The Queen has Covid but fully intends to carry on working through the illness.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said the monarch experts to “continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week”.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the statement added.
Light duties for the 95-year-old apparently include include video calls – yes, she has them, too – and conducting her audience with the prime minister over the phone. Lucky her!
Somewhat predictably, government ministers hell-bent on ending all Covid restrictions this week have praised the Queen for knuckling down to business.
Paul Scully, the minister for small business, told Sky News on Monday: “She’s still working but she’s working from home, she’s working in isolation. And that’s exactly what we’re talking about, learning to live with Covid.”
But let’s get real for a minute. While we all wish the Queen a speedy recovery, is working through Covid really the best example to be setting right now?
Has our obsession with work spun so out of control that we’re really going to praise a 95-year-old for working through a potentially deadly disease?
Boris Johnson is expected to announce the end of self isolation rules and many have questioned what this will mean for the workplace. One major concern, is that going to work will become a legitimate death risk for those who are clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus.
Some on social media have raised concerns that the Queen will be used as an example to pressure people to continue working after testing positive. After all, if a 95-year-old can do it, why can’t you?
Never mind the fact that your working conditions are (probably) very different from the Queen’s, particularly if you commute by public transport (we can’t see HRH getting the bus), or work in a public-facing role like her Majesty, only without paid sick leave.
Even those who can work from home need to take time off when they’re sick. And yes, that includes people experiencing Covid as “a cold-like illness”, as the Queen apparently is.
When you’re working through illness, you’re unlikely to be performing tasks to the best of your ability. You’re also not allowing your body to rest, putting you at higher risk of burn out.
“Taking time off allows us to recharge our bodies and minds, often increasing our ability to work to a better level afterwards,” Giulia Guerrini, lead pharmacist at digital pharmacy Medino, previously told HuffPost.
“It’s so important to make sure we’re taking real breaks so that we don’t overwork ourselves, resulting in stress.”
If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that there’s more to life than work and that everyone should be entitled to proper paid sick leave.
Now is not the time to keep calm and carry on. It’s the time to rest and recover when you’ve tested positive – and protect those around you in the process.