# Covid-Positive Living Together **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [December 31, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388 "2020-12-31T23:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Room](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_room/32/5069_2.png) [@Little\_Room](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Room)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/1 "2020-12-31T23:05:57Z")
Here’s a weird question that I can’t find an answer for: What do you do when two people living in one house have positive Covid tests and/or active Covid infections at the same time? Should those people try to distance from one another? Or are they good just living normally together as much as possible? I’m actually dealing with this situation right now…we’ve been living in separate parts of the house pending tests just in case one was infected and one was not. I don’t know enough about infections to know if, for instance, you can make it worse with more exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/2 "2020-12-31T23:18:47Z")
Not a doctor but if you both have the same COVID strain I don’t believe you can make it worse by being around each other. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/3 "2020-12-31T23:29:57Z")
> [@Little\_Room](#): > > I don’t know enough about infections to know if, for instance, you can make it worse with more exposure. You _can_ make it worse with more exposure (which is why masks can reduce the severity of illness even when they don’t prevent it), but I _expect_ (but don’t know for sure) that by the time there’s enough virus to trigger a positive test, you’re beyond the point at which that matters. I don’t know that anyone has enough data on this to know for sure, so if you want to be as safe as possible, distance, ventilate, and wear PPE, etc. as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/4 "2020-12-31T23:42:28Z")
Masks might be nice to keep the atmospheric COVID-19 dose as low as possible. More innoculent-\> worse infection. My wife caught it but house design made isolation impractical. We both wore masks, and both survived the disease. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/5 "2021-01-01T02:25:47Z")
Moved to QZ (from GQ). ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/6 "2021-01-01T02:30:26Z")
> [@Little\_Room](#): > > Here’s a weird question that I can’t find an answer for: > > What do you do when two people living in one house have positive Covid tests and/or active Covid infections at the same time? Should those people try to distance from one another? Or are they good just living normally together as much as possible? > > I’m actually dealing with this situation right now…we’ve been living in separate parts of the house pending tests just in case one was infected and one was not. > > I don’t know enough about infections to know if, for instance, you can make it worse with more exposure. Yes, living in separate parts of the house is good. Be sure to have good ventilation. Maybe crack the window of the infected person’s bedroom. Do not share bathrooms. If the infected person has to leave their bedroom, they should wear a good mask and return to their bedroom as soon as possible. Clean surfaces regularly. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/7 "2021-01-01T04:20:02Z")
> [@Tfletch1](#): > > Yes, living in separate parts of the house is good. Be sure to have good ventilation. Maybe crack the window of the infected person’s bedroom. Do not share bathrooms. If the infected person has to leave their bedroom, they should wear a good mask and return to their bedroom as soon as possible. Clean surfaces regularly. The question is if two positive people have to do this. Personally, if me and my spouse were both COVID positive, I don’t think I’d stay separate on the off chance we could make each other worse. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/8 "2021-01-01T04:33:51Z")
I have no medical knowledge whatsoever, so take this for what it’s worth, but it seems to me that if you’re _both_ positive, the risk that one of you might start to have trouble breathing without the other one noticing because you’re isolating from each other would presumably outweigh the risk that you might make each other worse by not isolating. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-positive-living-together/929388/9 "2021-01-03T05:24:59Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > The question is if two positive people have to do this. > > Personally, if me and my spouse were both COVID positive, I don’t think I’d stay separate on the off chance we could make each other worse. Oops. I guess it helps to actually read the OP. Yes, if both positive, you don’t have to live separate.