1/18 As I sit at home on my 6th day of quarantine, I have so much I want to say about our experience with the coronavirus pandemic. I can only speak to what we have experienced in Fairfax County as one of its first few cases. (Please note we are low risk.)
2/18First, the nurses and HD officials who are making phone calls to give test results, ushering you through back doors, suiting up, and empathetically answering thousands of questions when you find out you are positive - you are truly the heroes. You have been the greatest light
3/18 On the other side, I am absolutely aghast at how this pandemic is being handled. On our first of four ER visits, we were told to go home and go back to work when my husband’s fever broke (after flu, blood, and urine tests eliminated other causes.)
4/18 My husband is an EMT who primarily transports elderly patients. If we had taken this advice, we would have endangered countless people. I had to fight for my husband to get tested. We’d call the ER and be told we qualify for testing, to show up and be told we don’t.
5/18 Finally, the health department coordinated our testing. I don’t blame any hospital or ER doctor or nurse - there just was a general lack of preparedness and clarity at the upper levels. People did not know what to do. Everyone had different information.
6/18 How many people took the first piece of advice and were never tested? This may seem obsolete, but as an EMT and public school teacher we could have exposed so many people if we took that advice.
7/18 (My husband stopped having a fever Monday morning. He tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday evening. He would have been at work that day. Let alone, my work policy was that if I myself wasn’t confirmed positive I could go to school!)
8/18 In NY, 1 lawyer infected 50 people, we could have easily infected just as many.
Lastly, when considering closures I think it is important that those in charge consider the dynamics of coronavirus testing.
Lastly, when considering closures I think it is important that those in charge consider the dynamics of coronavirus testing.
9/18 There needs to be some precaution that receiving a positive coronavirus test is not only a time consuming process, but also a rare process for most people right now. It has been a week since my husband showed symptoms and we only received his results yesterday.
10/18 I was tested yesterday and am waiting for results. Making work decisions and closures depend on a positive coronavirus test result is reactive, not preventative.
I also want to speak towards the experience of being quarantined for a pandemic.
I also want to speak towards the experience of being quarantined for a pandemic.
11/18 We felt that we had been very safe self-quarantining days before we were told to, taking the time off work bc it was the right thing even when we weren’t sure, and informing people near us in a way that tried to limit panic and paranoia.
12/18 It sucks to have your daily life very much uprooted in such an unexpected way - be considerate to your friends who, even if they are low risk, may be battling fear, uncertainty, and obstacles.
I also can’t help but to think of all the equity issues surrounding a virus.
I also can’t help but to think of all the equity issues surrounding a virus.
13/18 Diego and I are so fortunate that we could afford to be off work. In the end, we will have lost thousands of dollars of income because EMTs are paid hourly and we will wait to see what all these ER costs come out to (hopefully the programs that are being promised hold.)
14/18 How many people can’t self quarantine because they can’t afford to miss work? How can that type of America foster the spread of this virus?
Speaking about this type of America - woah. We purposely didn’t hoard sanitary items or items that have been cleared off shelves.
Speaking about this type of America - woah. We purposely didn’t hoard sanitary items or items that have been cleared off shelves.
15/18 We bought a few. But now that we are quarantined, we need more and don’t have access because those items aren’t available for delivery. It leaves someone with few options. I’ve thought a lot about “panic buying” and the frenzy of getting your hands on
16/18 as much as possible for you and your own. I wish people knew how much that puts more people at risk. If you have enough hand sanitizer for 100 people, remember the people who are sick may not have any to use in public spaces to protect you.
17/18 Again, we were super fortunate that part of Diego’s company’s protocol is providing extra sanitation supplies.I hope that sharing our experience can shed some light on this side of the pandemic.
18/18 I hope companies, health care providers, and the health department can continue to make better decisions as more cases arise.Please be considerate to your fellow humans, it could very easily be you in this situation as well. #thisisquarantine
