Quarantine Life

Keith Barrett2 said:It’s people like you who are the reason we have these infection numbers and why the hospitals are completely overwhelmed.😠

Look, I follow whatever mandates the government puts out. Masks in stores? Fine, I'll wear one. If they say anyone with a fever has to get tested, then I'll either go get tested or just stop checking my temperature. Period. And as for the healthy people in America, they don't need to be within two feet of me. End of story.

casualskipper65 said:See? This is why we’re the worst in Europe. Because apparently, your health is strictly your own problem and not a public one, so you just decide for yourself that it's "just a fever" and definitely not COVID.

What does it matter if it wasn't over 100.4°F for long? I never even hit that mark—mine sat between 98.8°F and 99.1°F for a day and a half on Wednesday and Thursday. I booked my test on Wednesday, got tested Saturday, and popped up positive. I didn't have any other symptoms besides that slight fever, and I still don't, but that doesn't change the facts. I can't remember the last time I had a fever at all, so that was an immediate red flag for me. I reacted right away. Even if having a fever isn't unusual for me, I’d react the exact same way because this isn't something to mess around with—not just for my own sake, but for everyone around me.

I don't know if you think running a fever for four days is normal, but I do know it's not exactly standard behavior to act like it’s nothing during a time like this.

If I were sitting there with a fever over 100.4 for several days, maybe modern medicine would be worth calling on. But right now, since I haven't taken any meds for this 100.4 spike, it just means my immune system is awake and doing its job. Given that I deal with chronic anemia because they had to surgically remove my pancreas due to cancer, staying home is a much lower risk for me than going to a hospital. I’ve been managing my own mineral levels for eight years now—B6, B12, Vitamin D, C, A, K, iron, fish oil, iodine, you name it. Going to a hospital, sitting in lines, being surrounded by a crowd where 50-60% of people are infected? That is simply not an option for me.

wearytrucker22 said:Look, I follow whatever mandates the government puts out. Masks in stores? Fine, I'll wear one. If they say anyone with a fever has to get tested, then I'll either go get tested or just stop checking my temperature. Period. And as for the healthy people in America, they don't need to be within two feet of me. End of story.

If I were sitting there with a fever over 100.4 for several days, maybe modern medicine would be worth calling on. But right now, since I haven't taken any meds for this 100.4 spike, it just means my immune system is awake and doing its job. Given that I deal with chronic anemia because they had to surgically remove my pancreas due to cancer, staying home is a much lower risk for me than going to a hospital. I’ve been managing my own mineral levels for eight years now—B6, B12, Vitamin D, C, A, K, iron, fish oil, iodine, you name it. Going to a hospital, sitting in lines, being surrounded by a crowd where 50-60% of people are infected? That is simply not an option for me.

Nobody is lecturing you about not wanting to get tested, regardless of your reasons.

The issue is that you should realize how easy it is to be carrying this thing without knowing it, and someone in that position shouldn't be out in public putting everyone else at risk.

Masks and social distancing are just preventative measures. They help slow the spread, and we’d definitely have fewer cases if everyone actually followed the recommendations, wore their masks, and kept their distance. But let's be real: it's not total protection. These masks aren't airtight, and viruses don't just drop dead after traveling six feet. And we all know we’re nowhere near having everyone follow the rules properly, especially in grocery stores and on public transit.

Look, I’m one of those people who tried my best to follow the rules, and I still managed to catch it. Probably from someone like you, who thinks there's nothing wrong with an infected person walking into a bakery for some warm bread—only to catch it from someone just like them, despite my mask and my attempts to keep my distance.

Luckily, I live alone and haven't had to go into work lately, so hopefully, I haven't passed this on to anyone else. That's especially important since I work as a personal assistant to a disabled individual with spinal muscular atrophy, who is constantly in contact with other people facing similar diagnoses.

casualskipper65 said:Nobody is lecturing you about not wanting to get tested, regardless of your reasons.

The issue is that you should realize how easy it is to be carrying this thing without knowing it, and someone in that position shouldn't be out in public putting everyone else at risk.

Masks and social distancing are just preventative measures. They help slow the spread, and we’d definitely have fewer cases if everyone actually followed the recommendations, wore their masks, and kept their distance. But let's be real: it's not total protection. These masks aren't airtight, and viruses don't just drop dead after traveling six feet. And we all know we’re nowhere near having everyone follow the rules properly, especially in grocery stores and on public transit.

Look, I’m one of those people who tried my best to follow the rules, and I still managed to catch it. Probably from someone like you, who thinks there's nothing wrong with an infected person walking into a bakery for some warm bread—only to catch it from someone just like them, despite my mask and my attempts to keep my distance.

Luckily, I live alone and haven't had to go into work lately, so hopefully, I haven't passed this on to anyone else. That's especially important since I work as a personal assistant to a disabled individual with spinal muscular atrophy, who is constantly in contact with other people facing similar diagnoses.

The CDC could have easily mandated that retailers take temperatures like they do in China, Korea, or Japan, and that would have been that.
-They could have made it illegal to enter a store with a fever, required mandatory testing, etc. (then they wouldn't even need to measure).
Like you, I'm living solo right now, being as careful as possible, and I've had my flu shot.
Just now, coming back from the bakery, my temp is 100, actually, but my white blood cell count is fine.

The CDC released brief instructions for people who tested positive for Covid-19 and for those who were close contacts of an infected person.
If you have tested positive for Covid-19:
I don't have a positive Covid-19 test, nor am I anyone's contact. By law and regulation, that means I don't have Covid-19, and I can go wherever I want as long as I follow the guidelines.

casualskipper65 said:Exactly. Better to stay put, because who knows when or where you'll get hit, and whether you'll actually make it to the bathroom in time.☕

But seriously, diarrhea alone isn't really a symptom. A fever, a dry cough, or shortness of breath—those are the red flags. You shouldn't mess around with those.

I clocked a 99°F on Wednesday and immediately figured I was catching something. Decided to play it safe and stay home, then called my doctor, who told me to go grab a rapid test. The low-grade fever hung around through Thursday, but it's gone now. No other symptoms showed up, but the rapid test came back positive on Saturday. I haven't called the doctor back yet to see what the next move is since I completely lost track of the days and missed my window to call today. That's on hold until tomorrow afternoon. Either way, I'm counting myself as quarantined (I haven't left the house since Wednesday, aside from walking a few minutes to the testing site) through Saturday, but I’m planning on staying isolated for a couple extra days just to be safe.

I know two people who tried calling the CDC to get a sick day because they had an upset stomach, and the agency sent them in for testing instead 😁 they ended up having to self-isolate for 2 days because they were flagged as potentially infectious!!!
Meanwhile, I once downed 5 or 6 beers one night and we polished off a massive spread of bacon and sausage, so naturally, I had the runs the next morning.

Megan Thomas5 said:I know two people who tried calling the CDC to get a sick day because they had an upset stomach, and the agency sent them in for testing instead 😁 they ended up having to self-isolate for 2 days because they were flagged as potentially infectious!!!
Meanwhile, I once downed 5 or 6 beers one night and we polished off a massive spread of bacon and sausage, so naturally, I had the runs the next morning.

What kind of spices go into that sausage?

wearytrucker22 said:What kind of spices go into that sausage?

only the good stuff😁 though let's be honest, beer is what usually leads to the morning after disasters😁 any real beer lover knows if you drink too much, you're going to be dealing with some pretty nasty business in the bathroom the next day

So, a coworker just told me the other day that her husband tested positive, and apparently, the doctor told her she has to stay in isolation starting from their last contact while he was quarantined—which goes until December 15th, so that’s basically another 10 days from then on.
That means we're looking at 20 days total (you've got the 10 days the patient is actually contagious plus another 10 days of quarantine).

Basically, if you catch COVID yourself, you get 10 days, but if you aren't sick yet and you're living with someone who is, you're stuck in isolation for 20. 😵

Isolation lasts a MINIMUM of 10 days for those with mild symptoms. To wrap things up after that 10-day mark, symptoms have to subside, and they can't have had a fever for the final three days—and I mean a real fever, not just something suppressed by Tylenol. If her husband still has a fever on day ten, his isolation isn't over. Period. That means he could easily be stuck in isolation for 30 days if necessary.

She always has the option to stay completely separate from her husband to shorten her own isolation period.

I caught COVID myself, and the very first day my symptoms kicked in—fever, exhaustion, the works—my boyfriend and I split into separate rooms. I tested on day four and got the results on day five. The health official told me my isolation was up on day ten because, since I hadn't run a fever in the last three days, I was clear to head out the next day. Only then did they ask about close contacts and my living situation. I explained that I live with my boyfriend and we’ve been in separate rooms since my first symptom appeared, plus he hasn't shown any signs of being sick. Based on that, the official concluded that my boyfriend had also completed his 10-day isolation, since our last close contact was that first morning when I felt ill.

An epidemiologist called me on the eighth day, and then again about six days after I first tested. Luckily, since I live alone and don't have much contact with anyone, I wasn't too worried about it.😁

Are they actually asking for testing on someone currently in quarantine?
My doctor told me not to bother, even if symptoms start popping up. 🤔

Anyone here who went through the hassle of claiming isolation pay from Medicare—assuming you’re pulling in more than $1417 take-home per month—mind doing the math for me? Like, what was the actual daily rate they cut you a check for?

Not sure if this belongs here or somewhere else entirely.

So, Wednesday rolls around... A coworker of mine heads home because his sister—who he lives with—called to say she’s running a fever. She’s a doctor, works right on a COVID ward at the local hospital. That same night, she tests positive. My guy stays home to quarantine. His primary care doc told him to sit tight for ten days after the last contact. I check in with him about five days into his isolation, and he tells me he’s being super careful, staying isolated, and hasn't felt a thing.

Then Friday hits. It’s officially day nine of his isolation, and suddenly he’s got a fever. Tests back positive.

Is it just me, or does this whole story smell a little fishy? Specifically the part where he claims he was actually isolating?

I mean, before that Wednesday when she first mentioned the fever, it’s just the two of them in the house. They live on separate floors, sure, but they still hang out and spend time together.

It doesn't necessarily mean anything. They’ve already pointed out that you could run a fever anywhere from day one to day ten of your quarantine. It’s all over the map—sometimes the illness kicks in early, sometimes it drags its feet for a week, and then there are those people who don't feel a single thing at all, just walking around as asymptomatic cases without a clue.

Zachary Smith44 said:Anyone here who went through the hassle of claiming isolation pay from Medicare—assuming you’re pulling in more than $1417 take-home per month—mind doing the math for me? Like, what was the actual daily rate they cut you a check for?

What does salary even have to do with it? Isolation pay is set at $4,250 a month. Just take that, look at how many business days are in the month, and run the numbers. It’s better to just stay positive, isn't it?

The math part makes sense to me, I guess.

But I’m not really buying this whole thing about catching it right on the day someone gets a fever. My sister’s a doctor, and if she woke up with a temperature, she wouldn't have caught whatever it was just that morning. Like, they even drive to work together. It feels a little sketchy to say he got sick on their very last day hanging out and then she somehow picked it up just a day before that.

I mean, sure, it’s possible. But honestly? Probably not how it actually went down. I dunno.

It’s pretty clear you don't quite grasp 😁

I mean, honestly, he could have caught it on any single day during their interaction, yet the fever didn't even show up until the very tail end of the illness. Look, I'm telling you, this isn't like a standard flu where everything follows a neat little script; with this thing, you might run a fever the moment you're exposed, or maybe ten days down the line, or—and this is the kicker—you might never get a fever at all despite being fully infected.

Andrew Booth29 said:What does salary even have to do with it? Isolation pay is set at $4,250 a month. Just take that, look at how many business days are in the month, and run the numbers. It’s better to just stay positive, isn't it?

I stopped reading after your first sentence. "Math isn't my strong suit?" Look, isolation doesn't cost everyone $1417 a month. Go check the Medicare website. If you're lucky, you might actually get what I'm saying. Though I wouldn't hold my breath.

nimbleranger17 said:It’s pretty clear you don't quite grasp 😁

I mean, honestly, he could have caught it on any single day during their interaction, yet the fever didn't even show up until the very tail end of the illness. Look, I'm telling you, this isn't like a standard flu where everything follows a neat little script; with this thing, you might run a fever the moment you're exposed, or maybe ten days down the line, or—and this is the kicker—you might never get a fever at all despite being fully infected.

Whatever, man. You win. 🙂

Self-isolation is just for anyone pulling in more than $4,250, those $1417
Now you're pivoting to isolation? That's different—that's sick leave, and the employer picks up the tab.

Legally speaking, sick leave starts at a minimum of 75%—though, of course, an employer can choose to be more generous if their own policy dictates it. Usually, during that first month, the cost falls directly on the employer. Once you hit that window, things shift over to the state unemployment office, where the benefit is capped at $4,250. Naturally, a company can always opt to pay out more if they actually care about their employees.
Unless, of course, they’ve gone and changed the rules on us.