If a coworker has Covid, but you are told you are low risk?

[athena1277]

Dd17 works in retail.  The other day she and another girl who had just come in that an employee has tested positive for Covid-19, but they are considered very low risk.  It sounded like a situation of “we have to tell you to cover our own rears.”  The person’s name can’t be shared, so we don’t know more than that.  The business has continued normally (well, Covid-19 normal).
 

So here’s my question- how and who determines how high or low risk other employees are in this type of situation?  I understand the privacy concerns, but I wish we had more information, like when did he/she test positive and when was the last time he/she worked?

[katilac]

The employee who tested positive - are they still at work or not? 

Does the store require masks or not?  

Is there decent physical distancing? As in, no crowded breakroom, no cramming employees into a small area to unpack boxes? 

Is anyone in your family high risk? 

Those are the main things I would use to assess risk for dd. 

Around here, food places tend to close down for a few days if an employee tests positive, but retail places do not. Which really doesn't make sense, but I think the restaurants are fighting the 'ick' factor, even though food consumption has not been a cause of spread. 

[athena1277]

12 minutes ago, katilac said:

The employee who tested positive - are they still at work or not? 

Does the store require masks or not?  

Is there decent physical distancing? As in, no crowded breakroom, no cramming employees into a small area to unpack boxes? 

Is anyone in your family high risk? 

Those are the main things I would use to assess risk for dd. 

Around here, food places tend to close down for a few days if an employee tests positive, but retail places do not. Which really doesn't make sense, but I think the restaurants are fighting the 'ick' factor, even though food consumption has not been a cause of spread. 

The store has required employees to wear masks since before dd started working there at the beginning of June.  It became a requirement for customers when our county gave a mask order almost 2 weeks ago.  I think they’ve been social distancing pretty well from what dd has said.  Thankfully our family is not very high risk.

[rebcoola]

I would assume that they didn't qualify for actual contact tracing.  Which is usually something like 10minutes in close contact.   Maybe someone who worked a different shift or another area of the store like stockroom vs. cashier.

[vonfirmath]

46 minutes ago, athena1277 said:

Dd17 works in retail.  The other day she and another girl who had just come in that an employee has tested positive for Covid-19, but they are considered very low risk.  It sounded like a situation of “we have to tell you to cover our own rears.”  The person’s name can’t be shared, so we don’t know more than that.  The business has continued normally (well, Covid-19 normal).
 

So here’s my question- how and who determines how high or low risk other employees are in this type of situation?  I understand the privacy concerns, but I wish we had more information, like when did he/she test positive and when was the last time he/she worked?

My husband got told (back in April) that someone in their department had tested positive and they would talk privately to the ones that were high risk and everyone else could consider themselves low risk.

 

(yes, high risk/low risk means risk to catch coronavirus from that particular contact.  NOT risk of averse consequences if you catch COVID-19)

 

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by vonfirmath

[Pen]

1 hour ago, athena1277 said:

Dd17 works in retail.  The other day she and another girl who had just come in that an employee has tested positive for Covid-19, but they are considered very low risk.  It sounded like a situation of “we have to tell you to cover our own rears.”  The person’s name can’t be shared, so we don’t know more than that.  The business has continued normally (well, Covid-19 normal).
 

So here’s my question- how and who determines how high or low risk other employees are in this type of situation?  I understand the privacy concerns, but I wish we had more information, like when did he/she test positive and when was the last time he/she worked?

 

IF contact tracing is able to happen properly, then contact tracers would be expected to directly communicate with people who had enough contact with index case as to be considered high risk (exposure time plus proximity - perhaps other circumstances ) .

Others more tangentially exposed would be considered low risk, thus generally told to watch for possible symptoms, but it would be thought unlikely that they would have gotten it from the index case. 

It is generally a health authority/epidemiology decision at its basis, or supposed to be.  

 

[sassenach]

My brother's coworker tested positive but my brother is considered low risk because they work in a large warehouse with masks and lots of physical spacing. No one else got sick.

[AmandaVT]

The teachers in my district were just told that if someone in our classroom or school tests positive, all they are going to do is close off the room they were in for 24 hours and clean it thoroughly. It doesn't sound like they are going to ask anyone else to quarantine or test, which feels insane to me.

[1shortmomto4]

My ds has been working retail since this all began.  This particular brand of stores has consistently been slow to enact any of the rules and when they get announced at the corporate level it takes about 2 weeks before you see/experience the changes in the stores themselves.  They were slow to enact social distancing and masks - which until August 1 - only the store employees must wear masks.  There are big signs outside the store when you enter requesting that you wear a mask but it is not mandatory-until August 1.  Not sure who they're going to put outside to enforce it so that should be interesting.  At any rate, despite the slowness to respond to health guidelines, they've had, so far, 4 employees over the course of all these months test positive.  They do send a text to employees telling them that a coworker tested positive and the date in which they last worked.  Thankfully, they've been days my ds was not at work.  I think considering the # of employees, and the slowness to enforce health guidelines, it is really good news that the numbers of sick employees is extremely minimal.  We kept preparing for the worst - and I've got to 2 high risk candidates in my home but that was only adding to my ds' stress so we just focused on the positive.  My ds has seen/heard nothing with regards to any contact tracing but did notice a few high level managers that disappeared for 2 weeks so maybe they were told to quarantine until in the clear.

[JennyD]

1 hour ago, AmandaVT said:

The teachers in my district were just told that if someone in our classroom or school tests positive, all they are going to do is close off the room they were in for 24 hours and clean it thoroughly. It doesn't sound like they are going to ask anyone else to quarantine or test, which feels insane to me.

 

Good heavens.  There is no universe in which that is an adequate response.

[Kanin]

4 hours ago, AmandaVT said:

The teachers in my district were just told that if someone in our classroom or school tests positive, all they are going to do is close off the room they were in for 24 hours and clean it thoroughly. It doesn't sound like they are going to ask anyone else to quarantine or test, which feels insane to me.

But... won't other people in the room almost certainly be positive, too? Gulp!

[AmandaVT]

11 hours ago, JennyD said:

 

Good heavens.  There is no universe in which that is an adequate response.

 

8 hours ago, Kanin said:

But... won't other people in the room almost certainly be positive, too? Gulp!

It seems like a problematic plan to me! I'm waiting for a response from the teachers' union right now - they're getting increasingly vocal about their concerns for fall and have been sending emails to union members. I feel like we may be heading for a strike, honestly. Not sure how that'll work right now. Ugh.

[Kanin]

1 minute ago, AmandaVT said:

 

It seems like a problematic plan to me! I'm waiting for a response from the teachers' union right now - they're getting increasingly vocal about their concerns for fall and have been sending emails to union members. I feel like we may be heading for a strike, honestly. Not sure how that'll work right now. Ugh.

I'm surprised that the policy is so... well... dumb... when the VT reopening plan seems good overall. What do you think about the plan in general?

I'm in a similar boat to yours. Maine has low cases as well, although not as low as VT. People around me seem pretty unconcerned about the virus, because of the low cases. I speak up and say, "but it only takes one to start an outbreak..." but I get the impression people are tired of hearing my doom and gloom. But it really does only take one! Low case numbers are not a reason to throw caution to the wind... they're a reason to keep protocols tight so the numbers don't rise.

I'm starting to bring up issues like protocols for teachers using the photocopier, the need for adults to wears masks everywhere in shared spaces (like in the bathroom), and I'm worried people are just not willing to go into that amount of detail. 

[AmandaVT]

1 hour ago, Kanin said:

I'm surprised that the policy is so... well... dumb... when the VT reopening plan seems good overall. What do you think about the plan in general?

I'm in a similar boat to yours. Maine has low cases as well, although not as low as VT. People around me seem pretty unconcerned about the virus, because of the low cases. I speak up and say, "but it only takes one to start an outbreak..." but I get the impression people are tired of hearing my doom and gloom. But it really does only take one! Low case numbers are not a reason to throw caution to the wind... they're a reason to keep protocols tight so the numbers don't rise.

I'm starting to bring up issues like protocols for teachers using the photocopier, the need for adults to wears masks everywhere in shared spaces (like in the bathroom), and I'm worried people are just not willing to go into that amount of detail. 

I feel like it's a lot of nice words right now but we aren't seeing steps being taken. The department of ed denied the union's request to have teachers represented in the reopening  planning committees. Our district sent a nice letter out to parents letting them know that teachers and admin are working on plans for hybrid learning (not yet happening- teachers have been told we will be going back in person and that the administration does not expect closures to be anything more than what we're used to with snow days). Our school has terrible ventilation, which was supposed to be addressed, but has not yet been addressed. Our district has lots of pockets where high speed internet is not available. I have a friend that is the VP for the only company rolling out high speed internet in places with high needs and he said no one has contacted him from our district. We still have a few weeks left, but teachers are feeling kind of crappy about the situation right now. 

[Kanin]

2 hours ago, AmandaVT said:

I feel like it's a lot of nice words right now but we aren't seeing steps being taken. The department of ed denied the union's request to have teachers represented in the reopening  planning committees. Our district sent a nice letter out to parents letting them know that teachers and admin are working on plans for hybrid learning (not yet happening- teachers have been told we will be going back in person and that the administration does not expect closures to be anything more than what we're used to with snow days). Our school has terrible ventilation, which was supposed to be addressed, but has not yet been addressed. Our district has lots of pockets where high speed internet is not available. I have a friend that is the VP for the only company rolling out high speed internet in places with high needs and he said no one has contacted him from our district. We still have a few weeks left, but teachers are feeling kind of crappy about the situation right now. 

Oh no. How awful. I would be so upset in that situation. I'm so sorry it's happening to you! 

I can't believe teachers aren't on the reopening planning committees. I'm on two committees, and asked to join two more and was welcomed.

My school has many of the same issues as yours... poor ventilation... lots of people without internet... I find it very scary not to be informed about what's going on with that sort of thing.