Thread by @TheAwkwardDrop

For ppl who think Covid is nbd. Beyond the health risks, here's an example of its impact on a family of 4🧵 To begin, I own/run a small biz which is myself & my husband. We r self employed & have 2 school aged kids. 3 weeks ago our youngest child woke w/a bad cough. /1

We tested the entire family & everyone was neg. We kept both kids home that 1st day. School confirmed that bc our eldest was fully vaxxed & asymptotic she could be at school. We sent her back the next day, masked. Our kids did not drop masking when mandates dropped./2

The next day youngest spiked a high fever & had a very rough night w/a serious coughing fit that almost triggered a 911 call. The entirety of the week I was unable to work as I had a sick kid home. We all continued to test neg./3

We skipped our weekly visit to my Mom's & lil dude missed his soccer at week's end, even though he was symptom-free. Week 2: He returned to school on Monday, testing negative. By Friday I was feeling unwell, sore throat, pressure in head, morning test was negative./4

By evening I felt worse so tested again. Positive. Spent the weekend in & out of bed by Sunday eldest complained of sore throat, tested positive. Once again we skipped visit with Mom & soccer for youngest (to be on the safe side). /5

Week 3: Eldest is now home from school & w/positive test we r able to report to school & they inform school community, she is 1 of 2 cases in her class that day. Youngest returns to school masked. /6

Monday night hubby feels unwell, 3 am Tuesday spikes a very high fever. Now neither of us can bring youngest to school so he remains home for a full week. Hubby is too sick to test but it's clearly covid. Tests by Thursday & is positive. /7

It's now a holiday weekend, my Mother celebrates Easter but we have to skip it (again) bc now 3 out of the 4 of us are covid positive & symptomatic. By end of week I am now able to take youngest out for some fresh air. /8

Week 4: Eldest tests negative and is symptom-free so both kids return to school. Hubby still too sick to work, we have to cancel client calls/work and push to end of week, hoping there's improvement by that time./9

We do not receive a salary, we do not have #PaidSickDays Add to this that we had a recovered child home for a full week bc parents too sick to bring them to school & managing 2 kids at home while we r unwell adds even more stress/strain. This is 'living with covid'./end

Now imagine this scenario 3-4 times a yr. That’s up to 16 weeks of school & work disruption across all industries with a massive toll on infrastructure, economy, mental/physical health. Dropping protections is a short term illusion with a long term destructive outcome.

Regardless of what your views r on masking or vaxxing, the economic impact of this virus is undeniable. Just wait to see how long it is before US flights r cancelled bc of massive staff shortages (see UK).

Whether it's a few days or it's weeks, we r being ravaged by a virus that ppl in positions of power r not willing to discuss openly. Greed & ego have been key motivators in removing basic protections/support & fear has been the icing on a giant cake of denial.

I'd like to acknowledge the fact that I am actually in a pretty privileged position. It's scary as HELL to be self employed & get sick like this but we've managed & have some family support. Spread & illness will continue bc so many ppl can't stay home & don't have $ support.