You are now free to move about the county
After my talk with the contact tracer on Monday, and given that I was 14 days into my illness with no fever, no new symptoms, and old symptoms improving, she told me I would be getting a health survey emailed to me on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, would come a follow-up survey that would release me from quarantine.
I called my boss on Tuesday to let him know the situation. I'd also been emailed on Monday night a letter excusing me from work or school. He had me forward that to him so he could look it over.
I filled out the survey Tuesday morning. It asked what your highest temperature was in the past 24 hours; I hurried and took it and got 98.3F. There was also a box to check if you did not have a thermometer. You also got asked about current symptoms, including a box for "other" that you had to elaborate on. I have a slight cough plus congestion; I had to check the "other" box for that. I mean, I sound like I have a bit of a cold. However, I don't have a runny nose, which was one of the possible symptoms--there were at least a dozen to choose.
Then came the question, have you left the house in the past 24 hours? Well...yes, yes I did. I came into contact with one person at the dealership; there were others, but I stayed away from them and nobody else spoke with me. Masks were worn the whole time. We were in a large room that does have doors that open to the outside. And, I was two weeks out from the onset of symptoms, and I'd figured I would test negative and get to go to work the next day. I really wanted to take my car in since it had been a year since its last oil change. My poor baby needed it. I wasn't able to put all that into the survey, but I made sure to note when the onset of my symptoms were, when my first test had been, and I think I mentioned that this survey was for a second test.
That last bit flagged me, naturally, and I soon got a phone call from a contact tracer. I'm not sure if it was the same lady or not--she sounded pretty similar, but I hadn't noted her name, and she referred to someone else having contacted me before. I got a bit of a scolding for going out while still under quarantine, but given the situation, this tracer updated the dates in my file to reflect my first positive test, since that's really the date to be concerned with. I think I was then told about the release survey for Wednesday, and that I could request a letter for work.
I took my temperature preemptively before taking today's survey: 97.7F. Interesting, given that I'd had oatmeal for breakfast. However, this survey was different and really was more of a follow-up of the first survey, like, was it easy to use? That sort of thing. There was also a button to click if I needed a letter showing it was okay to return to work, so I got that pretty quickly. I did the survey before my workday would have started, and putzed around online for a bit, then checked my email around 10:30 to see, look, I have the letter. I called my boss, who said go ahead and forward me the letter, and let me think on it. I had already told him, I could come back to work on Thursday; I can wait until next week if you'd prefer. He wanted to talk to a few people, like his doctor and his wife, who has knowledge of state statutes and things, and he also wanted to ask YC if she was comfortable working with me. I was joking with mom afterward to say, he's going to check with my coworkers to see if they vote me back on the island. I understand; DW would prefer me to stay away, I'm sure. But at least I can go back to work, and I'm feeling okay enough to do so, so it's in his corner now.
But...I'm free! The IDPH has cleared me to leave the house; I have a letter to prove it. And, they spelled my name correctly on it, too. To celebrate, dad and I went grocery shopping. :P I haven't gone since my birthday. Dad did go last week or so, maybe? But it feels like we haven't full-on shopped in a while, probably in a month. I also had checks to go to the bank, since I wasn't able to go the past few weekends and that's when it's easiest for me to go. I got to see the senior teller, who's been there forever, and she wished me a Merry Christmas, so that was nice. When we got to the store, we saw several cranes in one of the grassy areas, so I talked dad into walking over to take some pictures. I was honestly surprised to see them hanging around; we'd seen them for several weeks in a row, then they were gone, so I'd figured they'd migrated. Nope; they're still hanging around. I dubbed them Frasier, Niles, and Martin. They were gone when we left, but we quickly spotted over a dozen of them at a nearby cornfield. Hey, if the eating's good, why not stay. Into the store, where I got to see what dad saw last week--they replaced one of the open hoppers in the pizza section with tall displays that have doors on them. Back by the milk, where the frozen juice containers and some breakfast foods have been, there were also new displays with doors. I would think they're more energy-efficient and would probably keep customers more comfortable. That was cool. And we were again reminded that Halloween was a bust--it's December and there are still bags upon bags of Halloween candy in the bargain section. Dad wanted a bag but I was buying so I told him no.
It was nice to get out of the house, though I'll say, with my congestion, it's hard for me to wear a mask continuously for a couple hours. I was really ready to get home so I could take it off. I'd worn it in the car the whole time, and per mom's request I'm still wearing it outside my room for now. She's still wary and unsure if she's caught something from us, or if she can still catch anything. Dad is probably past the point of anything, but given that I still tested positive last Friday, I'm willing to err on the side of caution for her. I'm still waiting to hear from my boss, too. That's fine. Guess I am not going to work tomorrow.
I called my boss on Tuesday to let him know the situation. I'd also been emailed on Monday night a letter excusing me from work or school. He had me forward that to him so he could look it over.
I filled out the survey Tuesday morning. It asked what your highest temperature was in the past 24 hours; I hurried and took it and got 98.3F. There was also a box to check if you did not have a thermometer. You also got asked about current symptoms, including a box for "other" that you had to elaborate on. I have a slight cough plus congestion; I had to check the "other" box for that. I mean, I sound like I have a bit of a cold. However, I don't have a runny nose, which was one of the possible symptoms--there were at least a dozen to choose.
Then came the question, have you left the house in the past 24 hours? Well...yes, yes I did. I came into contact with one person at the dealership; there were others, but I stayed away from them and nobody else spoke with me. Masks were worn the whole time. We were in a large room that does have doors that open to the outside. And, I was two weeks out from the onset of symptoms, and I'd figured I would test negative and get to go to work the next day. I really wanted to take my car in since it had been a year since its last oil change. My poor baby needed it. I wasn't able to put all that into the survey, but I made sure to note when the onset of my symptoms were, when my first test had been, and I think I mentioned that this survey was for a second test.
That last bit flagged me, naturally, and I soon got a phone call from a contact tracer. I'm not sure if it was the same lady or not--she sounded pretty similar, but I hadn't noted her name, and she referred to someone else having contacted me before. I got a bit of a scolding for going out while still under quarantine, but given the situation, this tracer updated the dates in my file to reflect my first positive test, since that's really the date to be concerned with. I think I was then told about the release survey for Wednesday, and that I could request a letter for work.
I took my temperature preemptively before taking today's survey: 97.7F. Interesting, given that I'd had oatmeal for breakfast. However, this survey was different and really was more of a follow-up of the first survey, like, was it easy to use? That sort of thing. There was also a button to click if I needed a letter showing it was okay to return to work, so I got that pretty quickly. I did the survey before my workday would have started, and putzed around online for a bit, then checked my email around 10:30 to see, look, I have the letter. I called my boss, who said go ahead and forward me the letter, and let me think on it. I had already told him, I could come back to work on Thursday; I can wait until next week if you'd prefer. He wanted to talk to a few people, like his doctor and his wife, who has knowledge of state statutes and things, and he also wanted to ask YC if she was comfortable working with me. I was joking with mom afterward to say, he's going to check with my coworkers to see if they vote me back on the island. I understand; DW would prefer me to stay away, I'm sure. But at least I can go back to work, and I'm feeling okay enough to do so, so it's in his corner now.
But...I'm free! The IDPH has cleared me to leave the house; I have a letter to prove it. And, they spelled my name correctly on it, too. To celebrate, dad and I went grocery shopping. :P I haven't gone since my birthday. Dad did go last week or so, maybe? But it feels like we haven't full-on shopped in a while, probably in a month. I also had checks to go to the bank, since I wasn't able to go the past few weekends and that's when it's easiest for me to go. I got to see the senior teller, who's been there forever, and she wished me a Merry Christmas, so that was nice. When we got to the store, we saw several cranes in one of the grassy areas, so I talked dad into walking over to take some pictures. I was honestly surprised to see them hanging around; we'd seen them for several weeks in a row, then they were gone, so I'd figured they'd migrated. Nope; they're still hanging around. I dubbed them Frasier, Niles, and Martin. They were gone when we left, but we quickly spotted over a dozen of them at a nearby cornfield. Hey, if the eating's good, why not stay. Into the store, where I got to see what dad saw last week--they replaced one of the open hoppers in the pizza section with tall displays that have doors on them. Back by the milk, where the frozen juice containers and some breakfast foods have been, there were also new displays with doors. I would think they're more energy-efficient and would probably keep customers more comfortable. That was cool. And we were again reminded that Halloween was a bust--it's December and there are still bags upon bags of Halloween candy in the bargain section. Dad wanted a bag but I was buying so I told him no.
It was nice to get out of the house, though I'll say, with my congestion, it's hard for me to wear a mask continuously for a couple hours. I was really ready to get home so I could take it off. I'd worn it in the car the whole time, and per mom's request I'm still wearing it outside my room for now. She's still wary and unsure if she's caught something from us, or if she can still catch anything. Dad is probably past the point of anything, but given that I still tested positive last Friday, I'm willing to err on the side of caution for her. I'm still waiting to hear from my boss, too. That's fine. Guess I am not going to work tomorrow.