Covid Exposure. Sympathy and Frustration.
May. 3rd, 2022 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerYesterday I learned that one of the friends we had in our house on Sunday tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday.
My immediate reaction was one of sympathy; sympathy for the person who tested positive, particularly as his health situation puts him at high risk. While Covid has been "like a bad cold" for many people who've gotten it during the past 5 months with the dominant Omicron strain, for him it's more likely to be a major illness.
My second reaction was concern; concern for myself and Hawk. We tested ourselves Monday evening. Both our tests were negative. We'll continue to watch for symptoms, and we'll test again on Thursday even if no symptoms have appeared.
BTW, looking up the latest guidance on what to do after an exposure was ridiculous. The CDC has a nice guide online for people in healthcare (as either workers or patients) but not for the general public. This extends my frustration about how the current administration has failed to articulate clear recommendations to counter the daily onslaught of misrepresentations and lies from the denialist right.
Our real frustration, though, isn't with the lack of clear government guidance. It's with our friend who got sick. Our immediate feelings of sympathy wore off as we considered how he got sick, Likely it's from him going to a casino all day long earlier in the week. A casino where lots of random people are clustered together, with essentially zero masking, drinking and talking loudly. That's frustrating to us because our personal rules for whom we associate with unmasked, particularly who we invite into our house, are 1) up to date on Covid vaccinations, and 2) no recent high-risk behavior, particularly attending crowded indoors unmasked hours-long gatherings. Our friend violated our house rule #2 and didn't tell us until after.
My immediate reaction was one of sympathy; sympathy for the person who tested positive, particularly as his health situation puts him at high risk. While Covid has been "like a bad cold" for many people who've gotten it during the past 5 months with the dominant Omicron strain, for him it's more likely to be a major illness.
My second reaction was concern; concern for myself and Hawk. We tested ourselves Monday evening. Both our tests were negative. We'll continue to watch for symptoms, and we'll test again on Thursday even if no symptoms have appeared.
BTW, looking up the latest guidance on what to do after an exposure was ridiculous. The CDC has a nice guide online for people in healthcare (as either workers or patients) but not for the general public. This extends my frustration about how the current administration has failed to articulate clear recommendations to counter the daily onslaught of misrepresentations and lies from the denialist right.
Our real frustration, though, isn't with the lack of clear government guidance. It's with our friend who got sick. Our immediate feelings of sympathy wore off as we considered how he got sick, Likely it's from him going to a casino all day long earlier in the week. A casino where lots of random people are clustered together, with essentially zero masking, drinking and talking loudly. That's frustrating to us because our personal rules for whom we associate with unmasked, particularly who we invite into our house, are 1) up to date on Covid vaccinations, and 2) no recent high-risk behavior, particularly attending crowded indoors unmasked hours-long gatherings. Our friend violated our house rule #2 and didn't tell us until after.
no subject
Date: 2022-05-03 04:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-05-03 05:39 pm (UTC)For testing, the most reasonable recommendation seems to be to test 24-36 hours after a significant exposure and then again at the 5 day mark if you develop no symptoms.