Couch 213: The Tulip couch

That is great to hear, Chihiro!

Yay, glad to hear that!

Yay!!! Thank you for what you do!

The darwin award people are going to have a lot of candidates this year

So I need to go to a bank (in-person) before the end of the week. I don't have a mask (they sold out around here when we had the false alarm about a student testing positive at my school back in January, and never restocked--it's a local scandal) so I've been wearing a bandanna in public in lieu of a mask.

But I don't think I can go into a bank looking like Bonnie or Clyde.

I'm calling that a "first world pandemic problem."

If someone that you knew had been in the same room with someone who developed coronavirus, 6+ feet apart the entire time for an hour a week ago shortly before the ill person developed symptoms, would you let them in your house? (Assume this is a family relationship, the only social contact this person has had for the past two weeks, and that the households are otherwise isolating appropriately.)


I started to explain, but I'm not going to because that just muddies things.

I'm feeling weary of being called stupid today.

I would let the person in if they don't have symptoms themselves, but I am not in a high risk category. I think if I had an underlying medical condition I would be more cautious.

It would depend. Why do they need to come into the house? Who else is in the house? Is there a way to come in the house and still be isolated (not the 6 feet thing - I mean separate entrance etc). These are the factors I would weigh.
I live alone so my responses might be different -but there are a lot of variables for me. In general - I would say no they could not come in the house. If they were coming to stay with me- I would put them in the area of my house that has its own entrance and let them stay there.

No, I'd not let them into my house. Even if the ill person did not show symptoms at the time, it's possible for them to already spread the virus (pre-symptomatic is a thing, not only with this virus, but also with things like for example the flu). It also wouldn't matter whether the person you're asking about would show symptoms or not, there are cases of people being asymptomatic carriers, and we do not know yet whether they are able to spread it.
So basically, I'd not let anyone into my house currently, no matter whether they had contact with ill people or even people who do not seem to be sick.

Never mind the super-soaker loaded with bleach in your shoulder holster...!

Fuzzy - no. If they need human contact, they can go pick up some food somewhere. Thats been my human contact, food delivery once a week or so. Dont they have their own house to go to? Why do they want to bring cooties into your house? What part of stay home (and dont breathe on us) dont they understand?

We are not letting in anybody at all, so I can't imagine a circumstance where I would let this person in either.

ETA: Much of my contact with non-household members for the last few weeks has been pleasant shouting exchanges from 6+ feet away. So I might invite them to stand in my driveway while I shouted at them from a window? Or we could shout at each other from opposite sides of the backyard. But no, stay out of my house.

Hm...that's the time when someone is particularly contagious. If this was more of a social visit to your house, I'd say not to let them come. If they want to visit, do that over video chat. If it's someone who usually lives there, try to have them isolate in their own part of the house.

My one guinea pig, Lexie, is apparently kind of a jerk. I put plenty of veggies in there for both of them (cucumber this time), and she keeps trying to steal the one that Amelia's eating, even though there's another piece sitting right there! There was much squeaking over it. This has happened like the last 5 times I gave them veggies, too...

We let an appliance repair person come in briefly this past weekend, i am wondering about the wisdom in that now. we kept our distance, he did his thing and left, we wiped down the appliance he touched with soapy water (can't find anything stronger anywhere here as it's all been hoarded) and are hoping for the best. i hope we didn't make a huge mistake.

I love that you have a guinea pig named Amelia because one of my kitties is named Amelia. Amelia was a very naughty kitty this morning and got out of the yard. She came obediently when I called her and I finally managed to wrangle her into the house so she could have her breakfast, but she was very naughty this morning. There is a big open field next to my house and I suppose it was just too tempting for her.

I'm so glad to hear that, chihirochild!!

15 more cases in my county since last night. it didn't start hitting my county really until the week of march 8th or so and as of today we're up to 217 confirmed cases and who knows how many presemptive or whatever positives and un-tested. one of my friends has been sick for weeks but she can't get tested.

Aaaand now that my test is back they're putting me to work.

Tomorrow I've been assigned to work in an "ICU" that they jury-rigged out of a PACU (where they normally take people after they've had surgery). I will have no interns. The attending will be overseeing both the regular ICU and this PACU-ICU so will have more patients than usual and will be located on a completely different floor. I will either have to stay in a spacesuit-like-thing all day except to eat and go to the bathroom or I will be re-using PPE, they haven't told me yet. And this is actually at one of our sister hospitals so I will not know any of the nurses or RTs or any of the phone numbers to call these people in an emergency.

I hate this. I HATE THIS! Working in the ICU scares me under normal conditions. This is just insane.

Hugs, Chihiro, that sounds really difficult and scary, especially if you have to reuse PPE.

I've been really struggling lately. L offered to do a double session today. H is pissed at me if I do I can't win.

Thanks for the input. I needed some objective eyes because it's the kids' dad.

First he decided that he wasn't comfortable with the isolated no-contact-with-outside-world boys coming to his house because of potential exposure for his elderly mother. But he kept making karate videos with his instructor and her son.

Then he told me that he needed to "choose his circles" (his words) and that the kids were his circle, and he was going to tell his instructor to ask others to help. He still wasn't comfortable with the boys going to his house, so I said he could spend time with them here. I even told him I was impressed by how careful he was being for his mom's sake, and confirmed that he wasn't spending time elsewhere.

It wasn't true. Now the instructor is ill. He's got all kinds of reasons why it was okay that he went anyway and didn't let me know so I could choose whether it was safe for him to be in my house. I am trying to decide whether I am being reasonable in asking him to wait until we know he's in the clear before spending in-person time with the boys. I don't even know what to say about his poor mom. Just pray he doesn't get it, I guess.

I am alternately furious with myself and feeling like a f***ing idiot for believing him. It's like expecting the wind to not blow, you know. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me a thousand times and when am I going to flipping learn? I just thought that THIS was important enough that he'd be responsible. And I am worried about him because his irrational contradictory logic was just rearing its head all over the place, which is not a good sign. I was trying to walk the tightrope of setting good boundaries and being respectful and navigating the odd thinking.

There. Sorry that got long. Whew.

There is no possible way that "making karate videos" is an essential activity, so I am already questioning his judgment. If he thinks that is a reasonable excuse for contact with other people, you can pretty much guarantee that he isn't taking proper precautions in other areas of his life either.

"Choosing your circles" is not a thing. Imagine the walls of your home and the people who sleep inside. That is your circle. Ta-da! My (otherwise very intelligent) sister-in-law said something similar as an excuse for regularly hosting two non-household members. No. Stay home. I know it sucks. It sucks for everybody. But so does inadvertently infecting other people and killing them.

Do you have to let the boys' father see them? (i.e., is there a court order to consider here?) If not, I think the smart thing to do as a parent is to keep your boys in your house and away from him until this is over, while encouraging video or phone contact.

WFS--I figured it was the STBE. He can wait.

Info and I were discussing my frustrations with the people not taking this seriously enough and the people making up dramas about it (like saying they have it when they don't), and she said in her opinion what both groups shared was they never grew out of their teenage brains, a la the FL spring breakers. STBE seems similar.

Info fashion update: black top, not sure if it was meant to be off the shoulder because her clip-on mic kept pulling it down. No wardrobe malfunction, but plenty of wardrobe adjustment.