Doncaster dad refuses to go back to work in order to keep his baby safe

Chris Clarke, aged 40, from Balby is a joiner by trade and following Boris Johnson’s speech on Sunday, May 10, could go back to work.

But he and his partner Hayley Smith are expecting a baby girl to be named Gracie on May 24, just two weeks away and Chris feels going back to work may endanger his future newborn.

He said: “I can’t risk it, it would be impossible to socially distance myself at work even with a mask.

“I would like to go back to work but it’s dangerous and my family comes first.”

Chris is father to four boys and this will be his first daughter - unfortunately due to lockdown guidelines, he will not be able to attend the birth.

“Hayley’s mum is going to be in the delivery room, you can only have one person in there and I have to stay home to look after the boys,” Chris continued.

“I’m sad that I can’t attend the birth myself.

“I've been there for all the boy’s births - I’m concerned that if there are complications that we won’t be able to see her for days or weeks if they’re kept in hospital.”

As the family is unable to invite childcare into their home at the moment Chris will have no choice but to stay home when Hayley goes into labor.

Chris has decided that he will not return to work for two weeks after the newborn's birth - his employer has not challenged him on this decision and Chris will remain on furlough during this time.

“I feel lucky that I’m in this position - I’m a joiner so even if my work didn’t agree to let me stay home I would be able to find more work further down the line,” he said.

Any birth is a scary time for parents but during Covid-19 the circumstances surrounding a newborn will be very different.

Chris said: “All you want to do when you have a new baby is show them off to your friends and family but we won't be able to do that.

“We will be video calling my family - my dad works on the buses so it’s absolutely not safe for him to meet her.”

Chris and his family have been taking extra measures to ensure the safety of unborn Gracie by not leaving their home apart from the occasional walk.

“It’s like a military operation when I go to the corner shop,” Chris said.

“When I get back I scrub and wash everything and we do the food shop online to limit contact with the outside world.”

Chris feels that the advice to return to work may have come too early from the Prime Minister.

He said: “I think this is going to lead to people congregating in parks and a second wave.

“Even if my partner wasn’t pregnant I would still think it was too early to lift the restrictions.”

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