Quarantine Life

Honestly, showing up to the testing center by car is just peak stupidity... I know a few folks who don't even own a vehicle, and they usually end up trekking there on foot, pedaling a bike, or just grabbing an Uber... I mean, seriously, if you don't have a car, how else are you supposed to get to the testing site? It’s common sense, really.

Keith Barrett2 said:What’s the amount for people on minimum wage, for example?

I was actually spiraling about this the other day—if this applies to everyone $1417, wouldn't it actually make more sense for some people to just stay home in isolation rather than even bothering to show up to work?😁

That bill looks great.
Unfortunately, once you hit more than $1417 different benefits, that total starts to drop... basically, there's a cap on how much cash you can pull from a month of sick leave.
If you're making a lower salary, they shave stuff off there too, probably like 15 percent or something. I'm not 100% sure on the exact math though.

wanderingbadger77 said:That bill looks great.
Unfortunately, once you hit more than $1417 different benefits, that total starts to drop... basically, there's a cap on how much cash you can pull from a month of sick leave.
If you're making a lower salary, they shave stuff off there too, probably like 15 percent or something. I'm not 100% sure on the exact math though.

For anyone making less than $1417, staying home voluntarily is actually more profitable than testing positive and being forced into quarantine. It isn't just about being healthy; they actually pocket their full $1333 every single month even if they only clocked 10 out of 22 workdays.

Taking sick leave is a losing game for them because once that $4,000 hits the table, the employer claws back 15 or 25% depending on what the contract stipulates.

For everyone earning north of $1833, it’s arguably "better" to catch the virus (assuming you survive, of course) than to sit around in self-isolation just to protect your paycheck.

Alexander Morgan33 said:Because everyone just happens to have a car?

I don't. When I started showing symptoms and called my doctor, the nurse scheduled me and told me when to head over to the Democratic Party clinic in a Small town in the US, right near Downtown. When I asked how I was supposed to get there without a vehicle, she basically told me to call a cab, wear a mask, and sit in the back behind the driver to get my testing done. Apparently, that's perfectly acceptable since it's coming directly from the person sending you to the test.

In the end, I took a cab to a friend's place Downtown, grabbed his car to drive out to the Small town in the US, then returned his car and walked home. Honestly, wearing a mask in the open air felt like a much smaller threat to passersby than being trapped in a taxi with a driver for nearly an hour.

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Of course they don't.
Quincy:

I don't have one. Once I started feeling sick, I called my doctor, and the nurse set up an appointment for me to head down to the local clinic in a small town in the US to get tested. When I asked how I was supposed to get there without a car, she just told me to call a taxi—wear a mask and sit in the back seat behind the driver. If that's what they tell you to do when you're being sent in for testing, who am I to argue?

I guess so. But at the end of the day, it’s just a huge headache for Uber drivers. I was just sharing my take, not saying how things ought to be.
I know someone who caught something... honestly, I have no clue where it came from, but there's a pretty good chance he picked it up from a customer.

Quincy:

Ended up grabbing a cab to a buddy's place downtown, swiped his car to get back to my small town, then just walked the rest of the way home. Honestly? I think wearing a mask in public made me way less intimidating than sitting in a taxi with a driver for nearly an hour.

For sure, you probably did the best you could with what you had at the time.
Sometimes you just don't have a choice in the matter.
I mean... if you were already Downtown and could have easily walked home from your buddy—who was also Downtown—why didn't you just walk over to him?
It's good you're cutting back on those Ubers... but does it really take you an hour to get from Downtown to a small town in the US? (Just asking, totally unrelated to what we're talking about.)

Keith Barrett2 said:What’s the amount for people on minimum wage, for example?

I was actually spiraling about this the other day—if this applies to everyone $1417, wouldn't it actually make more sense for some people to just stay home in isolation rather than even bothering to show up to work?😁

Not sure what the exact minimum is, but if you're pulling in less than $4,250, you get your full salary covered. No more, no less. Simple enough, right?

nimbleranger17 said:Honestly, showing up to the testing center by car is just peak stupidity... I know a few folks who don't even own a vehicle, and they usually end up trekking there on foot, pedaling a bike, or just grabbing an Uber... I mean, seriously, if you don't have a car, how else are you supposed to get to the testing site? It’s common sense, really.

I mean, say you just drive a housemate or someone you actually hang out with—maybe a buddy who’s finally moved on from some rough patch...
Walking or biking works fine, maybe a quick Uber if needed, but honestly, what else is there?

What would be a fair salary for someone who spent 10 days in isolation and then worked 15 business days earning more than $1.75?

So, my take is... they probably calculate that $4,250 over the ten days. If there are, say, 25 working days in a month, you just divide $4,250 by 25, which works out to $170 a day. So for those ten days of quarantine, that's $567.
Then for the rest of the month, you get your standard paycheck. Let’s say someone makes $2000; divided by 25 working days, that’s $240 a day, so for the remaining 15 days, it's $3,600 total.
Total pay -> $1,700 + $3,600 = $5,300
If the salary is higher, obviously the difference is going to be bigger.

I'm not saying this is 100% certain, just how I read it. Maybe those who actually had to quarantine can weigh in and let us know if I've got this right?

Thanks 👍

Rachel Jones8 said:Of course they don't.
Quincy:

I don't have one. Once I started feeling sick, I called my doctor, and the nurse set up an appointment for me to head down to the local clinic in a small town in the US to get tested. When I asked how I was supposed to get there without a car, she just told me to call a taxi—wear a mask and sit in the back seat behind the driver. If that's what they tell you to do when you're being sent in for testing, who am I to argue?

I guess so. But at the end of the day, it’s just a huge headache for Uber drivers. I was just sharing my take, not saying how things ought to be.
I know someone who caught something... honestly, I have no clue where it came from, but there's a pretty good chance he picked it up from a customer.

Quincy:

Ended up grabbing a cab to a buddy's place downtown, swiped his car to get back to my small town, then just walked the rest of the way home. Honestly? I think wearing a mask in public made me way less intimidating than sitting in a taxi with a driver for nearly an hour.

For sure, you probably did the best you could with what you had at the time.
Sometimes you just don't have a choice in the matter.
I mean... if you were already Downtown and could have easily walked home from your buddy—who was also Downtown—why didn't you just walk over to him?
It's good you're cutting back on those Ubers... but does it really take you an hour to get from Downtown to a small town in the US? (Just asking, totally unrelated to what we're talking about.)

Not sure what the exact minimum is, but if you're pulling in less than $4,250, you get your full salary covered. No more, no less. Simple enough, right?

I mean, say you just drive a housemate or someone you actually hang out with—maybe a buddy who’s finally moved on from some rough patch...
Walking or biking works fine, maybe a quick Uber if needed, but honestly, what else is there?

True, you didn't say it was forbidden, but you did write that it shouldn't be done any other way than by car. So I just wrote what I was told, just so nobody would think it's actually prohibited.

Quincy:

Fair enough. You probably did the best you could in that moment. Sometimes people just don't have a choice. Though... if you were downtown and could have walked away from your friend (who was also downtown), why didn't you just walk to his place?

Because I'm sick and I don't feel well? They told me I could take a taxi. By the time I returned the car, I felt well enough to walk that stretch, and if I couldn't make it, I figured I'd just call another taxi.

Quincy:

It's good you cut down on the taxi rides... but would it really take you an hour to get from downtown to Saguache? (just asking, unrelated to the main issue)

From home to the clinic is fifteen minutes, waiting in line is ten, and the ride back is fifteen. There. It’s forty minutes, not sixty.🙄

Rachel Jones8 said:Of course they don't.
Quincy:

I don't have one. Once I started feeling sick, I called my doctor, and the nurse set up an appointment for me to head down to the local clinic in a small town in the US to get tested. When I asked how I was supposed to get there without a car, she just told me to call a taxi—wear a mask and sit in the back seat behind the driver. If that's what they tell you to do when you're being sent in for testing, who am I to argue?

I guess so. But at the end of the day, it’s just a huge headache for Uber drivers. I was just sharing my take, not saying how things ought to be.
I know someone who caught something... honestly, I have no clue where it came from, but there's a pretty good chance he picked it up from a customer.

Quincy:

Ended up grabbing a cab to a buddy's place downtown, swiped his car to get back to my small town, then just walked the rest of the way home. Honestly? I think wearing a mask in public made me way less intimidating than sitting in a taxi with a driver for nearly an hour.

For sure, you probably did the best you could with what you had at the time.
Sometimes you just don't have a choice in the matter.
I mean... if you were already Downtown and could have easily walked home from your buddy—who was also Downtown—why didn't you just walk over to him?
It's good you're cutting back on those Ubers... but does it really take you an hour to get from Downtown to a small town in the US? (Just asking, totally unrelated to what we're talking about.)

Not sure what the exact minimum is, but if you're pulling in less than $4,250, you get your full salary covered. No more, no less. Simple enough, right?

I mean, say you just drive a housemate or someone you actually hang out with—maybe a buddy who’s finally moved on from some rough patch...
Walking or biking works fine, maybe a quick Uber if needed, but honestly, what else is there?

I know several people who don't own a car, and their families don't either; it's not a lifestyle choice, it's just that they're struggling financially and simply can't afford one.

So how are they supposed to get to their testing appointments? Are we expected to tell them to just trek 6.2 miles all the way to the clinic? In the middle of a freezing, miserable rainstorm when it's 30 degrees out?

Alexander Morgan33 said:True, you didn't say it was forbidden, but you did write that it shouldn't be done any other way than by car. So I just wrote what I was told, just so nobody would think it's actually prohibited.

Quincy:

Fair enough. You probably did the best you could in that moment. Sometimes people just don't have a choice. Though... if you were downtown and could have walked away from your friend (who was also downtown), why didn't you just walk to his place?

Because I'm sick and I don't feel well? They told me I could take a taxi. By the time I returned the car, I felt well enough to walk that stretch, and if I couldn't make it, I figured I'd just call another taxi.

Quincy:

It's good you cut down on the taxi rides... but would it really take you an hour to get from downtown to Saguache? (just asking, unrelated to the main issue)

From home to the clinic is fifteen minutes, waiting in line is ten, and the ride back is fifteen. There. It’s forty minutes, not sixty.🙄

Gotcha, I see where you're coming from.
Glad we cleared that up so everyone's on the same page.
Quincy:

Since I'm sick and feeling pretty rough? They told me I could take an Uber. By the time I dropped the car off, I felt okay enough to walk that stretch, and if I couldn't make it, I'd just call another ride.

Yeah, makes sense. Sorry if my question came off the wrong way.

Quincy:

It's about fifteen minutes from home to the clinic, ten minutes waiting in line, then another fifteen to get back. So it's 40 minutes total, not an hour.🙄

My bad... I didn't realize you weren't staying in the car but actually going in and out.

nimbleranger17 said:I know several people who don't own a car, and their families don't either; it's not a lifestyle choice, it's just that they're struggling financially and simply can't afford one.

So how are they supposed to get to their testing appointments? Are we expected to tell them to just trek 6.2 miles all the way to the clinic? In the middle of a freezing, miserable rainstorm when it's 30 degrees out?

Hopefully they at least have enough for masks and a ride. Or someone to help them out.

I actually witnessed a situation firsthand once—a woman was stuck in quarantine and started developing some pretty intense symptoms. She reached out to her primary care physician, who promptly wrote her a referral and told her to call the local ambulance service to get transported over for testing...
She spent two agonizing days waiting for an ambulance to show up, then another two days just sitting there waiting on the lab results, all while the contact tracer from the CDC never even bothered to give her a single call. By the time she finally found out she had tested positive, the illness had already run its full course and left her body 😬

I know of a guy who practically spent a month under house arrest. He grabbed coffee with someone who tested positive and was slapped with a 14-day quarantine; then, just two days after returning to work, he had another contact and was forced back into isolation for another 14 days. Neither time did he actually test positive. Once he finally got back to his routine, he mentioned that nobody even bothers mentioning him as a contact anymore... 😬

That’s exactly what worries me too.

Jacob Price95 said:I know of a guy who practically spent a month under house arrest. He grabbed coffee with someone who tested positive and was slapped with a 14-day quarantine; then, just two days after returning to work, he had another contact and was forced back into isolation for another 14 days. Neither time did he actually test positive. Once he finally got back to his routine, he mentioned that nobody even bothers mentioning him as a contact anymore... 😬

Kenneth Nelson26 said:That’s exactly what worries me too.

Everyone living paycheck to paycheck is terrified of this nonsense.😁 How does it even work? Most people I deal with barely know my name, let alone anything else. They have my number, sure. But then what? I just hand over some cash and suddenly I'm off the hook?🤣

Ever since the lockdowns finally wrapped up back in late May, I’ve been playing this paranoid game of "don't be anyone's close contact."
How?
Basically, if you're within a few feet of someone outside or maybe six feet indoors for more than 15 minutes, boom—you're a contact.

So yeah, that means I haven't been hitting up local coffee shops, grabbing bites at restaurants, or even hanging out at people's houses or any other cramped indoor spots. Honestly, I just can't risk it. I can't afford to end up stuck in mandatory isolation just because I wanted a latte or a quick hangout, especially not while living off whatever meager government assistance they hand out. It's just not worth the headache.

I've been sticking to seeing my buddies outdoors, mostly just walking around... and let me tell you why. 😉

So, we’ve been stuck in this exact same loop for seven months now, every single day without fail?

nimbleranger17 said:I know several people who don't own a car, and their families don't either; it's not a lifestyle choice, it's just that they're struggling financially and simply can't afford one.

So how are they supposed to get to their testing appointments? Are we expected to tell them to just trek 6.2 miles all the way to the clinic? In the middle of a freezing, miserable rainstorm when it's 30 degrees out?

I heard a rumor that some companies are actually sending out taxis with plexiglass dividers if you mention you're heading in for testing. I'm not sure which specific company, though.

Found this online.
Haven't seen it in person though.

I’ve been going to the AMC for three months now, and honestly, it’s just become a sea of plexiglass shields. Last time I actually sat down to watch something, the driver—an older guy, probably well into his sixties—didn't even bother wearing a mask.

Is the Plexiglas covering the whole surface? If it is, he doesn't even need a mask.

Btw, why did you say:

nimbleranger17 said:I know several people who don't own a car, and their families don't either; it's not a lifestyle choice, it's just that they're struggling financially and simply can't afford one.

So how are they supposed to get to their testing appointments? Are we expected to tell them to just trek 6.2 miles all the way to the clinic? In the middle of a freezing, miserable rainstorm when it's 30 degrees out?

You could've mentioned that there are taxis with partitions available.