Opinion | After a Backyard Dinner, Coronavirus Chaos Ensues

Photo of author

By admin

But not just theirs. My babysitter Alicia’s mother, who also has diabetes, works as an assistant for a close friend of ours in her 80s. That friend lives with a partner who is in her 60s. They are all now quarantining themselves, as are a smattering of other people with whom they have been in close contact. Alicia and her mother immediately went to get tested, as did Antonia’s family, but results wouldn’t come back for five to seven days. But because symptoms typically appear within four to five days of exposure, we opted not to get tested because of the delays in getting results.

At the same time, my friend Antonia, doing the right thing, told her son’s day care about his potential exposure, and he was promptly barred from returning to day care for 14 days or until he got a negative test result. “I’m so sorry,” I texted weakly, “2020 is the worst.”

The next day brought more confusion. First, S. took a second test, this time one that provides a rapid result, and it came up negative. Perhaps optimistically, she texted the group on Wednesday and said that based on the negative tests of her family and the opinion of her doctor, it was very possible that the first test was a false positive.

Then our 8-month-old daughter came down with a fever and some diarrhea. These are the symptoms of most childhood illnesses. They are also symptoms of Covid-19. It seemed impossible to imagine that she had the disease — she had gotten sick with the rest of our family in March — but we were not able to get tested then, and she had not had an antibody test as my husband and I had later, though we assumed she had it because we did.

So again, we were back to circular conversations about potential odds of infection. My parents had been hugging and kissing her for the past four days, as had our babysitters and, by extension, everyone they came in contact with. My volley of text messages started again.

In the chaos of 2020 America, we are left to seek out wisdom wherever we can. And with conflicting messages — the president saying one thing and most public health experts saying something quite different — we have been left to follow our own internal compasses.

Alicia got tested and stayed home. Tami, my other babysitter, didn’t feel the need for a test; the risk of exposure seemed small to her. My physician father thought that if he had been exposed, well, nothing could change that. Our pediatrician sighed empathically as I told the rambling story and advised me to focus on treating my daughter. Without fast, accurate testing, she said, she was being forced to give advice blindfolded, with her hands tied behind her back.

Source link

Leave a Comment