Unvaccinated Housekeeping

[Tracy405]

Recently our property housekeeper notified us her child tested positive for Covid. She will be tested next week according to her Dr.’s recommendation. She is expecting all 7 family members to get it. She and her husband are not vaccinated and will not be getting the vaccination. Her husbands employer is requiring him to quarantine for 14 days, however she said she cannot afford to not work so she is till working till she gets tested. We asked her to wait to clean our property till she gets an all clear from her Dr., we will pay her for the next clean even though we will be doing it ourselves to help them a bit.

We are considering requiring housekeeping to be vaccinated to help protect everyone. I am immune compromised and taking all necessary precautions, I do have contact (masked) with the housekeepers occasionally. Housekeeping is aware of the required cleaning protocol. 

We would appreciate other hosts input on this, Thank you in advance. 

[Sarah977]

@Katja202  Perhaps I misunderstood, but I don't think so. Public health measures are based upon scientific data,  which is based on peer-reviewed scientific studies, not peoples' "opinions".  Their opinions are immaterial to doing the right thing for society as a whole, and experiencing consequences for their selfish choices is the natural result.

[Katja202]

@Sarah977 In all kindness from my heart! Are you really not able of saying agree to disagree and shake hands? And leave it at that …. We will meet again on this forum …

[Alan1300]

People have a right to do what they want with their own bodies.  You have a right to protect your body and your clients by not employing unvaccinated staff who make a deliberate choice to remain unvaccinated. it is clear from hospital records that the vast majority of people in hospital are unvaccinated. 

General:    I am curious, do Hosts on here mandate vaccination of Guests?  We don't but we note that both of us are vaccinated and hope guests are too, for their own health.  Our cleaning strategies are forensic!

[Lisa723]

@Alan1300 yes we do not host unvaccinated guests.

[Patricia55]

Hi @Alan1300 

I've never strictly mandated that guests be fully vaccinated.  Like you, I tell them that we are, and ask them if they are. (I also list all the safety measures we take, and ask them to agree to follow all reasonable safety measures.) When we started hosting again in July, one or two of the younger guests hadn't had time to get doubly vaccinated, but they all showed willing! I accepted those bookings, taking into account their general attitude to safety; the majority said they appreciated our precautions.

I wouldn't accept a booking from anyone who was a die-hard anti-vaxxer.

I know that vaccination doesn't completely prevent infection. None of the safety measures does. But I have some faith in the Swiss cheese model, ie layers of protection.

[Lisa723]

@Tracy405 @Alan1300 @Katja202 @Sarah977 @Mike-And-Jane0  we fired a cleaner who declined vaccination. It was an easy decision.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa723  A friend of mine from the next town told me that she has a big dilemma, as none of her staff (she has 2 full-time and 3 part time on-call, but when she's full, they're all working) is vaccinated and none will agree to be. She has a beautiful complex right on the beach- 4 beachfront casitas, plus an entire house across the road from them. These people have been working for her for years, it's hard to find reliable staff here, and her high rental season is just kicking into gear. She's really between a rock and  a hard place. Her main guy said "I guess you'll just have to fire us, then", rather than agree to get vaxed. Until she can come up with an alternative, she said she's just going to be completely up front with prospective guests about it. At least it's the tropics, where people aren't in enclosed spaces with her staff.

[Lisa723]

@Sarah977 yes-- while it was an easy decision to fire that cleaner, replacing her was not easy. For a time we thought we might actually have to shut down-- my co-host was doing all the cleaning herself, but her other commitments weren't going to allow that to continue. Fortunately we did in the end find another fully-vaccinated crew.

[Katja202]

@Lisa723 Sorry to hear it was an easy decision to make a big decision about somebody’s life.

[Lisa723]

@Katja202 she made her own decision about her life and her willingness to be a vector of disease, and we made our own decision about our business and our willingness to expose our guests and ourselves to the consequences of her decision.

[Helen427]

You raise some  very good points @Dave295 

Unfortunately there has been near zilch inclusion with Science Research and the injections on people who have pre-existing  "Athletes Hearts" which may well be why young males may have higher recorded rates of Heart Inflammation.

We recently heard of a lovely youth who passed away due to a Medical event, she did not have Covid, after they had the injection. She was a very fit healthy awesome youth with her whole life ahead of her.

Until the Coroners Reports are undertaken none of us will be wiser and those facts are all important aspects to consider.

Some will have Cleaners and Guests who may well have pre existing Athletes Hearts who may well be taking their own known personal life experiences into account as a deciding factor as to risks of deciding if to have the injection, and ongoing booster shots when , and if, they are approved.

None of us have the right to judge another on personal health matters which would have been more civilized to have been kept as matters between one's own Medical Professionals or that of Hospital Care rather than the Twitterverse world-wide Social experiment and diagnose Coronavirus has unraveled as.

At the end of the day, none of us know another person's individual Personal Health matters, nor is it anyone else right to judge another.

We are still scratching our head how Leo Ramirez who took the photos at Wuhan has come to the conclusions he has about the man lying on the street, and others when hes a Photographer, not a Medical Professional.

I hope your cleaner's daughter has recovered @Tracy405 .

You have great positive comments about how clean your home is in your reviews so she must do a great job.

All the best

[Tracy405]

@Helen427  Thank you, the housekeeper I am referring to has only been with us a few months. 

We have a very high standard on service and cleaning as our family has been in the hospitality industry in this town for over 100 years and we train everyone to our standard.

[Helen427]

Good on you,  @Tracy405 you sound like your family will have lived through a number of changes in the world over the years.

Did they operate what we once called Taverns and places where people stopped by for accommodation who rode horses and traded along their travels?
I enjoy reading up on that era of history in the world.

Do you have many photographic and article archives?

Maybe you can find inspiration in those archives how those in earlier history  in your location worked through these things in their era?

I personally found the recent interview with Dr Scott Atlas quite well balanced on the overall situation, have you seen it?

There's an article online that's been published today on Australian firefighters re Masks and fires and cancer links.

Don't start me on the recent resignation of Gladys B there as there's a huge can of worms there with corruption.

So many aspects to factor into account in the overall situation.

It's probably best to sit down over a cuppa and have an open conversation with your cleaner to try move forward positively to resolve the situation so it's win win for both of you in these challenging times.

[Tracy405]

Our family was blue collar, hard workers and very kind. They had homes where they would rent out individual rooms and guests came together for dinners in the common areas. My family cooked, clean and washed clothes for the guests. They had a livery and cared for guests horses as well. 
They were well know for their hospitality and cooking. 
We have years of stories and history told by my ancestors, we have photos of the town and our family throughout the homes. Very cool for guests to see our town in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
I know they felt doing what was right for their community was a priority. My great great grandfather opened the first orphanage in our town. 

I do know they believed in working for the greater good in our community, not just our family.

I do not believe they would of refused to vaccinate themselves in our current situation. When my children were babies (1980’s) I asked their pediatrician to stagger the baby vaccines (they received them all), my Oma was most encouraging for me to make sure they were protected and not wait. She remembered the 1917 pandemic as she lost family. She told me my generation was responsible for getting rid of polio as vaccines in the 50’s & 60’s were not an option. @Helen427 

[Sandra126]

Ok, I'll chip in. In my mind, this isn't about if she is vaccinated or not, the key is she has covid in her family, in her home. 

She needs to isolate.

This situation certainly wouldn't happen in Australia, you can't  choose to keep working with an infected household. @Tracy405