Self-isolation out of desperation
Silvia Koch* also belongs to a so-called shadow family. They are called that because they withdrew completely into their private lives – the shadows – with the pandemic to protect sick relatives from infection. Koch’s five-year-old daughter Lisa* suffers from a previous neurological disease.
She is cared for around the clock at home and no longer goes to daycare. Because after an influenza infection, Lisa suffered around 150 seizures in 2020 due to her previous illness. Silvia Koch fears that a corona infection would bring even more seizures.
“We’re just at home“, says the mother. She orders purchases in advance and then picks them up with the lowest possible risk of infection. The pharmacy delivers at home. Silvia had to give up her part-time job in sales. That also puts a financial strain on the family.
Schooling is a big problem
Sabine Reißig from the #BildungAberSicher initiative also observes that more and more shadow families are getting into financial difficulties: “Not every family can afford to keep the child at home. These families need social security.” According to Reißig, the affected families also face another major problem. “These families have been living in voluntary self-isolation for almost two years. The parents are often left alone with the schooling of their children.” Reißig urgently demands better offers for Homeschooling.
In order to be able to exempt their child at risk from compulsory attendance at school for more than six weeks, parents must submit medical certificates at regular intervals, which are subject to a fee. Sabine Reissig demands that it be made easier for parents: “A heart defect is not gone after half a year!”
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