UK 🦠 filter: if husband, 70 needs to stay home for 4 mth should I also?

March 15, 2020 6:06 AM

News out today says over 70s may have to isolate at home for four months (!) should I isolate with him or should I go out and do all the mutual aid stuff I’d been planning, and then stay 6 feet away at all times? 1br/1bath flat. He’s v healthy, I have occasional asthma.
posted by The Last Sockpuppet to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

Best answer: My initial impression is that if I were you, as he is in a higher risk category, I would be staying home as much as possible. Just going out to the shops and absolute necessities.
Let the young people living in flatshares or the young healthy couples pull most of the weight with the mutual aid (though it's very great this was your initial thought).

Not to be alarmist but if you get infected you WILL infect him. Staying six feet away is not going to cut it. It spreads virulently, it spreads in faeces, there is just no way to isolate within the same space unless you go full hazmat. The Chinese were treating their sick in special fever hospitals, not letting them stay home to spread it to family. We do not have special fever hospitals. Your best bet therefore is to minimise the chances of the virus getting in your home, by not going out and about and increasing your own risk of infection.
posted by Balthamos at 6:39 AM on March 15, 2020 [10 favorites]

Best answer: If you have asthma, you’re in a high-risk category too. You should absolutely stay home.
posted by Autumnheart at 6:57 AM on March 15, 2020 [18 favorites]

Everyone should stay home if they can, regardless of age or risk factors.
posted by jordemort at 7:09 AM on March 15, 2020 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I think your mutual aid idea is admirable, but agree staying home is safest given the risk categories. However, there might be some older people in the neighborhood who would really value a call to their landline once in a while. You could create a variation of the kindness postcard going around to say while you can't attend in person, here's your number and you could occasionally call perhaps in the evenings. To avoid getting overwhelmed I wouldn't pass out too many cards to begin with, but if you lived, for example, in a four story apartment building, that might be a manageable amount of people to make the offer to. I know there are online things like 7 cups of tea but not all older people are tech savvy (though plenty are - I don't mean to stereotype).

Good luck to both you and your husband, I have diabetes and am wondering if I will be in this 12 weeks isolation category too, it sounds a long time. I am planning to do some yoga to YouTube videos and get some Skype Spanish tuition to help relieve the isolation. People without that luxury, even if it's only one or two, might appreciate a call on occasions without risk either you or your hubby's health.
posted by AuroraSky at 7:11 AM on March 15, 2020

Mod note: Couple comments removed; let's try and make the effort to keep answers to individual AskMe questions focused tightly on the question and avoid getting into more broad-ranging thoughts or speculation on the overall situation.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:42 AM on March 15, 2020

This virus persists on surfaces for hours. You won't be able to keep him from getting it, if you get it.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:48 AM on March 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

Stay at home as much as possible and do your best to keep it up for the whole time, particularly the peak (you want to avoid getting it at all, but you really want to avoid getting it at the worst possible moment).

I think it can be really hard to be one of the people being helped rather than the helpers, particularly if you don't feel particularly vulnerable yourself. But there will probably be ways in which you can support people remotely.

If there are things you can get for your flat to make this a better experience, then I'd do so.
posted by plonkee at 8:51 AM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Self isolation mode engaged! Thanks everyone. 🦠 🏡 🍺 💻 🎮
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 12:46 PM on March 17, 2020 [1 favorite]