London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Cost of living: Will people be forced to work with Covid?

Cost of living: Will people be forced to work with Covid?

In a couple of weeks isolation support payments, free Covid tests and extra sick pay for social care workers are due to end in Wales.

The Welsh government said the vaccine programme had made it possible to "learn to live safely alongside coronavirus".

Under new plans to cope with the virus in the long term, ill people will be asked to stay at home "where possible".

But with many grappling with soaring living costs, how realistic is this?

From tradespeople who cannot work from home to people with health conditions that make them vulnerable to Covid, there is concern at what the changes will mean.

Professor Richard Stanton, a virologist from Cardiff University, believes large-scale Covid isolation has come to an end.

"We can't really expect people to stay at home if they can't test for Covid, if [the Welsh government] haven't got the money to support them to do that," he told BBC Wales Live.

Professor Richard Stanton says he thinks a new wave of Omicron is likely


Prof Stanton thinks a new wave of the omicron variant is likely and although it will not be comparable to the height of the pandemic, it does bring risks.

"The big risks right now are that a significant proportion of people who catch the virus may go on to get long Covid... or they may well spread it to vulnerable relatives who may get sick with it," Prof Stanton added.

He believes the best way to mitigate the spread of Covid is to focus on ventilation in workplaces and on public transport.

Emma Watkins said she could not afford to stay home if she was ill


Care assistant Emma Watkins recently moved to Plymouth with her partner and is expecting a baby.

Ms Watkins, from Port Talbot, said she would have to go to work if she felt unwell as she could not survive on statutory sick pay.

"I literally can't afford to get ill because I'm still paying old debts off," she said.

"I know it's a bit hard to say but if I'm ill I still need to go in, and obviously we've got PPE and masks and all that."

Ms Watkins would be worried about putting others at risk but said if she did not pay her rent she would be homeless.

"I'd need to be on my death bed not to go in to work because I genuinely can't afford it," she said.

"I was on sick a couple of years back when I broke my foot and I had to take my cast off just to go back to work to get my bills sorted because I was having letters left, right and centre off debt collectors."


'I'd have no choice'


Angelo Sperandeo, a window and door fitter from Cardiff, said considering whether to go to work in the future if he felt unwell would pose a difficult decision because he cannot work from home.

Angelo Sperandeo is unable to work from home and would be forced to go to work while ill


"I'd personally go to work because I'd have no choice really. I'd obviously be thinking of people I'd be in contact with," he said.

"You just try and get on with life as best you can but it's always at the back of your mind."

Alex Osborne, from Caerphilly, has multiple sclerosis and a weakened immune system.

Despite having had Covid vaccinations, she said it was unlikely to give her protection because of the regular MS treatment she has.

Alex Osborne wants free Covid tests to be made available to immunosuppressed people


"It brings an extra level of worry now," said Ms Osborne.

"People might not have any symptoms but I still ask people to check before I invite them into my house.

"If people can no longer do that for me and people like me, that's our safety net that we were using to feel comfortable meeting people… and now it's kind of being removed from us."

Ms Osborne said she wanted free Covid tests to be made available to immunosuppressed people so they can give them to people they are spending time with.


Gambling with health


David Bailey, chair of the British Medical Association's Welsh council, said scrapping free testing would create a "two-tier system" where those unable to pay are "forced to gamble on the health of themselves and others".

"Along with free testing for people with symptoms, it is therefore crucial that governments continue to advise symptomatic people to isolate," he said.

Stacey Rodd, an NHS administrator from Cardiff, said she would probably stay away from the workplace if she felt ill.

Stacey Rodd says she has the luxury of being able to work from home, but not everybody does


"I've got the luxury of being able to work from home. Other people haven't, my other half can't, he works in a shop and if he's not there the shop doesn't run," she said.

"It's making that call and just being sensible really. There are still vulnerable people about."

The Wales TUC (Trades Union Congress) said the advice to stay home if possible was "not practical" for tens of thousands of workers in Wales.

Its general secretary, Shavannah Taj, wants the UK government to increase statutory sick pay and the Welsh government to reverse the planned scrapping of enhanced sick pay for social care workers brought in during the pandemic.

Wales TUC general secretary Shavannah Taj says some workers will be stuck between a "rock and a hard place"


"There's a cost of living emergency, people have no choice at the moment," she said.

"You're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Let's learn something from the pandemic, let's do better."

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "Thanks to the success of our vaccine programme and the way people across Wales have helped to keep each other safe over the last two years, we are now able to move beyond the emergency response to the pandemic and learn to live safely alongside coronavirus.

"Whilst we have gradually and carefully moved away from the legal protections, we are keeping guidance in place to help people manage the virus. This includes the recommendation to stay at home if you are sick to stop the illness spreading.

"We have set out our plans for testing and we will keep this under review."

A UK government spokesperson said: "It is up to employers to determine their sick pay policies and many employers choose to pay more than the minimum level of statutory sick pay.

"The welfare system provides a strong financial safety net to those who are unwell for longer periods or disabled."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×