Covid question, when is it contagious, how to isolate at home

[Janeway]

Let's say college student came home for weekend. He rode with a fellow student on Friday night. He went back to campus Monday morning. I spoke to the person briefly, but she stayed in her car. I handed her cash for gas. She never got out of the car. He sat in the car with her both ways of course. He slept in his bed in a bedroom he shares with a brother. Today, she sends a text letting us know she tested positive for Covid today. 

From what I have seen online, when I did a search, even if he got Covid from her, he likely would not have been contagious for a few days so he would have been gone before he would become contagious. Does anyone know anything about this or have different information? The other question is, he wants to come home. He does not want to try to quarantine on campus. How can we safely do this?

[maize]

Honestly, I would encourage him to quarantine on campus unless you have something like a mother in law apartment that would allow him to completely isolate from the family. It does not make sense to potentially expose the rest of the family just because he would rather be home.

[BlsdMama]

20 minutes ago, maize said:

Honestly, I would encourage him to quarantine on campus unless you have something like a mother in law apartment that would allow him to completely isolate from the family. It does not make sense to potentially expose the rest of the family just because he would rather be home.

This.

[Catwoman]

26 minutes ago, maize said:

Honestly, I would encourage him to quarantine on campus unless you have something like a mother in law apartment that would allow him to completely isolate from the family. It does not make sense to potentially expose the rest of the family just because he would rather be home.

 

If he was really ill, I would find a way to get him home, but if he has no symptoms and feels fine, I agree that it would seem smarter for him to quarantine where he is, and stay in touch with Janeway several times a day to let her know that he’s still OK.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Catwoman

[Bootsie]

Do you know what the procedure for quarantining at his school is?  I know many schools are providing support for students in quarantine due to exposure, as well as those who are isolating due to being ill.  It will be less disruptive to his schedule and routine to remain at school for a quarantine.  Remaining at school greatly reduced the chance for spread, should he become ill.  

I think there is some variability (and still a lot unknown) regarding when someone is contagious.   How well does he know her?  Was he around the same people she was around the few days before he came home?  

[Junie]

I think he should quarantine on campus.

I also think that all of you should quarantine.

It is possible that the driver got covid from your son and not the other way around.  It is possible that he was contagious but asymptomatic the entire weekend that he was home.

[Pen]

I think even though spread to the brother is unlikely, the brother should be quarantined and watched for symptoms as best you are able to do that.

College student should quarantine where he is - college or wherever he is—Unless you are directed to do otherwise by health department or similar—in which case you should get official instructions on how to do it as safely as possible and follow that. 

[Pen]

2 minutes ago, Junie said:

I think he should quarantine on campus.

I also think that all of you should quarantine.

It is possible that the driver got covid from your son and not the other way around.  It is possible that he was contagious but asymptomatic the entire weekend that he was home.

 

I agree.    

I was thinking about the brother in shared room, but you are absolutely right. The whole family should quarantine.

at least until determined that the college son is negative he may be the initial case or may have been exposed to some other mutual contact of his and driver who was positive and infected both him and driver and he could have been Asymptomatic infectious already the whole weekend 

 

[2squared]

Had you not discussed this with college kid before he left for school?

my oldest is living in a dorm on campus. We told her if she tests positive, we expect her to quarantine on campus so she doesn’t bring it back to us. I also told her we would bring her food and meds and support her however we can. Her symptoms are likely to be minor, so fairly easy to handle away from home. 

[Ausmumof3]

Do you have a separate bathroom? If you can have a designated bathroom and student will stay there that would be better.  Quarantine at college would be better still for everyone’s safety as long as college has adequate quarantine sorted out already.  The rest of you should probably self isolate for a bit as well to be safe.  

[Janeway]

9 hours ago, Junie said:

I think he should quarantine on campus.

I also think that all of you should quarantine.

It is possible that the driver got covid from your son and not the other way around.  It is possible that he was contagious but asymptomatic the entire weekend that he was home.

He has had no friends and no contact with anyone at school. Also, he had a negative Covid test earlier in August. She, however, is quite social and has spent a lot of time with friends and has been going home every weekend. It is still possible he had it, but he could not be the one who gave it to her as they only met because she was the ride home. She saw the doctor because she had symptoms. I do not know when the symptoms showed up. But she was at the doctor Tuesday. He only met her the Friday evening before.  So she could not have gotten it from him. It is possible he had it anyway, just as a coincidence, but not from him.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Janeway

[Janeway]

36 minutes ago, 2squared said:

Had you not discussed this with college kid before he left for school?

my oldest is living in a dorm on campus. We told her if she tests positive, we expect her to quarantine on campus so she doesn’t bring it back to us. I also told her we would bring her food and meds and support her however we can. Her symptoms are likely to be minor, so fairly easy to handle away from home. 

We did. But the school now has so many students quarantined that stories are coming out of not getting meals and such. Many students who were quarantined have left campus. Plus, they are not being quarantined alone. People who have been exposed and being quarantined as a result of having been exposed are put in to shared rooms and community bathrooms with others in same situation. So even if he does not have Covid now, he could get it from the quarantine.

[maize]

4 hours ago, Janeway said:

We did. But the school now has so many students quarantined that stories are coming out of not getting meals and such. Many students who were quarantined have left campus. Plus, they are not being quarantined alone. People who have been exposed and being quarantined as a result of having been exposed are put in to shared rooms and community bathrooms with others in same situation. So even if he does not have Covid now, he could get it from the quarantine.

Whoa, that is not a quarantine! Shared rooms and community bathrooms?!?

OK, under those circumstances I would look for another option.

If he is feeling well and the weather is decent could he camp in a tent in the yard and limit time in the house? 

Is your house set up in a way that he could isolate from the rest of the family somewhere? If I knew someone in my household might be contagious I would have them take my bedroom and bathroom in the basement, keep windows open weather permitting, and the rest of us would stay upstairs also with windows open for circulation.

We would wear KN95 masks if we needed to interact.

I would encourage exposed person to spend time outdoors as much as possible.

What you want to avoid is build-up of respiratory particles in an enclosed space, including avoiding potential spread through a central air system.

Outdoor time and open windows combined with distancing measures would help a lot. Surfaces in bathrooms and such should not be shared.

Edited September 2, 2020 by maize

[maize]

Having him wear a mask when indoors  would also help. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by maize

[Junie]

I agree that what his school has implemented is not sufficient quarantine.

My dd17 was in isolation for two weeks this summer on her college campus.  She was only allowed to leave her room to do laundry.  She was not allowed to leave the building (other than when she was escorted by campus personnel to go to the hospital for testing),  Each person in isolation/quarantine had their own room and bathroom.  Meals were delivered to the door (and the door was not to be opened until the person delivering the meal was leaving the hallway and gave a signal).

Even after she tested negative, she had to remain in isolation until a full 14 days after exposure.

 

[MEmama]

51 minutes ago, Janeway said:

He has had no friends and no contact with anyone at school. Also, he had a negative Covid test earlier in August. She, however, is quite social and has spent a lot of time with friends and has been going home every weekend. It is still possible he had it, but he could not be the one who gave it to her as they only met because she was the ride home. She saw the doctor because she had symptoms. I do not know when the symptoms showed up. But she was at the doctor Tuesday. He only met her the Friday evening before.  So she could not have gotten it from him. It is possible he had it anyway, just as a coincidence, but not from him.

Wait, this doesn’t make sense. He has had ZERO contact with ANYONE at school? He tested negative and immediately went into FULL isolation for at least 14 days before getting in a car with a rando? Because unless that’s the case, absolutely no contact with anyone at all for at least two full weeks directly following a negative test, it simply cannot be ruled out that he wasn’t asymptomatic. That’s the sucky, difficult part—that there are a whole lot of carriers that feel totally fine and spread it unknowingly. 
 

It is absolutely possible that the driver felt sick 4-5 days after being in the car with an asymptomatic carrier. I’m not sure why you think that can’t be the case. 
 

At any rate, I hope your son tests negative, but I would insist he quarantine (real quarantine, not the theatre the college is playing) for 2 weeks and that your family does too. It sucks, but this is exactly the type of precaution we are being called to do during the pandemic. 

[Catwoman]

11 hours ago, Junie said:

I think he should quarantine on campus.

I also think that all of you should quarantine.

It is possible that the driver got covid from your son and not the other way around.  It is possible that he was contagious but asymptomatic the entire weekend that he was home.

 

How did I not think of that??? That is such an important point!!!

[Lanny]

Is he at Austin College in Sherman? The first thing he should do is contact the Campus Health Service or whatever it is called. If he cannot (or will not or has already done that) you should call them. If that doesn't work out to a satisfactory solution, then I suggest that you call the Grayson County Health Department.  +1 903-893-0131    Address: 515 N Walnut St, Sherman, TX 75090, United States

There was a "cluster" (per NC state law) in the dorm at UNC where my DD is. She was told to go to the Campus Health Service or whatever it is called (actually I think it is at their hospital) for the test, and she got the results 2 or 3 days later, I think 2 days, that it was "Negative".   I hope that your DS will test "Negative". IMO he should be tested again, ASAP.

Good luck to him!

[JanetC]

12 hours ago, Catwoman said:

 

If he was really ill, I would find a way to get him home, but if he has no symptoms and feels fine, I agree that it would seem smarter for him to quarantine where he is, and stay in touch with Janeway several times a day to let her know that he’s still OK.

 

If you know for sure he could infect your whole household, definitely bring him home? No, that may make "mom sense" but it's not the best idea for reducing virus spread.

The CDC guideline is quarantine at least 10 days after a positive test, and for those with symptoms, at least 3 days after your fever ends if fever ends later than 10 days after symptoms start.

[Catwoman]

13 minutes ago, JanetC said:

 

If you know for sure he could infect your whole household, definitely bring him home? No, that may make "mom sense" but it's not the best idea for reducing virus spread.

The CDC guideline is quarantine at least 10 days after a positive test, and for those with symptoms, at least 3 days after your fever ends if fever ends later than 10 days after symptoms start.

 

Sorry, but you’re not going to shame me into agreeing that my sick child would be better off quarantining away from home if the house is set up in a way that would allow him to quarantine at home, where I would be able to keep an eye on him and provide him with the care he would need to recover more quickly. Also, if his condition started deteriorating rapidly, I would want him at home so I could take immediate action to get him the medical care he needed.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Catwoman

[Innisfree]

Quote

 

2 hours ago, Janeway said:

He has had no friends and no contact with anyone at school.

Is this the same student mentioned in your thread on the college board?

Quote

Shocking things I have heard this week....

...

"I am going out to lunch with my friends"

"I love it here!"

"my friends and I spent the night hanging out and talking about philosophy and literature."

If so, then I'm afraid that's all the contact required for him to have an asymptomatic case. College is unfortunately just a germy environment. Even if they were masked when hanging out and talking, transmission could have happened.

The quarantine situation does sound really awful. I appreciate you mentioning that. I think I'm going to get in touch with dd's school and find out if they're planning on students sharing rooms and bathrooms in the quarantine dorms.

Hugs, Janeway. I hope you can work out a safe way for him to quarantine.

[JanetC]

6 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Sorry, but you’re not going to shame me into agreeing that my sick child would be better off quarantining away from home if the house is set up in a way that would allow him to quarantine at home, where I would be able to keep an eye on him and provide him with the care he would need to recover more quickly. 

 

That "if" is doing a lot of lifting here -- So much depends on the individual situation -- how versed are you in infection control? how many household members are there to protect, and are any of them medically vulnerable, essential workers, moving about the greater community where they could spread the virus to others, etc? how can you get this kid home without exposing others to risk? And the calculus changes when "there's a possibility that..." to "he's definitely got it..."

It wasn't meant to shame you, personally -- it was meant to be a reminder to think with our heads as well as our hearts. Of course we want to be near our kids when they're suffering, of course we think we can care for our kids better than others, -- but is that true? A mom of a college age kid is likely over 50 and therefore possibly be medically vulnerable themselves... Can you imagine the guilt a kid would feel if they infected their mom and she had serious side effects.

[Catwoman]

15 minutes ago, JanetC said:

 

That "if" is doing a lot of lifting here -- So much depends on the individual situation -- how versed are you in infection control? how many household members are there to protect, and are any of them medically vulnerable, essential workers, moving about the greater community where they could spread the virus to others, etc? how can you get this kid home without exposing others to risk? And the calculus changes when "there's a possibility that..." to "he's definitely got it..."

It wasn't meant to shame you, personally -- it was meant to be a reminder to think with our heads as well as our hearts. Of course we want to be near our kids when they're suffering, of course we think we can care for our kids better than others, -- but is that true? A mom of a college age kid is likely over 50 and therefore possibly be medically vulnerable themselves... Can you imagine the guilt a kid would feel if they infected their mom and she had serious side effects.

 

I understand what you are saying, but I actually am extremely well versed in infection control, as my dh is immunosuppressed and also has enough other Covid risk factors that his doctors have told us he might very well die if he contracts it. And I’m no spring chicken myself! 😉  I’m also the crazy idiot who sanitizes every single thing that comes into our house, and who quarantines the mail. I’m a complete and total lunatic! 

That said, if our ds20 was away from home and became very ill with Covid, we would bring him home and quarantine him in the house. We have the ability to do that. Our house is set up in a way that it would be easy to do. I pray that we never have to do anything like that, but we are prepared if it ever becomes necessary for any of us to self-quarantine. We are already staying at home, and have been since the end of February. In our case, our ds is here with us, but if he was away from home and got sick with Covid, we would be able to get him home without putting others at risk. 

And yes, I do most certainly believe I could take better care of him than he could take care of himself in a college dorm.  Who would get him the things he needed in a dorm quarantine situation? And who would watch over him to make sure his condition didn’t rapidly deteriorate? 

Sorry. I know you mean well. But you won’t change my mind. 🙂 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Catwoman
I can’t type!!!

[JanetC]

26 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I understand what you are saying, but I actually am 😉

Again, this was meant as a general reminder to think with our heads and not our hearts. It is not about your personal circumstances. If it should be about anyone's personal circumstances, it should be about Janeway's, since she's the one who has to make a decision here.

28 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Who would get him the things he needed in a dorm quarantine situation?

Colleges are supposed to have quarantine plans to cover this! Of course, it may vary in quality from campus to campus. It's something to look into before sending your kid back to campus. Don't wait until you're in this sort of situation.

[Farrar]

I would give this college low odds being open two weeks from now. 

If he doesn't have Covid yet, he'll get it if they stay open for very long.

I hate this for everyone.

My house is not set up to quarantine. We only have one full bathroom. If it was my kid, I'd get him a hotel room. But I get that lots of decisions could be right. I mean, the systems around us are forcing us to make bad choices constantly.

[Catwoman]

7 minutes ago, JanetC said:

Again, this was meant as a general reminder to think with our heads and not our hearts. It is not about your personal circumstances. If it should be about anyone's personal circumstances, it should be about Janeway's, since she's the one who has to make a decision here.

 

Actually, I think it’s important to think with our heads AND our hearts when it comes to our own family members. 

Personally, if I had a very ill family member, I would use my head to determine the safest way to bring that person home so I could look after him, but my heart wouldn’t let him remain away from home in a dorm if he had an illness that could have potentially long term or even deadly consequences without proper supervision and care.

Others can do whatever is best for their own families. 

[Catwoman]

16 minutes ago, Farrar said:

I would give this college low odds being open two weeks from now. 

If he doesn't have Covid yet, he'll get it if they stay open for very long.

I hate this for everyone.

My house is not set up to quarantine. We only have one full bathroom. If it was my kid, I'd get him a hotel room. But I get that lots of decisions could be right. I mean, the systems around us are forcing us to make bad choices constantly.

 

It would be extremely difficult to keep the rest of the family safe if the house has only one bathroom. It can be done, but you have to be so diligent!

I remember when my son caught the flu while we were staying in a hotel suite and while we had enough bedrooms, there was only one bathroom. I think we went through more Lysol, soap, hand sanitizer, and masks in that several days than we had used in years — but thankfully, no one else caught it! (Sometimes, being a germophobe has its advantages! 😉 )  But that whole suite reeked because every time ds used the bathroom, I sprayed the entire bathroom and hallway with a ridiculous amount of Lysol — thank goodness we were on a low floor and we could open the windows!

Edited September 2, 2020 by Catwoman
Stupid autocorrect strikes again!

[Pen]

3 hours ago, Janeway said:

He has had no friends and no contact with anyone at school. Also, he had a negative Covid test earlier in August. She, however, is quite social and has spent a lot of time with friends and has been going home every weekend. It is still possible he had it, but he could not be the one who gave it to her as they only met because she was the ride home. She saw the doctor because she had symptoms. I do not know when the symptoms showed up. But she was at the doctor Tuesday. He only met her the Friday evening before.  So she could not have gotten it from him. It is possible he had it anyway, just as a coincidence, but not from him.

 

If he has had no contact with anyone else, that must  mean he has his own private room and bathroom. That would be good set up for quarantine.

Can you order him easy to eat foods so he can stay in his “no contact” with others room and bathroom ? 

Meanwhile quarantine at home. Then in 14 days if no one is positive, decide what to do.

It does not sound promising for the college as you have described the facilities for quarantine 

[Janeway]

3 hours ago, Catwoman said:

 

Actually, I think it’s important to think with our heads AND our hearts when it comes to our own family members. 

Personally, if I had a very ill family member, I would use my head to determine the safest way to bring that person home so I could look after him, but my heart wouldn’t let him remain away from home in a dorm if he had an illness that could have potentially long term or even deadly consequences without proper supervision and care.

Others can do whatever is best for their own families. 

This is my son with Aspergers too. He is in complete meltdown mode. He has not tested positive, but his test is later today...his appointment is in a half hour. He tells us if he is negative, he really wants us to bring him home. He is extremely upset. He knew about the possibility of quarantine before he went, but I think it is the reports of how quarantine has gone for others that is upsetting him. That, and the fact that he is already trying to do his classes online from his dorm room and the internet connection is not working well. I sent him a Cat 5 cable for he says there is no outlet for it. The building is 80 years old. 

[Catwoman]

24 minutes ago, Janeway said:

This is my son with Aspergers too. He is in complete meltdown mode. He has not tested positive, but his test is later today...his appointment is in a half hour. He tells us if he is negative, he really wants us to bring him home. He is extremely upset. He knew about the possibility of quarantine before he went, but I think it is the reports of how quarantine has gone for others that is upsetting him. That, and the fact that he is already trying to do his classes online from his dorm room and the internet connection is not working well. I sent him a Cat 5 cable for he says there is no outlet for it. The building is 80 years old. 

 

Can he quarantine safely at home? Sadly, a negative test doesn't always mean the person doesn't have Covid. 

If I were you, I'd go get him and bring him home. He sounds so upset!  😞

[Pen]

23 minutes ago, Janeway said:

This is my son with Aspergers too. He is in complete meltdown mode. He has not tested positive, but his test is later today...his appointment is in a half hour. He tells us if he is negative, he really wants us to bring him home. He is extremely upset. He knew about the possibility of quarantine before he went, but I think it is the reports of how quarantine has gone for others that is upsetting him. That, and the fact that he is already trying to do his classes online from his dorm room and the internet connection is not working well. I sent him a Cat 5 cable for he says there is no outlet for it. The building is 80 years old. 

 

If negative there’s more justification for bringing him home as soon as the negative test is received.  Your family should still probably lay low for a quarantine period because so many false negatives happen. 

And trip home should be done as if he is positive— using Masks and cleaning, him in back seat with windows open... and then at home into the best possible room for him to quarantine. 

 

[catz]

I'm sorry, I tried to go back and read your posts, but did he ride back to campus with her on Sunday/Monday? Or just on Friday?  I'd still have him quarantine separate from the rest of you as best you can at home for 2 weeks from last contact and ideally the rest of you would as well. 

I'd also consider not sending him back to campus at all if he is all online. I told my college student if he goes to campus he really can't come home for weekends and may need to quarantine in his room when he does come home.  Unless you really aren't worried about all of you getting it.  

[Spryte]

I hope he is negative.  

If he’s in a private room with private bathroom (lucky guy!) maybe you could call student health and arrange for him to quarantine there?  That’s better than communal bathrooms!

Otherwise, rather than bringing him home - can you opt for a hotel?  You could even go stay in the same hotel and deliver food to his door (masked, leave it outside, etc).

 

[Janeway]

He has no symptoms so they only did the slow test, which he won't get the results until next week. They said in the meantime, he does not need to quarantine.  Crazy. Irresponsible too. Maybe they have had so many people exposed that they are handling it like this now. We are thinking we are just weeks from a shut down.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Janeway

[Lanny]

@Janeway  If he is in the school I think he is in, it is a small school and I think they only have a School Nurse? Better than nothing, but the elementary school I went to had a School Nurse, if my memory is correct. That's a lot different than going to a school like Duke or Carolina, both of which have medical centers.  I Googled and this web page from UNC Medical possibly has some general information about COVID-19, or, links to that information, that will be of interest to you.  I hope your DS will relax and that he is OK.

https://www.unchealthcare.org/coronavirus/

[Janeway]

10 hours ago, Danae said:

The school is telling a person who has a known close exposure to a person who tested positive not to quarantine.  It’s like they don’t want to stay open.

They said in a mass email that if you are exposed, you are supposed to quarantine. But when he went in to get tested, the person who did the testing told him since he has no symptoms, he does not need to quarantine. I think she was likely mistaken. 

We are still waiting for results but the test could have been taken too early. I have a low grade fever and a cough now. Found out the girl had symptoms by the time my son rode back with her in the car on Monday but did not mention it. Not sure how I feel about that. Maybe she just felt obligated to take him back so she did not mention it. But if she had mentioned it, we would have driven him back.

[Pen]

4 minutes ago, Janeway said:

They said in a mass email that if you are exposed, you are supposed to quarantine.

Correct.  14 days.  

4 minutes ago, Janeway said:

But when he went in to get tested, the person who did the testing told him since he has no symptoms, he does not need to quarantine. I think she was likely mistaken. 

Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of this misinformation, such that exposed people awaiting test results have taken planes and done numerous other things that add to spread.

 

4 minutes ago, Janeway said:

 

We are still waiting for results but the test could have been taken too early. I have a low grade fever and a cough now. Found out the girl had symptoms by the time my son rode back with her in the car on Monday but did not mention it. Not sure how I feel about that. Maybe she just felt obligated to take him back so she did not mention it. But if she had mentioned it, we would have driven him back.

 

That is very unfortunate.  She should not have been driving places with symptoms, other than perhaps to get a test done or to take herself only into a quarantine facility. 

 

You all need to quarantine.  

You are all exposed and the first email instructions should be followed. 

 

[Janeway]

On 9/3/2020 at 6:07 PM, Pen said:

Correct.  14 days.  

Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of this misinformation, such that exposed people awaiting test results have taken planes and done numerous other things that add to spread.

 

 

That is very unfortunate.  She should not have been driving places with symptoms, other than perhaps to get a test done or to take herself only into a quarantine facility. 

 

You all need to quarantine.  

You are all exposed and the first email instructions should be followed. 

 

He is negative now. We told him he cannot come home until he is negative again next week. He seems to have adjusted now so we will see what happens.

[Bootsie]

On 9/3/2020 at 5:56 PM, Janeway said:

They said in a mass email that if you are exposed, you are supposed to quarantine. But when he went in to get tested, the person who did the testing told him since he has no symptoms, he does not need to quarantine. I think she was likely mistaken. 

We are still waiting for results but the test could have been taken too early. I have a low grade fever and a cough now. Found out the girl had symptoms by the time my son rode back with her in the car on Monday but did not mention it. Not sure how I feel about that. Maybe she just felt obligated to take him back so she did not mention it. But if she had mentioned it, we would have driven him back.

Was she perhaps confusing quarantining with isolating?  At my university students are supposed to quarantine if they have had direct exposure, whether they have symptoms or not.  They are to isolate if they have a positive test or symptoms.  The difference between the two has caused a lot of confusion.

[Lanny]

On 9/2/2020 at 3:34 PM, Janeway said:

<snip>   That, and the fact that he is already trying to do his classes online from his dorm room and the internet connection is not working well. I sent him a Cat 5 cable for he says there is no outlet for it. The building is 80 years old. 

 

He needs to find out how to request service for his room, if something needs maintenance. They may have an "IT" department to help with computer related issues. If he is on WiFi, hopefully they can do something to improve the bandwidth where he is.  They could install Cabling for Ethernet, but I think a lot of Laptops don't have Ports for that now. (I think the Lenovo Enterprise grade laptop my DD has does not have an Ethernet Port).    He should ask an RA in his dorm how to request maintenance/repairs/etc

[Janeway]

21 hours ago, Bootsie said:

Was she perhaps confusing quarantining with isolating?  At my university students are supposed to quarantine if they have had direct exposure, whether they have symptoms or not.  They are to isolate if they have a positive test or symptoms.  The difference between the two has caused a lot of confusion.

Can you please explain the difference to me? Apparently, the girl, no one on her floor or her roommate have tested positive or had symptoms. But, when she went home, she went out with friends Friday night. Her symptoms started Tuesday morning. I am guessing it was the friends Friday night. Her family members (her mom did not test for some reason) are negative so far, and this includes the elderly grandparents she saw on Saturday.  Based on what I am reading online, you are not likely contagious the first day or two after getting it. https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/how-long-after-exposure-to-coronavirus-are-you-contagious-47604192  He is negative so far. He definitely tests again Wednesday. If he wants to come home sooner, I want him to test again.

[Bootsie]

59 minutes ago, Janeway said:

Can you please explain the difference to me? Apparently, the girl, no one on her floor or her roommate have tested positive or had symptoms. But, when she went home, she went out with friends Friday night. Her symptoms started Tuesday morning. I am guessing it was the friends Friday night. Her family members (her mom did not test for some reason) are negative so far, and this includes the elderly grandparents she saw on Saturday.  Based on what I am reading online, you are not likely contagious the first day or two after getting it. https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/how-long-after-exposure-to-coronavirus-are-you-contagious-47604192  He is negative so far. He definitely tests again Wednesday. If he wants to come home sooner, I want him to test again.

Quarantine is for those who have been exposed.  At my university, the instructions are:

Quarantine means that you primarily stay in your room. For any in-person class, you will temporarily shift to an online format. You may leave your room to use the restroom, do laundry, pick up to-go food, or get outdoor exercise. We ask that you are extra vigilant with personal hygiene, physical distancing and face coverings. You will not be allowed to attend meetings or hang out with anyone other than your roommate/suitemates (distanced appropriately).

Isolation is limited to those who have tested positive or have symptoms.  They are placed in a private room with its own bathroom, if that is not possible in their current living situation.  They may only leave their room for medical treatment.  Their meals are delivered to them, arrangements are made for laundry, and other support services are provided as needed.  

 

[Innisfree]

7 hours ago, Bootsie said:

Quarantine is for those who have been exposed.  At my university, the instructions are:

Quarantine means that you primarily stay in your room. For any in-person class, you will temporarily shift to an online format. You may leave your room to use the restroom, do laundry, pick up to-go food, or get outdoor exercise. We ask that you are extra vigilant with personal hygiene, physical distancing and face coverings. You will not be allowed to attend meetings or hang out with anyone other than your roommate/suitemates (distanced appropriately).

Isolation is limited to those who have tested positive or have symptoms.  They are placed in a private room with its own bathroom, if that is not possible in their current living situation.  They may only leave their room for medical treatment.  Their meals are delivered to them, arrangements are made for laundry, and other support services are provided as needed.  

 

These terms are being used differently in different places. At dd's university, quarantine (for those exposed) and isolation (for those testing positive or symptomatic) are in different places, but both have a complete ban on leaving the room (which is single, in a suite) or interacting with others. Meals are delivered, support is available.