rona moved in: ilx0rs with the bug report on their progress

That's the point isn't it, if the pandemic's taught us anything it's that you shouldn't be infecting people with your diseases, whatever they are! All that "come into the office anyway, it's just a cold" bullshit needs to go.

If this pandemic's taught us anything it's that people don't care if they infect other people with their diseases

I wonder how, at this stage with people like this if it's that they're genuinely naive, blinded by their filter bias, just playing stupid or...? I have a colleague who's caught Covid three times, has a customeer-facing job and even had relatives pass away and still won't get vaxed

building that natural immunity one infection at a time, it's arduous work, but he'll get there someday

matt and LJ both OTM

yeah, he must be really glad of that immunity so he can avoid being infected!

Today was my first day of freedom but honestly I feel mildly worse today than I did through my lockdown period - regular brainfog and heart palpitationy stuff. It's fine but also disquieting

Good news in our household. Since it's been five days since my wife tested positive, she tested again (with a rapid at-home test) and is now negative. I've also consistently tested negative (3x) during that time.

She did experience some mild flu-like symptoms for a couple of days, but nothing too bad. The main challenge is that she still has some sporadic pain in her left eye, and now extreme photosensitivity. She's had to keep the lights off and curtains closed, and is occasionally wearing sunglasses and an eyepatch for good measure. She suspects that it's viral conjunctivitis, which I've found has been connected to COVID in some cases. (Although at this point, what hasn't been?) So, even though we're no longer isolating from each other, her activities are still kind of restricted.

On the whole, though, we're relieved.

congrats escaping folks. it will get better.

Congrats, jaymc

I am on my 10th day after first having symptoms, 8th day after testing positive with a home antigen test, and no longer have symptoms, but just tested positive again on a home antigen test. I can't seem to find any other tests for the time being so I don't know what I'm supposed to do - stay inside for the rest of my life?

Is it not the case that tests are likely to be positive a few weeks after infection? Or is that just PCRs?

My wife just read something similar. I was hoping for something definitive before venturing back out.

a teacher friend posted his daily tests and they started positive on the 18th, the day after the end of term, and were negative again on the 27th, the day after boxing day, it was textbook.

(although i guess home tests are harder to come by if you're not a) in england and b) a teacher)

Fauci said yesterday the tests at this point in your condition are picking up trace elements or remnants of the virus.

My family is doing the "not infallible, but it'll have to do" strategy of rapid testing if we meet up (as long as the tests last), and steering clear of each other if we're poorly. I am gradually coming to accept that this means adjusting to my sister's much riskier risk profile (e.g. theatre and restaurant trips, still wearing cotton masks, family members in high school) although they are all as vaxxed as can be.

My problem (similar to the one above) is their extreme need to be sketchy and low-detail if one of them is sick. We can meet on new year's day because whatever's wrong with them is "nothing" and "we're sure it'll be fine" which is maddeningly inspecific to me. There unwillingness to go into detail anything means I have to put myself and my side of the family at risk, and if I ask too many questions I'm "worrying too much" or "overcuatious" or prying into their right to privacy.

Found this chart helpful re tests:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FH3m54oWQAEzHR1?format=jpg&name=medium

my roommate just tested positive, feeling like my decisions didn't matter lol

Ugh. Stay safe Brad!

:( brad

Horrid. Crossed fingers!

A testing center near us has had a 49% positive rate. No more pooled testing possible and is now only testing those with symptoms due to the impact to capacity.

sounds about right

Good luck, Brad.

She suspects that it's viral conjunctivitis, which I've found has been connected to COVID in some cases.

That's interesting -- I had similar eye issues a couple of wks after testing positive.

It's been a month for me now (I had been double-vaxxed, and got sick a couple days before scheduled booster appt). I still don't feel 100%. Aside from smell/taste not having completely returned, I feel, not brain fog exactly, but more just like my energy is off. It's very reminiscent of how I felt hours after first vax shot, or how it feels when you're on the threshold of coming down w a cold bug. Like something is making mischief in my system in a way that's low-key enough such that it doesn't prevent me from performing routine daily tasks, but is just enough of a nuisance to make me feel "off".

I half-convinced myself the other day that I had Guillain-Barré syndrome, but it was probably just hypochondria-induced anxiety. (laughs nervously...)

I'll add that the general wackness of life for seemingly everyone on earth in dec 2021 is probably a contributing factor to the general blahs/malaise feeling. Sick building syndrome, except the building is like, our whole planet/society, maaaaaaan...

I just... cannot believe Matt's friend would turn up for a home stay while she had symptoms, regardless of what they were. Sorry I'm late to register my disbelief—I was still thinking about it. Matt, I hope you and yr partner and everyone in the thread are doing alright. Omicron feels inescapable, short of living in a bubble. Fuck COVID.

Haha you don't know her! Total space cadet, existing in a bubble where actions and their consequences are only tenuously linked. Much of the blame lies with us for not realising she'd be capable of such stupidity I suppose, and for not booting her out into the cold while we still had the chance.

A week on and my wife is pretty much fine, other than minor post-cold congestion etc. I'm still kind of fatigued, although the cold symptoms are also mostly history. My hope is that I'll be back to something resembling normality in a week or so. Fingers crossed. Others, I know, have it far worse so I'm not complaining too much.

Anyway good luck to all sufferers in this thread and elsewhere. Here's hoping the Omicron after-effects are as mild as the infection largely is, and that the next mutation continues along the same lines!

Ahh, I know the type. It's not a great type... Yeah, it was another 8-9 days on and off again in my case, before I felt like I kicked the dregs. At least I think they're kicked. The past couple days have been good.

I hope the medical science advances beyond any upcoming mutations, and there's effective treatment and inoculation technology for whatever the hell might be coming up this year.

My 9 year old caught it somehow, despite masks and double vaxxing. My 12 yo tested negative ( I was lucky to find some rapid tests at a drug store on Friday). He has mild cold symptoms but has a ton of energy as usual. Mom and I went for testing this morning.

Have you contact traced with all your bartenders yet

After my week of not leaving the house, seeing family and feeling like shit, my girlfriend (who tested negative before she left to see family for Christmas, during and since returning) now has it. So I guess I have to self isolate and look after her. It was nice having two days back outside I guess. I’m sure the dog’ll get it next.

Arrrgh that's so crap. Sorry to hear that a hoy hoy.

On a brighter note, today was the first day I didn't feel mentally and physically drained. I even managed a leisurely 7.5km run, which went surprisingly easily considering how tight my lungs felt only two days ago

I don't have it, but my luck may run out.

one of my best friends got it, and I had close contact with them Saturday (they are the same person who I mentioned whose father got beat up and sent to the hospital). had that not happened I probably wouldn't have seen her that day. Oi. she probably got it through her vent, as one of the roommates in the unit next door had it, and they share a vent. these scenarios just make things impossible. she avoided going in that house but because it's airborne, probably came thru the vent.

as a result, I'm now masking in the house and trying to stay in my room, have a HEPA air purifier running in the living room. but I have to help mom with dad so there's only so far I can go with this. Bro gets two days of FMLA per month to help, we might have to have him use them.

I have tested negative twice, but it's far too early to be in the clear.

as a result, now after making rent last month by skin of teeth, the friend gets to be out of work for 5-10 days. i am helping them out with some tide over money simply because I have the means and want to (they didn't ask, I offered). but how many other people are gonna be ass-out being out of work that long? this country is fucked.

part of me really just wants to get it myself and beat it so I don't have to worry about it for a little while, but it's very hard for me to get it without my folks to. both are boosted, but boy will that be a hell week if we all get it.

the play I'm in opens in a few weeks. obviously I'm not going to rehearsal until I'm sure whether I'm in the clear or not. I have a feeling this thing gets shuttered as other people are gonna have similar issues soon. It's everywhere in FL. I don't even care tbh because I've been convinced this production isn't gonna actually go up. we began rehearsing in much quieter times back in November.

She suspects that it's viral conjunctivitis, which I've found has been connected to COVID in some cases.

yep, this has been spotted in many Omicron cases, along with other not-previously usual symptoms, all of which my friend had and which she used to accurately surmise she had it before testing positive:

*back pain
*change in voice (not like loss of voice like laryngitis so much as the timbre changes - hers was unrecognizable yesterday)

those of you that caught it and were trying to prevent family members from catching it, what precautions did you take to try and avoid spreading? I've mostly quarantined to my room until I know I'm inthe clear, wearing an N95, and running air purifiers in multiple rooms.

but sadly mom can't move dad on her own so I have to make minimal contact, which might obliterate all of my efforts (if I'm positive).

eating also difficult as we have only one room to eat in.

getting an AirBNB/hotel out of the question cos ethically I can't justify infecting strangers and people have infected each other across the hall.

however, my close friend's daughter just had the Cron and nobody else in the family got it and they used isolation methods like I'm doing.

Inevitably, woke up this morning to one of my kids saying she thinks she has a cold ... about 8 hours after we got a late night notice that one of the friends she was with on Saturday just tested positive yesterday. Now, she and her friend both took tests before Saturday, and were both negative, so it's possible her friend wasn't exposed or contagious just yet. It's also possible, though, my kid caught it somewhere else. Or hell, it's possible she has a cold. She brushed her teeth getting ready, so we have to wait a few before we can give her a home test. Fingers crossed, it'd be a bummer to miss a bunch of school. Though I have a feeling these schools being open are a temporary thing.

Not direct personal experience (yet) Neaderthal and this is purely anecdotal, as all kinds of factors and a massive degree of chance play in of course, but, like you say about your friends, a number of couples we know have had one partner test positive and the other avoid it while still living together in small one bedroom flats by maintaining some degree of isolation within the home and wearing masks (most likely just cotton ones). This is in current omicron times and I think all were at least double jabbed.

My mum and partner also continued living with my step-brother who was covid positive and managed to avoid it by him confining upstairs for the most part (they have a slightly bigger house luckily, so could easily stay on different floors, except for when using the kitchen) and opening windows when they were together.

All the best to you and your parents.

I managed to avoid it despite not being able to isolate from my other half (with whom I shared a bed throughout) or 7-year-old son. Our flat is so small it just wasn't feasible to isolate from each other. I was twice-jabbed at the time (thrice now).

And ... daughter is positive. Let the fun begin.

Sorry Josh.

Not as sorry as she is, lol. Right before the booster for her age group, too, though I guess this is certainly one way to get boosted.

Called the school's covid line and I guess today marks Day 0 of a mandatory 10-day stay-at-home quarantine, even if she tests negative on a near-future PCR test. FWIW they told me to be patient when it comes to getting information about remote learning because they've been overwhelmed with phone calls and emails about positive tests. When I said I was surprised the school is even open she said she was, too.

FWIW, while I don't know how avoidable this was, imo it was definitely *more* avoidable, based on her activity, but that can't be quantified, and at this rate not sure what degree of caution would even be effective.

every one of us does something that falls short of being 100% cautious at all times. It doesn't make sense to dwell on potential lapses too much as Omicron is one of the most infectious viruses ever seen, and most likely the majority of us will get it or something similar before this is all over.

sorry to hear about your daughter, Josh. hoping it's a mild case.

my friend with it says she already feels better, and the degradation to her voice is already improving.

I'm negative again. I've been wearing KN95s/N95s in the house (even while I slept - I'm that paranoid) and running HEPA filters. but I've been near my dad cos mom can't lift him alone, but always masked.

fingers crossed I have an amazing immune system!

Sorry, Josh, but every adolescent/early adult case I know of can boast of asymptomatic or even milder symptoms than the rest of us.

Thanks everyone. Yeah, she's got a stuffy nose, sore throat and very low fever, so that's not too bad. She's more upset at having the miss school (and some other stuff). We're trying to figure out when the rest of us should burn through a test, given no one else has any symptoms yet. Though we kind of assume that should we suddenly develop suspicious symptoms that it is likely covid, so maybe it makes more sense to do it sooner rather than later.

So my 6 year old got it just before Christmas, most likely from school. We were kind of dumb about it since just before that, I was sick and got tested and that was negative so we just assumed she caught my cold and so we made minimal effort to isolate from each other. We did a test for my daughter at home that came up positive on the 23rd and then got her PCR tested for which we also got a positive result on the 24th. On the 25th my son and wife both start getting a runny nose so they get PCR tested on the the 26th (at this point we just assume we all have it). I decide to also book an appointment for a PCR test for myself and my other 8 year old daughter even though we don't have any symptoms, but can't get an appointment before the 29th. We get the result for our my son pretty quickly: positive. We wait a while for my wife's result and she eventually does a rapid test at home which comes out positive (she is the most sick among all of us, though nothing worse than a typical cold). She finally gets her PCR result a week later, which is negative, at this point she does another rapid test which is positive again. We figure at this point that she probably got her PCR test too soon. Later that same day me and my 8 year old daughter get our results: negative. This morning my wife went and got a PCR test again, we assume it is going to be positive.

We figure we probably had a regular cold (the one I had originally a week before this all started) and COVID going around our family at the same time, which made it difficult to figure where our symptoms were coming from and when to get tested.

Anyway, what a fun two weeks, assuming nobody gets sick in the next couple of days we should be ok to get out of the house sometime near the end of the week, though I will make sure to have minimal contact with anyone for a while after that.

Neanderthal i understand the need for caution around your dad but what on earth would masking as you sleep accomplish?? Unless the ghosts that live under your bed have COVID?

my friend probably got it from a shared vent, and some folk in hotels have infected people in rooms across the hall.

it's probably more than I need to do but if I don't do it and he gets it i'll keep asking myself "should I have masked in my room"

i'm going to go out on a limb and say your friend doesn't have any more idea how she got it than i did, either time i got it. everybody has their own thresholds of comfortableness of course but i have literally never heard of anyone masking while they sleep and i worry that you're driving yourself crazy with activities that make no difference. you are going to end up wrapped in plastic!

We were kind of dumb about it since just before that, I was sick and got tested and that was negative so we just assumed she caught my cold and so we made minimal effort to isolate from each other.

this sounds sensible, not dumb. you're right it's pretty hard to know what's going on. you can only go by what the tests show. if you guys are vaccinated and not 'eating, meeting and greeting' around vulnerable people the overwhelming likelihood is that everything will be fine.