Summer is once again being threatened by Covid. A wave connected to the FLiRT variant has already hit the UK, with Superdrug reporting a 319 per cent surge in sales of lateral flow tests and 297 per cent increase in cold and flu sachets. Further abroad, an outbreak in Greece has led to a tightening of rules around masking and testing. It all begs the question: how should we behave now? What’s the current etiquette around Covid?
Four years after the pandemic, many of us are far less worried about the risk of Covid. And unlike previous years, it’s no longer the norm to test regularly, let alone reshape your life to reduce infection risk.
The combined force of no more free testing (one Covid tests is £1.75 at Superdrug); the lack of restrictions on a government level; and a general sense of trying to return to normal means Covid etiquette has radically changed.
I doubt I’m alone in having friends and relatives who’ve noticed symptoms and either ignored them or downplayed them rather than miss out on a summer barbecue.
At this point, though they wouldn’t admit it out loud, if a friend’s birthday or a summer holiday flight might be jeopardised by testing for Covid, they’d ignore the latter to enable the former.
The social super spreader
Won’t miss a party/BBQ/night out, even if they’re coughing their guts out, have lost their sense of taste and running a high fever. Didn’t they miss out on enough social life during lockdown? And anyway – they’re outdoors for most of it. It’ll be fine.
Militant mum
Doesn’t care if their child has Covid, they’re practically immune to harm from it, right? Doesn’t occur to her to worry about the people little Otto might be infecting as he wipes his snotty paws all over the bus and sprays the elderly with his sneezes.
Hedonistic holidayer
The flights have been booked, the tan applied – nothing is going to stop them getting on that 5am flight. So what if they’re feeling a bit off – they can rest on the sun lounger can’t they? Isn’t sun good for germs? As for that older woman sitting on the flight next to them… well, if they’re well enough to get on a flight, it’s probably all right, isn’t it?
Guilty gadabout
Knows that they should be responsible which is why they wear masks on public transport (except for the days they forget) – and still have sanitiser in their bag (which they sometimes remember to use…) but now it’s Wilderness. They have a bit of a cough but it’s probably just hay fever. They don’t want to test and mess up the group plans… but will spend the weekend feeling guilty about it.
Covid cautious
The ones who still remember how unwell the virus can make you feel and practice testing religiously whenever they feel under the weather – even if it does cost them an arm and a leg in testing kits… These are the tribe trying to make up for everyone else’s relaxed approach.
Pompous professional
Look, if you’re suggesting they don’t fly to Zurich twice a week for meetings when they’re feeling rough, you clearly don’t understand how important they are. The business, no, the world, would collapse if they called in digitally, so coughing along to City Airport they go. The FTSE waits for no one, thank you very much.
Dr Simon Williams, a Swansea University sociologist, agrees that “there is a relative lack of concern about Covid these days – it’s not really entering into people’s consciousness or decision-making.”
“The lack of formal, clear and strong guidance around Covid at the moment, and the lack of messaging from official sources like government and health authorities – at least compared to previous years – means that there is a bit of a vacuum of guidance around what people should do.
“Motivation is in part driven by how much threat people see – these days the risk posed by Covid is seen to be low by the majority, which also explains why behaviours from earlier in the pandemic – like mask-wearing, isolating, and testing – have all but disappeared now they are voluntary.”
One friend told me she’s been feeling very run-down after a slew of summer weddings and festivals, but has avoided testing in favour of “seeing it like a cold”. A colleague recently admitted she had suffered a two-month “cold” (with coronavirus-like symptoms) and didn’t test for Covid once. Others tell me they would only test if “required” rather than seeking tests out, especially if it risks ruining a holiday.
But while some have all but moved on from Covid, others are still hyper aware of other people’s (lack of) care. “There is a small but significant group of ‘covid cautious’ or ‘covid conscientious’ who take extra steps, for example wearing masks in crowded public spaces or testing if they have symptoms,” Dr Williams adds.
At a social gathering last weekend, one heavily pregnant friend was shocked by someone sat quite close to her talking openly about thinking they have Covid but choosing not to test and instead come out. Another who is not vulnerable but “hates being sick” will still test if she’s feeling unwell. “I’m not in an at-risk group but I don’t like being ill so I don’t like people coughing in my face on the tube when they’re obviously sick – stay home you selfish pricks, is my philosophy.”
And a doctor friend adds that “we’re still isolating patients with Covid in hospital and doing PPE, but there’s definitely a sense of it just being another cold about.”
Given so many different approaches are in play and the “right thing to do” now can feel blurry (especially in the context of a summer wave) what do scientists recommend as the necessary etiquette?
Professor Lawrence Young, virologist and professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, cautions against unnecessary alarm.
“There’s no need to panic but it’s important to be aware that Covid hasn’t gone away and that it hasn’t settled into a seasonal pattern of infection. New variants that are more infectious are currently spreading so we need to do everything to protect the elderly and most vulnerable.”
However, he is very clear that while they are both respiratory illnesses that we will deal with regularly, you should not see or treat Covid like a cold.
“It can lead to severe acute illness, particularly in the elderly and those with other underlying conditions. The virus can stay in our bodies for a long time causing other problems including affecting blood clotting, our digestive system and even brain function. We’re still learning about the long-term effects of Covid (so-called long Covid) and how best to treat these complex effects.
“A combination of diminished immunity in the general population, the spread of new variants and increased mixing in poorly ventilated spaces (especially given the wet summer we’ve had and events such as the Euros) have all contributed to more people getting infected. This has resulted in increased hospitalisations and the re-introduction of compulsory face masks in some healthcare settings.”
The key thing he recommends, unsurprisingly, is to test – especially as the virus and associated symptoms have changed since the original outbreak.
“It is now difficult to separate Covid symptoms from other respiratory illnesses. Testing to check if you are infected with Covid is important so that you can isolate and get better while also preventing other people from getting infected.”
On that note, he says, “It is still best to isolate for at least five days if you test positive or until you no longer have a positive test.” That includes making adjustments where possible around work and, though you may be loath to do it, holidays.