# I'm sick. Everybody move back six feet. If you have a mask, put it on **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [August 20, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958 "2024-08-20T20:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/1 "2024-08-20T20:33:26Z")
This is about as miscellaneous and personal as it gets. Pretty damned pointless too! We live with The Daughter and her family in SCal. Who knows when we’ll get back to AZ? Anyway, six people and a whole bunch of cats under one roof. I was the first casualty. I denied COVID, thinking I had a bad cold, with some allergy symptoms, too. The Daughter was the second on the COVID bus. Her symptoms matched mine. I did a home test, it came back negative for COVID, Flu A, and Flu B. I was feeling worse every day, and I had a constant headache. I finally waved the flag of surrender, and had Mr VOW take me to Extended Care at the clinic where our family dr works. I named all my symptoms, and mentioned the self test that I had taken, and it was negative. The medical assistant asked if I’d be willing to take one of their COVID tests. I said sure. I’d like to mention the COVID test has changed since the early days of the epidemic. Back then, a tiny, wire bottle brush would be shoved up your nose, and then pushed into your brain. Now, it’s a long swab, pushed part way up your nose. No wire brush, no poking the brain. I’m placed in an exam room to wait the requisite ten minutes the test takes. Finally, the doctor comes in and hands me a paper. “CoV 2 +” Ugh. Doctor says "Rest. Don’t try to do anything, just rest. Drink plenty of fluids, and rest! It seems I had waited too long to see a doctor, so I couldn’t get Paxlovid. Just my dumb, rotten luck. Doctor had lovely parting words for me! “If your chest starts hurting, or you have difficulty breathing, go to the hospital!” I went out to the waiting room and walked over to Mr VOW. When I told him I was positive for COVID, he wanted to be tested, too. We went to another part of the clinic, where Mr VOW had long swabs nasally inserted. Ten minutes later, he got the official word. “CoV 2 +” We go home, and the next day, the oldest granddaughter is sick. Two days later, The Son-in-Law is sick. Youngest granddaughter is the lone holdout. COVID stinks. For me, the worst part has been the pervasive headache. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/2 "2024-08-20T20:36:38Z")
I’m really sorry. I hope you all get through it _quickly and unscathed._ I have this vague recollection that you’ve had your share of health struggles over the years. That can make something like COVID … just a little more anxiety provoking than in ‘otherwise healthy’ people. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/3 "2024-08-20T20:48:25Z")
Yeah, I had “Just a Cold, Maybe Allergies”, but with houseguests from Out West coming, decided to play it safe, and did a home test. Within three seconds there was that second bright red line, glowing and mocking me. Guests stayed away, but because they had gotten covid as well. I’m better, just feel like I’ve been stomped by a rhinoceros. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/4 "2024-08-21T02:12:54Z")
Bah. Two coworkers are currently home sick, but no one is testing around here, so who knows what they have. Hope the VOW family is soon among the land of the healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/5 "2024-08-21T03:06:03Z")
Awww. So sorry VOW… Need some chicken noodle soup out there? 😥 ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/6 "2024-08-21T04:05:14Z")
@Beckdawrek Chickie noodle soup sounds soooo good! Son-in-Law went to Pollo Loco and brought home chicken and chicken tortilla soup. Chicken soup translates into every language! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/7 "2024-08-21T09:06:22Z")
I had covid about a year ago. So, ya wanna hear my expert opinion? Don’t do the test!!! Just say “gee, I sure have a nasty cold”, and then act ,well, like you have a nasty cold. You know, the way we all acted every time we had nasty colds , all our lives, until 2020. Covid simply is not a thing that we should worry about any more. Sure, it was a death sentence back in 2020. But nowadays it has mutated several times and the covid I “suffered” from was no different than the regular flu. Actually, it was more mild than regular flu…I had no high fever, no aches and pains. I was just very, very tired, and slept a lot If I hadn’t gone to a clinic for the swab-up-your-nose test, I would have stayed home from work for 2 or 3 days, and that’s it. But because the clinic put my test results in the official government database, my boss was obligated by law to give me 5 days medical leave, without bugging me to come into work . ( in my entire career of 30 years at the company , I had never taken more than 2 consecutive sick days) So covid gave me a paid vacation. Not a fun vacation,… but it wasn’t bad. A week off from the rat race. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/8 "2024-08-21T13:32:07Z")
In general I agree with the thrust of your post. COVID is not nearly the scourge it once was. But I’ll take some exception to this bit: > [@chappachula](#): > > Just say “gee, I sure have a nasty cold”, and then act ,well, like you have a nasty cold. You know, the way we all acted every time we had nasty colds , all our lives, until 2020. What we did prior to 2020 was take a decongestant and maybe a headache pill then drag our highly infectious selves to work. There to spread whatever to all our cow-orkers. After 2020 we _all_ should both know better and do better. IOW, if you’re sick, stay home as much as possible. This applies to _any / every_ infectious sickness, not COVID in particular. Especially do not go to work or to anywhere / anything where you’ll remain in close proximity to the same bunch of people for very long. IOW: Grocery store? Yes if uncrowded. Movie theater? No. Why? To avoid infecting your cow-orkers and every else with whichever disease you have, even if it’s just the common cold. Easier to say than to do for folks without paid sick leave who also live close to the bone. But just as a member of a civilization you owe the random people around you to not leave an infectious cloud of whatever hovering in their path. In other words, rather than treating COVID like every other infection, instead we should treat every other infection like COVID: mandatory paid time off for a week. All employers everywhere required by law to provide it to every worker. Workers required by law to take it. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/9 "2024-08-21T13:54:28Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Covid simply is not a thing that we should worry about any more. How nice to have that! When I finally got covid earlier this year, I was feverish, sluggish, and head-achy for days, and my elderly mom was briefly hospitalized. So maybe…it’s different for different folks, and we should exercise some concern for what we might spread to others. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/10 "2024-08-21T14:58:43Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I was feverish, sluggish, and head-achy for days, and my elderly mom was briefly hospitalized. You have just described the normal flu which we have all been living with for our entire lives. Having a fever and headache for days is pretty much what I used to get every year. I would skip work for two days, then drag my ass back to the office \*. No panic ensued. Also, elderly people (like your mother) being hospitalized was and is perfectly normal for the regular flu, way before Covid ever existed. Hospitals have always had higher occupancy in the winter months, due to complications of the regular flu. And no panic ensued. (Cite: here’s an article from 2018 in Canada: [quote]The winter 2018 flu season, a period when hospitals see a spike in patient volumes,[/quote][https://www.oha.com/Bulletins/Ending%20Hallway%20Medicine%20Snapshot.pdf](https://www.oha.com/Bulletins/Ending%20Hallway%20Medicine%20Snapshot.pdf) ) Panic over Covid was certainly appropriate for two years…But now covid is not much different than the regular flu which we all deal with all the time. – \*(and yes, I probably infected others…why didn’t anybody force us to do wear masks? In Japan and other countries, it’s always been considered the polite and normal thing to do when you are sick in a public place.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/11 "2024-08-21T15:09:09Z")
No. Hospitalization rates for seniors with covid is still running roughly double that of flu, and the death rate is substantially higher (Figures 1 and 2). [Flu or COVID-19 - Which is Worse? (ahcancal.org)](https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/Flu-or-COVID-19---Which-is-Worse.aspx) Covid death rates, once in hospital, are still significantly higher than flu. [Risk of Death in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 vs Seasonal Influenza in Fall-Winter 2022-2023 | Critical Care Medicine | JAMA | JAMA Network](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2803749) ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/12 "2024-08-21T15:30:04Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Panic over Covid was certainly appropriate for two years…But now covid is not much different than the regular flu which we all deal with all the time. There is still much we don’t know about Covid but underlying long term organ damage seems to be a likely side effect with cumulative infections increasing the magnitude. Brushing this under the rug is not fighting ignorance as the Straight Dope motto claims. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/13 "2024-08-21T15:53:14Z")
_You_ are sick. _You_ move back seven feet, then go home and stay there until you get better. _You_ put a mask on while on your way home. OK? Fine, _now_ you can complain about your ailments and I’ll be sympathetic. Get well soon and completely! In the meantime don’t forget to hydrate. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/14 "2024-08-21T16:38:28Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Covid death rates, once in hospital, are still significantly higher than flu. Wow, I didn’t know that. thanks ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/15 "2024-08-21T18:51:24Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > _You_ are sick. _You_ move back seven feet, then go home and stay there until you get better. _You_ put a mask on while on your way home. Agreed. It’s the infirmed’s responsibility to prevent the spread of their sickness. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/16 "2024-08-22T15:56:41Z")
I had Covid the first 5 days of this month. It was the first time I ever had Covid, as far as I know. It was way worse for me than the flu. In fact, I still have a cough. I wore a mask for a week after I got over it, (mostly), on the occasions that I could scrape up the energy to leave the house, because I didn’t want to share and i couldn’t find a good answer as to how long I would be contagious. My docs office told me about 5 days, but they also said it kinda depended on which strain I had, and since I was going by the results of a home test kit, I didn’t know. Take it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/17 "2024-08-22T16:09:24Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > There is still much we don’t know about Covid but underlying long term organ damage seems to be a likely side effect with cumulative infections increasing the magnitude. Brushing this under the rug is not fighting ignorance as the Straight Dope motto claims. Exactly. I’ve had covid several times and I’ve never got back to where I was before in terms of energy levels and other issues, like blood pressure. It is not just a bad cold. with regards to the “take some decongestant and drag your ass into work” - that is not a good approach for any contagious disease. My workplace is now treating all diseases like covid and telling anyone who is showing any symptoms to stay home - that’s what sick days are for; to help the sick person get better, and to keep the healthy people from getting sick. It’s not a point of pride to say that you’ve never taken sick days; it’s a sign that you don’t care about your co-workers’ health. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/18 "2024-08-24T02:59:42Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Covid simply is not a thing that we should worry about any more. Two friends just had Covid. The older one (67) barely noticed, no worse than a mild cold. The other, age 53, had to go to the ER, unable to breathe. 2 weeks later, she’s still fighting extreme exhaustion ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/19 "2024-08-24T12:53:47Z")
Here’s a recent thread on a semi-recent development in COVID strains with cites to real medical studies, not just our anecdata: > [@Welcome, JN.1 - we're so proud!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-jn-1-were-so-proud/1006060): > > A January JAMA article starts off with: Parents often bask in the glow of their children’s accomplishments, so if SARS-CoV-2 variants were like people, BA.2.86 would be busting its buttons right about now. A little whimsical, but not a bad metaphor. BA.2.86’s spawn, JN.1, has become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the US, status its parent variant never achieved. Fortunately, although COVID-19 cases have surged, hospitalizations and deaths from the disease are still considerably lower t… ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958/20 "2024-09-01T00:50:03Z")
I was at a family gathering down East for several days. On Tuesday one sister said she had a cold and would be staying away so as not to passit on. On Wednesday I drove home, and felt a bit sniffly, so figured I had caught her cold. On Thursday I did the weekly COVID test I have been doing for the past 4 years, and was gobsmacked to see TWO red lines in place of the familiar one line from every previous test. Emailed the rest of the family and suggested they test - so far 10 people have tested positive. My sisters have all had it more than once, but this is the first for me. I have all the vaccine shots/boosters so still only mild cold-type symptoms, and am taking Paxlovid, but I am over 70 and have other risk factors, so there is always the possibility of severe health issues. I am living in the basement to isolate from my wife (and cat - who is extremely pissed as she knows I’m back home and I STILL won’t pick her up and cuddle her). My symptoms may be very mild, but who knows what they might be for someone I pass it on to through failing to take all precautions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-everybody-move-back-six-feet-if-you-have-a-mask-put-it-on/1005958.md?page=2)