网红爆料

I got COVID ten days ago, and I am not sure when I can end my quarantine. My GP told me that I could wear a mask and leave the house, as long as I social distanced five days after I stopped having a fever; but I only ever had a fever of 99.2F on the night of day 2. I don't generally get fevers, even when I had viral pneumonia in both lungs. I asked a friend who was an RN, and she told me that I should have a negative COVID test and could leave the house, and I could wear a mask and social distance, until I got the second negative test. As for day 10, I still have not gotten a negative test, but I have run out of laundry and bedding and can't go to the laundromat, until I can leave the house. If this goes on much longer, I will be naked on a bare mattress. If it weren't for Walmart delivery, I would have run out of food. I live in a high rise apartment building for people on disability and/ or seniors, so the chance of giving it to a vulnerable person, if I leave to early is real. I did have to leave the apartment once, to go to the lobby and get my mail, because no one would get it for me, and they delivered my medication to my mailbox. When should I officially be leaving my quarantine and how long should I be wearing a mask? When I asked my doctor about his instructions, considering I never really had a fever, he actually shrugged. I do not trust his advice. Please tell me what I should be doing. As for symptoms, I still have a little bit of a runny nose and a slight cough; and I feel like I have zero energy. I was much, much worse last week; but this is all that is left.

Covid infections can commonly last for 10-14 days long. It is best practice to limit your outside-of-home time as much as possible when you are still known to be infectious, such as when you continue to test positive with a Covid test. However, running out of laundry, food, or medications is one of life’s necessities during which you may not have alternative choices and will need to obtain those essentials. So, we return back to the limiting time as much as possible as what you may do. Also, whenever you do leave the home you should be wearing a well-fitting, tight knit mask (such as favoring a KN95 mask over a surgical mask over a loose-knit cloth mask). Recognize that it is your exhaled breath that is infectious and we are trying to block the spread of those infectious particles by filtering with a mask that does not bleed air around the edges (well-fitting) and is a tight-knit (more dense fibers to filter the exhaled breath).  Not everyone has access to Covid test kits at home so I also recommend that when persons do not know whether they have stopped shedding virus then they should just assume that they may continue to be infectious for up to 14 days. 

So, wear a good fitting mask and go out and do your laundry ASAP. Make the trip to the laundry as quick as possible and do not mingle indoors, but perhaps wait outdoors and in places that people are not congregating while you wait for the wash and dry cycles to be completed.  You should adapt this same behavior for when you need to pick up medications from the pharmacy or groceries at the store—complete the trip as quickly as possible and try to select times of the day when you know there will not be crowds or queues. Choose times of the day when you know the elevators are not in high-usage (traffic hours) and/or take the stairs—the elevators are small enclosed spaces that might not be well-ventilated.