeremy535897

sharpe106 said:

Thrugelmir said:

MadMattUK said:

None of this will materially change your chances of contracting Covid-19, which is currently around 99.99% lifetime risk, it is really just an expensive farce to make people feel better.

Let's see how the less developed countries cope with Covid. Then assess whether taking precautions is worth the effort and "just to make people feel better". 

Think the better thing to do is look at how similar countries have coped and what they have done.

It's difficult to make much out of comparisons. Take England and Spain (30,000 deaths v 27,000 deaths). Why have we done worse? We don't know if each country records coronavirus deaths in the same way, but also:
Spain's population is 47m, England's is 56m, so their death rate is higher than ours.
Spain's land mass is 506,000 square km compared to England's 130,000 square km, so they are a lot more spread out than us.
Heathrow is the 7th busiest airport with 81m passengers, and is an international hub. Madrid is the 23rd busiest airport with 62m passengers.