Quarantine Life

The official guidelines on what actually counts as a close contact feel pretty vague to me. Like, when does someone officially become a "contact"? Is it once symptoms show up? Maybe a few days before they start feeling sick? Or is it fourteen days prior? It’s all a bit fuzzy.

SO, HOW DO THEY ACTUALLY DECIDE IF YOU'RE A CLOSE CONTACT?
According to the current definitions, a close contact is:

Being within about six feet of an infected person, or being stuck in the same indoor space—like a classroom, a conference room, or even just sharing a ride on a bus or plane—for more than 15 minutes without wearing any protective gear (think masks, gloves, or eye protection). This also applies to healthcare workers or people living in the same household.

OR

Having direct exposure to infectious droplets from someone with COVID-19. This means things like if someone coughs near you, if you touch used tissues, or through other types of direct physical contact, provided you aren't wearing any PPE. Just passing someone in a hallway or walking past them doesn't count as a close contact for now.

Chris Kim13 said:I’ve got about 20 people working in the exact same open office space every single day.
One coworker tested positive for COVID, and now the higher-ups are playing favorites with the isolation rules. The lower-level staff are being sent home to isolate, while all the management types get to stay put because they’re supposedly "getting tested" instead.
Are you kidding me? We were all breathing the same air and working side-by-side every damn day!

So yeah, apparently the rules only apply to certain people. Same old story, right?

Is that really such a shocker?
Not everyone gets an invite to the VIP lounge 😛 — the little guys always get left behind.
It's just the corporate hierarchy at work. 😁

If we’re under mandatory isolation because we were exposed but aren't showing symptoms, are we technically allowed to get in a car on our own property and drive to another property we own?
Essentially, if I just sit in my car in the driveway and drive out to my cabin, I'm not risking infecting anyone else.

I wouldn't count on it...
The cops are out doing door-to-door checks at the residence.

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driftingranger2 said:I wouldn't count on it...
The cops are out doing door-to-door checks at the residence.

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And where exactly does it say you're required to isolate specifically there and nowhere else?

Paul White9 said:And where exactly does it say you're required to isolate specifically there and nowhere else?

Well, that isn't necessarily the case... My neighbor actually used to rent out her spare room specifically for people needing to quarantine. However, one really ought to inform the local police department regarding which specific address you'll be staying at...

And when do they actually conduct inspections? Do they just show up in the middle of the night? I don't see how much difference it makes which house I'm locked up in.

It all depends on which address you’ve got listed for your quarantine. That's where they're checking.

The cops showed up at my coworker's place around 9 PM one night and then again at 8 AM on a Sunday..
There aren't any actual rules..

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Is that for 10 or 14 days?

14 days if you're in contact

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driftingranger2 said:14 days if you're in contact

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Ten days, if you're actually sick.
So, you've got no choice left but to go out and get infected on purpose. 😛

Frank Martin2 said:Ten days, if you're actually sick.
So, you've got no choice left but to go out and get infected on purpose. 😛

Actually, if you look at the math here, 10 is essentially greater than or equal to 14 in this specific context.

See, if you were just exposed, the CDC guidelines usually count 14 days from that last contact, but if you actually come down with it, the clock starts at 10 days from when those symptoms first hit or when you test positive. I can't be 100% certain on the exact legal distinction—I think it's based on symptom onset—unless, say, you test positive during a routine checkup for something else entirely and don't feel sick yet, but then once the fever kicks in, the timer resets to that moment. It's all a bit of a moving target.

Since symptoms tend to pop up maybe three or four days after you've been around someone infected—and honestly, it could be even longer—it all kind of evens out in the end. Or it could take even more time.

Then again, it could be a shorter window if you happened to pick up the virus a couple of days before you even had that final contact.

Matthew Jackson2 said:Actually, if you look at the math here, 10 is essentially greater than or equal to 14 in this specific context.

See, if you were just exposed, the CDC guidelines usually count 14 days from that last contact, but if you actually come down with it, the clock starts at 10 days from when those symptoms first hit or when you test positive. I can't be 100% certain on the exact legal distinction—I think it's based on symptom onset—unless, say, you test positive during a routine checkup for something else entirely and don't feel sick yet, but then once the fever kicks in, the timer resets to that moment. It's all a bit of a moving target.

Since symptoms tend to pop up maybe three or four days after you've been around someone infected—and honestly, it could be even longer—it all kind of evens out in the end. Or it could take even more time.

Then again, it could be a shorter window if you happened to pick up the virus a couple of days before you even had that final contact.

So I've already wasted 5 days. 😁

What an absolute joke. They mandate self-isolation, yet I had no clue I was even supposed to be isolating for the last five days...
Pure stupidity.

Based on everything I’ve been hearing through the news cycles lately, self-isolation is supposed to kick in the very second it's mandated, and you're stuck staying put until a full 14 days have passed since your last contact. If you think about it—and I tend to do that a bit too much, much to the chagrin of my family—it basically means you should be hunkered down for even less than that total window, unless, of course, you happened to be hanging out with someone on the exact day their test results actually came back positive.

crimsonranger3 said:So I've already wasted 5 days. 😁

What an absolute joke. They mandate self-isolation, yet I had no clue I was even supposed to be isolating for the last five days...
Pure stupidity.

Exactly.

Either you take a test and have no idea what the result will be—so you go out and do a massive grocery run just to make sure you have enough food if you end up stuck at home—or you get home, check your email, and finally see the results.

All these mandates and regulations completely fly in the face of common sense. You don't even need to be a genius to realize that these rules are failing on every single level.

Pure stupidity. At least those $1,500 fines are actually happening. Honestly, I hope they rot.

Talk about a massive waste of resources. You’ve got 10,000 people stuck in quarantine, and apparently, our local police departments have nothing better to do than patrol every single one of those houses. Twice a day, minimum. I even heard some folks saying they're pulling up to certain addresses three times a day just to check in.

Gary Lee53 said:Talk about a massive waste of resources. You’ve got 10,000 people stuck in quarantine, and apparently, our local police departments have nothing better to do than patrol every single one of those houses. Twice a day, minimum. I even heard some folks saying they're pulling up to certain addresses three times a day just to check in.

In my house, three of us were under quarantine, and honestly, not a single officer ever showed up to check in on us. If they happen to swing by a few houses while they’re already out on patrol, it’s barely a dent in their schedule—minimal effort, really.

Nicole James said:In my house, three of us were under quarantine, and honestly, not a single officer ever showed up to check in on us. If they happen to swing by a few houses while they’re already out on patrol, it’s barely a dent in their schedule—minimal effort, really.

I actually remember a situation where a family of six was stuck in isolation, and the officials were showing up three times a day. They’d come once for the seniors, once for the lady who tested positive, and then once more for the husband and the kids, since they all had to be handled separately. 😵

When am I actually supposed to start my quarantine? I haven't heard a single word from the health department yet, even though my contact reached out today to confirm the test came back positive.
So, if nobody calls me by 4:00 PM, does that mean I’m free to go about my business?
What is the point of these isolation mandates if they aren't even being enforced?