Quarantine Life

Will I get an email notification about a positive test result (or is there some other way people get notified)? I’m not talking about a household member here—it’s actually a contact from work.

I guess it all depends on whether the person who tested positive actually flagged me as a close contact.

Is there any way to check or find this out somewhere, like through a government portal or something similar?

They go through the trouble of requesting all your contact information, only to follow up by sending some automated email notification regarding how long you’re supposed to be in quarantine.

It’s honestly a total joke how inconsistent this whole thing is. I didn't get a single peep from anyone after my test came back positive, meanwhile, this coworker of mine—who started feeling crappy the exact same day I did and went through the same whole routine—got a call the very next day. Then there was this other lady at work who developed symptoms and tested positive, and they didn't bother calling her either. To top it all off, another guy on the team fell ill, and suddenly they’re blowing up his phone the second day to track down his contacts. It’s absolutely mental, just complete chaos.

Hey,
I have a question. Can an employer actually force me into quarantine? Here’s the deal: a coworker I was in contact with—we were wearing masks and stayed more than six feet apart—just tested positive. She isn't even showing any symptoms. Now, management is calling me up, telling me I need to go into isolation and contact my doctor to get put on medical leave. The weird part is they only called me and one other girl. Neither of us has symptoms. If we're being honest, the whole shift of about 20 people should probably be dealing with this. Plus, the health department didn't even call her, so she wasn't even added to the official contact tracing list. Does an employer really have the right to play judge and jury regarding isolation? It feels like they're just trying to cut costs. We all know Medicare covers 100% of the pay during isolation, so it’s a massive incentive for them to keep people off the payroll.

Nathan White9 said:Hey,
I have a question. Can an employer actually force me into quarantine? Here’s the deal: a coworker I was in contact with—we were wearing masks and stayed more than six feet apart—just tested positive. She isn't even showing any symptoms. Now, management is calling me up, telling me I need to go into isolation and contact my doctor to get put on medical leave. The weird part is they only called me and one other girl. Neither of us has symptoms. If we're being honest, the whole shift of about 20 people should probably be dealing with this. Plus, the health department didn't even call her, so she wasn't even added to the official contact tracing list. Does an employer really have the right to play judge and jury regarding isolation? It feels like they're just trying to cut costs. We all know Medicare covers 100% of the pay during isolation, so it’s a massive incentive for them to keep people off the payroll.

An employer can't simply mandate your isolation. However, if you have reason to believe you've been exposed to someone who tested positive, it is your responsibility to contact your doctor and follow their specific instructions.

This whole circus was designed just to drive people insane. It happened to me at a CVS (back in the early days of the pandemic, maybe even before) when I went in to pick something up. The clerk asks for my ID—or maybe it was my Medicare card, I honestly can't remember what she wanted—and I’m just standing there wondering why on earth she needs it. Then she tells me she has to check if I’m under quarantine. I just stared at the poor woman, completely baffled. Like, does she actually realize what she's doing? She's checking to see if someone is isolating just so she can call the cops if they aren't. It's basically bioterrorism 😁.
I look at her and think, how can someone be this reckless? She doesn't seem to grasp that she's snitching. Honestly, people who blindly follow every single mandate don't realize the whole thing was engineered to make us turn on each other and tear each other apart. 🙂

Nathan White9 said:Hey,
I have a question. Can an employer actually force me into quarantine? Here’s the deal: a coworker I was in contact with—we were wearing masks and stayed more than six feet apart—just tested positive. She isn't even showing any symptoms. Now, management is calling me up, telling me I need to go into isolation and contact my doctor to get put on medical leave. The weird part is they only called me and one other girl. Neither of us has symptoms. If we're being honest, the whole shift of about 20 people should probably be dealing with this. Plus, the health department didn't even call her, so she wasn't even added to the official contact tracing list. Does an employer really have the right to play judge and jury regarding isolation? It feels like they're just trying to cut costs. We all know Medicare covers 100% of the pay during isolation, so it’s a massive incentive for them to keep people off the payroll.

Actually, they can! They did the exact same thing to me last year—even though I hadn't even been near anyone who was sick, but hey, it was just a preventative measure, I guess. It’s mostly just an internal arrangement with your boss at that point; you could even work it out so they let you use vacation days, or maybe they'll just give you paid time off on their own dime if they're feeling generous.
As for whether you should call the health department yourself to get officially placed in isolation... well, I suppose that's totally up to you!

Ronald Sanchez14 said:This whole circus was designed just to drive people insane. It happened to me at a CVS (back in the early days of the pandemic, maybe even before) when I went in to pick something up. The clerk asks for my ID—or maybe it was my Medicare card, I honestly can't remember what she wanted—and I’m just standing there wondering why on earth she needs it. Then she tells me she has to check if I’m under quarantine. I just stared at the poor woman, completely baffled. Like, does she actually realize what she's doing? She's checking to see if someone is isolating just so she can call the cops if they aren't. It's basically bioterrorism 😁.
I look at her and think, how can someone be this reckless? She doesn't seem to grasp that she's snitching. Honestly, people who blindly follow every single mandate don't realize the whole thing was engineered to make us turn on each other and tear each other apart. 🙂

It really was pure madness at first! People were being sent into isolation just because they had been in contact with someone who flew in from Austria or Germany, even if that person wasn't even sick...
Anyway, I really hope you told that person they don't actually have the authority to ask those kinds of questions. You only need to show your insurance or ID when you're picking up prescription meds—if you're just buying something off the shelf, it should just be cash or card, 😉right?

They were asking for an ID just to buy something at the pharmacy. Honestly, what are you supposed to do—just turn around and walk out? You can't exactly grab the pharmacist by the throat over it.
I went to three different pharmacies looking for a thermometer and ended up just buying one at DM instead—all because I wasn't in the mood to flash my ID.

stormycanyon4 said:They were asking for an ID just to buy something at the pharmacy. Honestly, what are you supposed to do—just turn around and walk out? You can't exactly grab the pharmacist by the throat over it.
I went to three different pharmacies looking for a thermometer and ended up just buying one at DM instead—all because I wasn't in the mood to flash my ID.

Seriously? I haven't dealt with that at all—I picked up that Andol nasal spray without any issues whatsoever. And that was back in the third or fourth month of last year, too.

Seriously though. Yeah, that was right at the start—around March, I think—right when they first issued those mandates. Later on, I actually found a pharmacy that wasn't really following the rules that strictly. Eventually, they just gave up on enforcing it altogether.
I don't know, do you remember those news stories? Like, how some guy in quarantine would walk straight into a pharmacy to pick up some Advil or something. 🙂

stormycanyon4 said:Seriously though. Yeah, that was right at the start—around March, I think—right when they first issued those mandates. Later on, I actually found a pharmacy that wasn't really following the rules that strictly. Eventually, they just gave up on enforcing it altogether.
I don't know, do you remember those news stories? Like, how some guy in quarantine would walk straight into a pharmacy to pick up some Advil or something. 🙂

Well, I guess self-isolation doesn't actually mean much on its own. It’s not like you automatically get infected just because you're stuck at home.
I'm not really sure what the situation is like now—whether they're still being super strict and handing out fines for stuff like bringing fertilizer onto a field or whatever. If they haven't already, maybe they could loosen up a bit on that?

Of course they hand out fines. A buddy of mine just got slapped with an $8,000 penalty—unbelievable. He was over in Canada for a funeral and when he got back, they slapped him with a 10-day quarantine. The guy was naive enough to think ten days meant a full 240 hours. Once that time passed, he headed out to grab some essentials, got pulled over by a state trooper, and—bam! Apparently, he was supposed to be locked down until midnight, not noon, according to their little logic. So there's your fine.

stormycanyon4 said:Of course they hand out fines. A buddy of mine just got slapped with an $8,000 penalty—unbelievable. He was over in Canada for a funeral and when he got back, they slapped him with a 10-day quarantine. The guy was naive enough to think ten days meant a full 240 hours. Once that time passed, he headed out to grab some essentials, got pulled over by a state trooper, and—bam! Apparently, he was supposed to be locked down until midnight, not noon, according to their little logic. So there's your fine.

It honestly feels like they just dreamed up this whole new violation just to rake in some cash... it totally defies common sense. And besides, was that guy even infected in the first place?

Nah. He was just in Canada—that’s enough to trigger a mandatory quarantine since he didn't bother with a PCR test.

stormycanyon4 said:Nah. He was just in Canada—that’s enough to trigger a mandatory quarantine since he didn't bother with a PCR test.

Because, I guess, according to their logic, you can only catch the virus if you're in Canada... apparently our leaders aren't susceptible!

He’s clearly not on the list here. As far as I know, self-isolation is also mandatory for anyone in America who was in close contact with an infected person.

Alexander Morgan33 said:He’s clearly not on the list here. As far as I know, self-isolation is also mandatory for anyone in America who was in close contact with an infected person.

That was actually sarcasm! Of course he's here—he's everywhere, really—which is exactly why I feel like self-isolation has kind of lost its main point. I mean, think about it: how many people are stuck in isolation when they aren't even sick, versus how many people are out and about spreading things because they found some way to dodge the rules?
I honestly think we could probably start looking into phasing out that measure entirely.

Lawrence Reed3 said:I'm pretty sure they don't do the contact tracing thing much anymore.
A friend of mine caught COVID about a month ago—his whole household did too, actually. I was hanging out with him right on the day he got his positive result, but nobody ever asked me about who else he’d been around. The only people who stayed home were his family since they live under the same roof, so that goes without saying, I guess.
Also, my brother's girlfriend lives with him and she caught it at school, but they just told her to isolate and didn't even bother asking who she lives with.

Wait, what do you mean they aren't looking?
If someone tests positive, the protocol is clear: per the CDC guidelines, they are supposed to list everyone they've been in contact with starting from when symptoms appeared and going back two days. Then, the officials tell them to provide the phone numbers and Social Security numbers of those contacts—and then actually *task* the patient with notifying those people about their isolation period (which, frankly, feels like we're putting all the work on the patient, but hey... here we are...).

Jesse Flores842 said:Wait, what do you mean they aren't looking?
If someone tests positive, the protocol is clear: per the CDC guidelines, they are supposed to list everyone they've been in contact with starting from when symptoms appeared and going back two days. Then, the officials tell them to provide the phone numbers and Social Security numbers of those contacts—and then actually *task* the patient with notifying those people about their isolation period (which, frankly, feels like we're putting all the work on the patient, but hey... here we are...).

I guess at the end of the day, it all really just comes down to how much that person is willing to cooperate and how much they decide to use their own common sense...