Two weeks after our 13-y-o started feeling crummy, some guidance & reflections on quarantining with a teenager diagnosed with covid-19.
It started as a minor headache on Feb. 28, three days after her middle school re-opened. She felt worse at school the next day and skipped gymnastics in the afternoon. We got her a rapid test. It was positive.
Mobilizing to care for her while shielding big sister, little sister and my wife, got some mixed msgs. Pediatrician and our primary care doc gave different instructions. We sided with the more conservative 14 days of isolation for her and 10 days quarantine for the other gals.
I was exempt from quarantine, as I was two weeks past my second Moderna shot, and I became the point person to care for our covid patient. My wife moved downstairs, lil sis moved out of her shared room with patient into our room & we all decamped to the downstairs bathroom.
The 13-y-o had headache, fever, chills and cough in the first few days; symptoms mostly subsided by day 5 and she just had some congestion for the next few days. She read a bunch of books and watched Netflix & we Zoomed her in on family dinners. I brought treats outside her door.
Happily, and against the odds, we were able to keep everyone else from getting sick. The eldest was able to take her SAT this past weekend as planned and now everybody is back in school.
My takeaways:
1. Families need more coherent guidance re: quarantining. Recs from CDC, NY health dept, NYC test and trace were all 10 days of isolation for the kid, but our doc said 14 days is the gold standard. Some confusion whether fam could "test out" of quarantine by day 7
1. Families need more coherent guidance re: quarantining. Recs from CDC, NY health dept, NYC test and trace were all 10 days of isolation for the kid, but our doc said 14 days is the gold standard. Some confusion whether fam could "test out" of quarantine by day 7
2. Gotta stay vigilant. Cases in NYC are not declining the way they around the country, and school reopening along with relaxing restrictions in theaters, restaurants, wedding halls, etc. seem to explain that. This virus is still virulent and the NYC variant is a concern.
3. Masking and distancing work. My wife and other two kids stayed healthy despite rather close living arrangements.
4. The vaccine seems to work, though I was a little disgruntled to learn that my exemption from quarantine was only bc I'd been vaccinated within the last 3 mos.
4. The vaccine seems to work, though I was a little disgruntled to learn that my exemption from quarantine was only bc I'd been vaccinated within the last 3 mos.
5. After two weeks apart, sisters are pretty happy to hug each other again. 
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