What's safe?

[wombat_5606]

I think the scariest part for me is that we have absolutely no idea if getting coronavirus makes you immune to getting it again. I have a friend who is in her late 20s and is a nurse and who now has coronavirus for the second time. She got sick in early March, had no symptoms at all for almost 6 weeks, and has since tested positive again. Either she got it twice or has been sick for over 8 weeks infecting others while asymptomatic. Scientists haven't been able to do enough testing to prove it one way or the other.

Your post brings up a question for me. After her 2 week quarantine was she tested to see if the test was negative?

 

[wombat_5606]

So sorry to hear about your Mom. I hope she fully recovers.

Me, too!

 

[choirfarm]

Safe, as in to take a cruise? When there is a successful vaccine or treatment AND there have been 1-2 years of cruises with no one onboard getting Covid and/ or wandering around with no place to dock.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

As others have stated, nothing is ever absolutely safe. Everyone needs to evaluate their tolerance for risk. The same risk when you drive a car, cross a street, try something new, it's a risk. Hopefully, a treatment will come from scientific testing being conducted right now. Vaccines take years, decades, or maybe never to develop. Still no vaccine for ebola, HIV, or hantavirus. Smallpox has a vaccine, the disease was eliminated, but it's back. Influenza is hit or miss every year.
Safety is my responsibility and I will act accordingly, but I won't hide in my house. The masks are horrible, but I wear one because it's the right thing to do. By the time the Covid-19 fades away a new one will come along.

 

[wombat_5606]

By the time the Covid-19 fades away a new one will come along.

I hope we will have learned some lessons and will be better prepared.

 

[n2mm]

While we prefer a vaccine before sailing again, another side of this is what the cruise line does in the future when one guest onboard test positive. Will we then be confined to cabins, will we not be welcomed into some ports. The idea of one case of it on the ship changing everyone’s vacation is something that needs to be defined. When someone gets the flu on the ship it doesn’t affect others‘ vacations. I’m guessing they will have testing equipment onboard.

 

[BelleWannabe4]

Your post brings up a question for me. After her 2 week quarantine was she tested to see if the test was negative?

Yes, she was tested negative before she was allowed to go back to work. I just listened to another podcast talking about little we really know about immunity and if our tests are really accurate.

 

[wombat_5606]

Yes, she was tested negative before she was allowed to go back to work. I just listened to another podcast talking about little we really know about immunity and if our tests are really accurate.

Wow! That does make one wonder about our situation then. I had seen information that was talking about the immunity issue but I think you are the first person I've heard say they know someone who tested negative and then tested positive again.

I had assumed that people who tested positive, were quarantined for a couple of weeks and then just went on their merry way. I had previously read about one guy on the Diamond Princess who tested positive and I think it took him around 39 days to finally get a negative swab, but he was early on and he had some underlying issues and of course, they were monitoring him like crazy because he was quarantined on a military base.

So, we definitely, at least for some cases, have to question immunity or the testing.

It appears that even after these last almost 3-4 months, we are still not able to accurately predict a whole lot about this virus.

 

[MomOTwins]

Wow! That does make one wonder about our situation then. I had seen information that was talking about the immunity issue but I think you are the first person I've heard say they know someone who tested negative and then tested positive again.

I had assumed that people who tested positive, were quarantined for a couple of weeks and then just went on their merry way. I had previously read about one guy on the Diamond Princess who tested positive and I think it took him around 39 days to finally get a negative swab, but he was early on and he had some underlying issues and of course, they were monitoring him like crazy because he was quarantined on a military base.

So, we definitely, at least for some cases, have to question immunity or the testing.

It appears that even after these last almost 3-4 months, we are still not able to accurately predict a whole lot about this virus.

It is also possible that her negative test was a false negative and she was positive all along. There are apparently quite a few false negatives, unfortunately, and this virus seems to last a very long time.

 

[wombat_5606]

It is also possible that her negative test was a false negative and she was positive all along. There are apparently quite a few false negatives, unfortunately, and this virus seems to last a very long time.

Yes, I wondered that.

How are you feeling now?

 

[MomOTwins]

Yes, I wondered that.

How are you feeling now?

I finally feel good again (knock on wood). The last time I had a fever was 8 days ago, so I don't want to jinx it but am hoping that means I am in the clear (though I am still going to stay in quarantine until 14 days after my last fever). It has been so nice to just do normal stuff again like play a board game with my kids or cook a nice dinner. I'm even enjoying being back at work (remotely, working from home) though doubt that will last long

 

[wombat_5606]

I finally feel good again (knock on wood). The last time I had a fever was 8 days ago, so I don't want to jinx it but am hoping that means I am in the clear (though I am still going to stay in quarantine until 14 days after my last fever). It has been so nice to just do normal stuff again like play a board game with my kids or cook a nice dinner. I'm even enjoying being back at work (remotely, working from home) though doubt that will last long

That is good news!

I can only imagine how stressful it's been isolating at home with children. It's not a short amount of time, either. Glad you have been able to "enjoy" some normal stuff and I hope you continue to feel better every day.

Yes, no doubt work will get old again!

 

[G.Tyler]

I agree with the original poster; i.e. Perception is everything. The human experience necessitates a certain amount of interaction and I don't think that can be accomplished with social distancing. The thing is: These types of things have been with us since the beginning of our existence; some would say even before. As long as certain precautions are in place; if you believe something to be safe (relative) it probably will be. Likewise; if you think or are led to be afraid that something is unsafe or not clean enough or whatever, your mind will never allow you to unwind, have a good time, and allow you not to worry. It really sucks: Will it truly ever be safe again? I think the human mind and how it is taught to perceive will have the final answer, along with the passage of time. This was a road that didn't have to be travelled. Just saying...

 

[MomOTwins]

That is good news!

I can only imagine how stressful it's been isolating at home with children. It's not a short amount of time, either. Glad you have been able to "enjoy" some normal stuff and I hope you continue to feel better every day.

Yes, no doubt work will get old again!

Thanks! The biggest stress was just worrying the kids would get sick but the all stayed healthy (though bouncing off the walls with pent up kid energy all the time)

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Thanks! The biggest stress was just worrying the kids would get sick but the all stayed healthy (though bouncing off the walls with pent up kid energy all the time)

Congrats on the recovery! Were you able to get them tested? Wonder if they actually did get it but were/are asymptomatic. I travel a lot, and I'm curious to know whether I was exposed at some point, but I'm too nervous to take advantage of the new testing in our area at Quest. It costs $119.

Re the discussion on getting it twice, I just read a really promising article about South Korea. They feared that there had been a number of re-infections, but it looks as if the issue was false positives/negatives, i.e. testing accuracy. Crossing my fingers on that one!

 

[aggiedog]

Some of the issue with false positives is that dead viral particles will make the test positive. So if your cells are still shedding virus "debris" after the active infection is gone, you may still test positive. The test doesn't yet differentiate between live and dead virus.

 

[MomOTwins]

Congrats on the recovery! Were you able to get them tested? Wonder if they actually did get it but were/are asymptomatic. I travel a lot, and I'm curious to know whether I was exposed at some point, but I'm too nervous to take advantage of the new testing in our area at Quest. It costs $119.

Re the discussion on getting it twice, I just read a really promising article about South Korea. They feared that there had been a number of re-infections, but it looks as if the issue was false positives/negatives, i.e. testing accuracy. Crossing my fingers on that one!

I wish I could get a test, but when I first got sick they were limiting tests to people who had traveled to certain places, and more recently it was still limited but this time to people who had “high risk” conditions or hospitalized. Our state never really got its act together on testing. Hoping we’ll be able to get antibody tests at some point.

 

[TheBigErn]

Who says there will ever be a vaccine? What if there isn't? Are people going to hide inside forever? As for no one ever getting it again...do you take the same attitude with the flu? People die from the flu. At some point people are going to live there lives fully and I'm ready to do that right now. I'd go to the theme park or a cruise this second. Those who diagree can live their lives however they want. Stay home forever, doesn't matter to me. Live and let live.

 

[choirfarm]

Who says there will ever be a vaccine? What if there isn't? Are people going to hide inside forever? As for no one ever getting it again...do you take the same attitude with the flu? People die from the flu. At some point people are going to live there lives fully and I'm ready to do that right now. I'd go to the theme park or a cruise this second. Those who diagree can live their lives however they want. Stay home forever, doesn't matter to me. Live and let live.

And people like you are WHY the death rate will get to 100,000 by the middle of May.

 

[MomOTwins]

Who says there will ever be a vaccine? What if there isn't? Are people going to hide inside forever? As for no one ever getting it again...do you take the same attitude with the flu? People die from the flu. At some point people are going to live there lives fully and I'm ready to do that right now. I'd go to the theme park or a cruise this second. Those who diagree can live their lives however they want. Stay home forever, doesn't matter to me. Live and let live.

(1) There is a flu vaccine; (2) Go visit an ICU in New York and then tell me this is no worse than the flu; (3) Going to a theme park or cruise is not an activity that only has consequences for yourself. Disney has a responsibility to its employees, and we the customers don't get to decide when to put cast members at risk for our entertainment: Disney will do that only when they think they can mitigate the risk. There's no point in opening the parks or starting sailings if they have to shut down two weeks later because everyone who works there is sick.