Yesterday was better. My daughter felt much better, so her energy level was more on par with my son’s. We took a break from video games, but they played a ton of Prodigy (a math game) because I updated their memberships (so they can earn new stuff). Learning games for the win!
The weather was really nice, so the kids and I spent lots of time outside. I was out there from noon to 5pm! I even pulled a couple weeds and did 30 minutes of very gentle yoga out there! It was in the mid-70s which for SF is straight up our nicest warm weather. It was really nice to get “out of the house” for a while.
Today the wind is supposed to pick back up (it’s been SO WINDY for SO LONG), so we won’t be able to do as much outside, but we’ll still probably spend some time out there.
It’s 9am now and everyone is still sleeping. I wish I were too! But I can’t seem to sleep in like that anymore, and definitely not on this couch bed. Tonight I’m going back downstairs and my husband and I will just have to figure out how to sleep with each other’s coughing (I don’t cough much at all during the day now, but at night I seem to start up again).
I’m starting to think about the weekend and when to rapid test us to see if we can go back. On the one hand I don’t want to waste them testing too early, but on the other hand I’d love to know we’re in the clear and can return to school on Monday,
I have to admit, one thing I’ve appreciated about this week is the certainty of our isolation period. There has been no, “Well do you feel better enough to go back tomorrow? Or should we keep you home another day?” that usually accompanies my kids being home sick (which is usually spurred by the fact that a parent needs to keep staying home with them, and needing to know if they will be home again too!) This week we’ve all known we’ll be here for the duration, regardless of our symptoms or lack there of!
But the negative rapid test to go back is stressing me out. What if one of us doesn’t test negative? What if I don’t test negative? My sub friend is out of town and I’d have no coverage at work. My students would be on week two without me in the classroom. I know in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal, but it’s stressful for me to imagine.
I will probably test myself tomorrow morning because I’d love to run some errands (in a heavy duty mask of course!) before the weekend. We definitely need some staples and I’d rather be out on Friday when everything is less crowded. Of course if I test positive on Friday I will stay home.
(The CDC isolation calculator doesn’t actually require, or even suggest!, that I test before going out on Friday, it just says I need to have “improved symptoms” and wear a mask when I’m around other people for another 5 days. But all our schools require a negative rapid test to return to work, which I appreciate.)
And my son is up so I’m going to post this. I hope you’re all having a good week.
So glad you are all doing better. Outdoor gentle yoga in mid-70s breezy temps sounds heavenly. Is your husband on the mend too?
The yoga was really nice. Just being away from everyone for 30 minutes was really nice! Ha!
My husband was still in rough shape yesterday. He is like 1.5 days behind the kids, so I’m hoping today he feels better. He’s still sleeping (at 10:15am!!) so I’m not sure how he’s doing today yet.
Looks like he is out of pocket again today. I think maybe he has man-COVID. :/
Haha, this made me literally LOL!
I will be interested to see what people say on that. When almost our whole office came down with it in Jan, who was still testing positive on a rapid test and for how long after really varied. One of my coworkers tested negative after 5 days and another was still testing positive 14 days later, yet she had not had any symptoms after day 5. Our office does not require a negative test to return to work. But a lot of people were responsible about making sure they were negative before returning as we are able to work remotely. So would love to know what people say to do? What is the protocol, asking so I know what to do when we get our turn
Both my district’s and my kids’ district’s protocols say we need to have “resolving symptoms” and a negative test (“rapid antigen preferred”) if returning after five days. No test is needed to return after 10 days, but I don’t know what happens if you just keep testing positive between days 5 and 10. (I’ve heard of this happening too! A lot!) Do they just stop caring after day 10? There is also no instructions from either district on sharing test results. I think it’s just honor system. I’ll let you know if/when I get more info.
It’s not that they “stop caring.” It’s that studies aren’t showing people are still contagious after that point, even if they’re testing positive, because the virus is no longer “replication competent.” From the CDC:
Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 can continue to have detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in upper respiratory specimens for up to 3 months after illness onset in concentrations considerably lower than during illness; however, replication-competent virus has not been reliably recovered from such patients, and they are not likely infectious. The circumstances that result in persistently detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA have yet to be determined. Studies have not found evidence that clinically recovered adults with persistence of viral RNA have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to others. These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom-based rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of most patients.
Ah got it, thanks!
The CDC doesn’t recommend a negative test requirement to rejoin society because some people can test positive for weeks if not months! That’s why you don’t have to test negative within 90 days of COVID in order to fly international. Why does your school follow different guidelines than CDC?
Maybe there is somewhere that says going back to school is different than just leaving the house? We follow our county’s department of health so they must have that rule. The CDC does say you can’t travel for 10 days after a positive… Maybe the CDC doesn’t make recommendations for schools so local DPHs have to do it themselves. That is probably what it is.
I think there is some confusion about pcr vs rapid antigen. Pcr picks up tiny amounts of covid and can pick up tiny bits that aren’t replicating. but you need a lot to test positive with antigen and it is a good indicator that you are infectious
But I’ve heard stories about people who continue to test positives on rapid antigen tests at home for much longer than 10 days, way after symptoms have totally resolved. So even those tests can keep testing positive. PCR tests can test positive for months evidently. I don’t think it’s super common for rapid antigen tests to keep testing positive for a long time, but it definitely happens.
My ability to have much confidence in the CDC has been severely impaired. I certainly hope your children are both cleared to go back to school Monday with negative RATs. Coverage for them would be hardest. Having all 4 of you testing negative on Sunday is clearly ideal.
Hope you can do the grocery run tomorrow! Fingers crossed.
Delighted to hear your daughter is now mending and feeling more normal. Guessing & hoping you feel improved too.
Might your night sleeping be less interrupted by coughing if you could elevate the head of the bed a bit? (Change the drainage into your lungs/throat pattern. )
Glad you were outside yesterday, getting really warm in my direction, middle 80’s today and everything is dried out from the wind and the fact we got no moisture when the last wetness hit the coast. Fire worries.
PS: The question was raised. Female. And thank you; I sometimes feel like I add nothing…. But I do care.
Please everyone do what you can to get the vote out. I remember before and …. honestly first world medicine needs to be equally available to women as it is to men, without regard to income level or skin tones or religion.
PCR can be + when no longer infectious but if an antigen test is + you’re infectious. CDC doesn’t require a – test because it’s all about the economy, baby! Your school is doing the right thing.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.01.22269931v1
I’m glad to hear you all are starting to feel better. My family had Covid and tested positive on rapid tests between day 5-10. We had to complete the full 10 days of isolation. I also read that even with rapid tests that are positive after 10 days the person unlikely to be contagious. My fingers are crossed for you that you all will test negative sooner than we did.