I am now about 14 days from positive test results, 13 from noticeable symptoms and 10 days from last noticeable symptom. By any guideline I am free and clear of the virus and have some measure of immunity. Mrs Wink continues to have symptoms, though it is mostly fatigue, loss of appetite and improvement to mild occasional cough. She is 10 days from her positive test and 8 days since first symptom.
You guys on active duty are obligated to follow DOD or Navy procedures. For those of us in civ world, you pretty much are on your own. If you haven’t noticed from just watching the news and casual reading, the guidelines are variable, and dependent on multiple factors. Government restrictions and procedures often don’t track with guidelines. The CDC may be held out as the standard, but there are other guidelines from various state and county health departments and reputable scientific and medical organizations. Take your pick.
Mrs Wink was exposed at a 5 hour deposition. All participants were masked. We followed our state health department guidelines, testing and quarantining. We both got negative results but still stayed in quarantine for the 8 day period specified by the state. We retested and went back to work after the 8 days. Two days later I received positive results and had exposed at least 8 other people. So much for the guidelines. As a nearly asymptomatic individual, if I hadn’t retested I would have continued to circulate and possibly infected others. One of the people we came into contact with tested positive and then two days later negative. She is still asymptomatic.
With Mrs Wink still infectious, I have done my due diligence regarding retransmission, immunity, etc. Again, everything is a best guess with plenty of disclaimers. How long does immunity last? Based on covid 19, no one knows. Based on similar viruses, one month to over a year. Best guess is 3 months but there have been a handful of reinfections out of millions of positive cases. That would be considered statically insignificant in any other case. In Vegas, those odds would virtually guarantee we all became rich. But in the case of covid, the disclaimer is basically, “watch the fuck out”. On retransmission from my wife, same guesses based on anecdotal evidence, statistically insignificant data, or “similar” virus’ but with major variations between them. Surface touch transmission, all over the map, with one notable point. Harding any proof of actual transmission via touch. I am taking the odds. YMMV.
Today I am securing from ‘RONA ISO MOD B. The sooner we are back to normal household life the better. I have even been so bold as to hazard the entire neighborhood by taking Mrs Wink out for a drive with the top down, her wearing N95 mask and me bare faced. We didn’t come within a city block of anyone. I might even take her down to the hangar while I drain that right fuel tank on the Luscombe. I am very sympathetic to people who live in areas with major restrictions. It is no wonder people are pushing back. Unfortunate that so many, in rejecting major restrictions, also set aside simple logical precaution. The chances of an average citizen dying of covid is incredibly small, but no one should want to be off work for two weeks or segregated from family with what amounts to nasty flu symptoms.
