End of furlough and back to work? What to do ?

I think the coming out of lockdown will be more difficult than the lockdown. I am sure people will be worried not only about catching the virus but giving it to others so I do understand your worries, it is going to be very complicated but your partners idea sounds a good one, he will need to do his own clothes washing though.

oh Flakesdayout,, I so sympathise, I was going to say, I understand, well I do, as much as one person can for another..
I am not shielded, I am classed as vulnerable , due to physical age in years.,, and I am getting scared,, thinking I don`t want to go out, yet I am desperate to be released,, so I understand the scared part..

it seems so ,, not right though, and yes, as someone said earlier,, this is to do with protecting the NHS,, now I wonder about that,,, the NHS or the people who work there? well that is a load of ........ isn`t it, as the Government (and yes, I confess I voted for them) hasn`t even followed it`s own guidelines,, and not protecting those on the front line.

lots of questions to be answered on this once this is over.

so back to you.... yes, I understand the scared feeling, you are not alone there,, so just hoping that you can protect yourself..

I think the advice is that you should sleep in different rooms have different bathrooms (if you can) and separate flannels towels and clothes for washing - which all sounds a lot more difficult than just staying at home. I am shielded too, but fortunately we are both retired.
I there any way your OH could tell his manager about your condition and say that this is more serious than simply maintaining social distancing measures and isolating. If you have ’the letter’ he could take that along and ask to be furloughed until it is safer?

Hi. I have been working on a shielding helpline and have been asked this question a few times. Only the shielded person is covered by the 12 week period. Other people in the household can be expected to go out if necessary. The precautions sound sensible if followed fully. You are not over reacting - just worried but as Callistemon has said, at some point we all will have to venture out, however cautiously.

Having helped my husband furlough and then unfurlough his employees I believe that if someone lives with a person who is on the official shielded list (1.5 million people who have received a letter) then they MUST remain furloughed for the entire 12 weeks. I could be wrong. Also my 28 year old son received the shielding letter in error. His GP surgery rang him to say that they couldn’t understand why he was getting it and he was to ignore it. Having done some research I believe it is because he was once given a purple inhaler when he had a bad chest infection; this is used on a regular basis by people with severe asthma who do not respond to regular brown steroid inhalers. People with severe asthma are on the shielding list.

That's why I wondered if Flakesdayout had received the shielded letter from the CMO.

If so, as stated in the letter, her DH should also be staying at home until advised further and his employer should understand that. He or she can claim back the part wages.
If no letter has been received, precautions need to be taken if he returns to work.

Flakesdayout says she is shielded so I don't understand...

Notagran - but if Flakesdayout is immunocompromised isn't she on the 12 week shielding?
My daughter-in-law cannot work because she shielding my son (apparently) for 12 weeks.

How will he travel to and from work?

Have you had the 'shielded' letter from the CMO?
Is his employer aware of this?

This is a tricky one. If he has to return or face losing his job he will have to take every precaution, but yes, this lockdown is more to protect the NHS so they are able to cope.

We will all have to face the outside world at some point and be aware of what precautions we will need to take to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

His suggestions sound sensible.

As Esspee said it's worrying but we do have to face the prospect at some point. I can understand your concerns Flakesdayout but I think you and your partner are proposing some sensible precautions which should suffice.

You say you have room for 'own space'. Maybe you could divide your house into two separate zones, his and hers?

NotSpaghetti Furloughing has to be a minimum of 3 weeks and can be stopped and restarted as many times as the business needs for each employee.

I thought he should be off for 12 weeks? Am I wrong?

I know you must be worried but eventually all of us have to face the prospect of getting back to work/normality. Perhaps concentrate on the statistics which show a very small percentage of people infected end up in intensive care and many people living with others with a full blown case of the virus do not become ill themselves.
My neighbour was rushed to hospital, spent one night there, tested positive, was sent home to be cared for by her husband and three children. One week later she was out chatting with us from a distance. Nobody else caught it from her.