Plague Diary: In Which I Have the Plague

[lydy]

In preparation for my gig in Cleveland, and because I had a minor gastric event, I submitted a saliva test, administered on Nov. 23rd.  Today, while at a rest stop in Illinois, I checked my email, and found that the result was positive.

I am currently in Indiana, and will go on to Cleveland and quarantine there.  I have informed my employer, and he will inform the Cleveland Clinic, and let me know how to proceed on Monday.  Even if the contract goes up in smoke, I will stay in Cleveland until I'm safe to go home.

I am very, very worried about my family.  I am somewhat worried about myself.  

As our president has said, It is what it is.  It didn't need to be this way, but it is. 

Comments

[laurel]

You 100% can catch the virus while shopping. Lots of the existing safety guidelines are based from data from very very early on and have not been updated to reflect latest science. Close contact for 10 or more minutes is not required, it’s really about the air quality now that we know this is airborne and not solely about droplets.

Stores should be limiting how many people can be inside them, should be making all aisles one way (so you don’t have to pass anyone close by), have distancing guidelines, etc. But most importantly need to have good air flow and good air filtering. And require masks (and enforce that somehow).

If you must shop in stores, limit your trips. Limit how many people go in. Go to stores with good safety measures (like the ones I mentioned if any are actually doing that). Go when least busy (or if they close, first thing after they open if aren’t too busy then). Stores that aren’t too busy which do enforce mask requirements. And wear a mask that has a filter (or has filtering capabilities built in). Face shields or goggles are a good idea if a place isn’t the best with safety measures. Gloves aren’t a bad idea for that matter, but that really depends. I wear gloves if I have to touch high touch surfaces and won’t be able to wash my hands for a while later; hand sanitizer is great but eh. I like gloves.

Leaving any shoes you wear outside on your porch or someplace is a good idea. We haven’t been super strict about this, but lots of people have switched to having “outside” and “inside” shoes since this all started. Who weren’t doing that already. I don’t worry about it if I’m in our yard or something but the rare time I’ve had to go inside another building, I’ve left my shoes on the porch. (But then I’ve also stripped immediately and put all clothing in wash & took a shower. But I’ve only been in other buildings very very rarely since this all started.) (It really is a lot more about air than surfaces. I started this practice early on. Most important thing is having a good mask with a filter if you’ll be anywhere where others might’ve been unmasked or wearing masks improperly.)

No need usually to wash food or food packaging, but wash hands after handling such stuff. (Likewise after handling anything brought in from outside your home. We aren’t as strict about quarantining mail and packages any more or groceries that don’t need freezer/fridge but we do wash our hands after handling all that stuff).

Sorry for carrying on, I’m always carrying on about this stuff. But it drives me nuts how little people know, especially those I know who are trying to be careful. If only we had decent federal leadership, this all could’ve been conveyed clearly & repeatedly all over & we’d have consistent guidelines (maybe). This all was going to be rough to explain to people even then. (Sigh.)

Maybe I haven’t carried on enough in enough places. I try my best!

Kevin & I haven’t stepped foot in a store since March. I had to stop in Costco in mid-March for prescriptions before we got them all switched to mail order. I know not everyone can afford to have groceries etc. delivered (or lives in areas where it’s possible), but it really is safest to avoid being in stores, etc. if a person can. (Don’t get my started about Black Friday. Ugh.)

[thewayne]

It can also be a matter of cumulative dose. Yes, a big exposure may get you sick. But so can several smaller exposures over time.

And an asymptomatic positive can definitely be beneficial in that you get antibodies with minimal suffering. Not as many as a more serious case that may not last as long, but you get antibodies.

Still best not to get it.

[dreamshark]

"You 100% can catch the virus while shopping. Lots of the existing safety guidelines are based from data from very very early on and have not been updated to reflect latest science."

Actually, all that guidance is being updated constantly (which is why it is so confusing). At first all the public health messages focused obsessively on hand washing, and hand washing and more hand washing, with most sources in total denial about aerosol spread and masking. Now the CDC and even the WHO have acknowledged that surface spread is probably not much of a factor and aerosol spread is real. As you say, it's a matter of concentration of virus in the air and how much of that air you breathe. At least that seems to be the latest scientific consensus.

But seriously, if you are walking around a cavernous supermarket with everybody wearing masks (which people do now, at least in Minneapolis) I just don't see how it is possible to inhale a significant amount of virus even if everybody else in the store is infected. Maybe surface spread actually is as important as people seemed to think back in March? And those people who disinfect every grocery bag really are doing the smart thing?

I still haven't seen one shred of actual evidence that people are getting infected in grocery stores except for this kind of anecdotal report. I don't know how you could run a strict scientific study on sources of infection, but there are attempts to summarize and quantify what people say to contact tracers. The main sources of infection are usually work-related, household infections, bars/restaurants/gyms, congregate living situations, or gatherings involving churches. I would like to see just one of those reports that included a specific category for the number of people who said, "I never went anywhere except grocery shopping." Those people just get lumped into the "No idea" category. And you never know if that means, "I have no idea because there are so many possibilities" or people like Lydy who didn't do anything remotely high-risk and are just baffled.