Stories from a Contact Tracer

[harllee]

We have an ACE hardware store within walking distance but I haven't been there since the pandemic began. Like most ACE stores, it's very cramped and the aisles are narrow which is good for getting lots of stuff into a small space but bad for safety in the age of covid-19. When we go by there we see few people wearing masks entering or leaving. I have no idea if the staff wear masks. So, any of our hardware needs are being satisfied by either Amazon or a half hour trip to Home Depot for curbside pickup.

The Ace Hardware in our town is doing curbside delivery. You call them, tell them what you need and pay by phone and then they bring it to your car wearing a mask. Very efficient and safe.

 

[meierlde]

Aw!! I understand your decision and would do the same if I was in your shoes.

I know, why not call her on the phone! Long phone calls are almost as good and I bet she'd be so glad to hear from you. Maybe you could have gifts delivered to her from time to time, to show her that you are thinking of her.

I am sure she understands that you would go see them if you could.

If she has a smart phone why not a video call so you can see her and she can see you. (or if need be get her one).

 

[meierlde]

Actually if I had a small business with bar bouncers being currently unemployed, I would hire one to enforce mask requirements. Bouncers are generally larger folks as well as being experienced in handling drunks.

 

[travelover]

The irony to me is that if everyone wore N95 masks we could knock this out rapidly. N95 masks actually protect the wearer if worn properly. I know someone will say the masks simply are not available, and that was a good excuse a half a year ago, but to be floundering around as we head for Labor Day just blows my mind.

 

[brewer12345]

The irony to me is that if everyone wore N95 masks we could knock this out rapidly. N95 masks actually protect the wearer if worn properly. I know someone will say the masks simply are not available, and that was a good excuse a half a year ago, but to be floundering around as we head for Labor Day just blows my mind.

You dangerous nay Sayer! Don't you know we are in a v shaped recovery and the virus is going away?

 

[Rianne]

Rianne, I am doing the same--a doctor friend told me to do that--assume everyone except your immediate household has Covid and act accordingly. When you declined to go to the family gathering did you get hassled about it? I did. In fact I am now finding out there have been several family gatherings (which included my 89 year old mother!) and no one told me about them because they knew I would try to talk them out of it!

The thing that the contact tracer told me that bothers me the most--so many people who have tested positive are refusing to quarantine. In my opinion those people should be jailed or at least required to wear an ankle monitor.

My bold. I did not get hassled, but I found out there was discussion (family fight) about a few things. I'm so glad I was not there! Funny part is my niece, who had the get together, works in a hospital. Her mother, who attended, has multiple sclerosis and has been sick for years. I think her mother (my DSI) feels it's more important to be with family as her time may be limited.

 

[Amethyst]

I figured that out the very first time I made a mildly critical remark about a "sacred cow," and was immediately told that not only should I go to NoKo, but that my profile photo was ugly! (It wasn't).

Considering the numerous reports of fistfights, assaults, etc., please do not say anything. We are a bitterly divided society in many ways. You will not change anyone's mind and it isn't worth the personal risk.

 

[gerntz]

I can't imagine getting into a mass commuter system.

 

[harllee]

Since I know so many people that have or had Covid-19 (around 10 people) I thought I would do a little contract tracing of my own to see how most of these folks think they caught the virus:

The first person I knew that caught it early on in March was an elderly friend in a nursing home (he died). It was before contact tracing or testing but his family believes a staff person brought the virus into the nursing home and several people died including the man I knew.

Two people in their 40s (son and daughter in law of a good friend of mine) caught it back in April and were very sick--one in ICU twice. They both are still having breathing problems. They say they don't know how they got it but they were out and about a lot, still attending parties, eating out, etc before they got sick. Their young children never got sick but have not been tested so I don't know if they had it or not.

Two friends got sick in late June at a work meeting (for some reason no masks were worn and no social distancing). Someone attending the meeting had Covid but had no symptoms at the time (developed symptoms later). Both of my friends were fairly sick but appear to have recovered. These 2 gave it to several family members. The father of one died (the son who gave it to his father feels extremely guilty--he invited the father over for dinner and that was when the father was infected), the rest of the family appear to have recovered.

A friend (in his 50s) was infected in April, was very sick but not hospitalized and is still having health problems. He says he was staying home (I believe him) and was not around anyone who had the virus. His theory is that he got the virus from groceries he picked up from curbside pick up at the grocery store (that is why I am still sanitizing the groceries).

A friend got sick with Covid in June, had to be hospitalized but is doing better now. She had been keeping her grandchildren so her daughter could work and that is how she got the virus--the daughter and grandchildren all tested positive but did not get sick.

Two friends have recently tested positive and its is too early to know how sick they will be. I have not asked either of them how they were infected but they had been going out to eat in restaurants and to family events.

 

[Midpack]

There are states which got their infections way down, which have kept their positivity rate way down through adequate testing, which invested in an army of contact tracers and deployed them. I wouldn’t want to discourage state and local efforts just because other areas are doing poorly and it makes the big picture look bad. Contact tracing is a local function. So I disagree about the macro level being important when what matters is the local effort.

Not sure how controlling areas with infections way down and not states/large metro areas where contact tracing won’t work anymore is much help in the macro, but whatever you say.

 

[Navigator]

Not sure how controlling areas with infections way down and not states/large metro areas where contact tracing won’t work anymore is much help in the macro, but whatever you say.

I believe the idea is to keep areas that aren’t yet out of control from flaring up. That way, when the current hot spots are brought under control we won’t have new locations take their place,

 

[harllee]

One job the tracers have is to follow up with people who have tested positive to check on how they are doing and to make sure those people are quarantining for 14 days. Most people do quarantine. For those who refuse to quarantine, the local government should step in with some sort of enforcement.

 

[Time2]

The irony to me is that if everyone wore N95 masks we could knock this out rapidly. N95 masks actually protect the wearer if worn properly. I know someone will say the masks simply are not available, and that was a good excuse a half a year ago, but to be floundering around as we head for Labor Day just blows my mind.

I'm not sure how available N95 masks are.
My daughter is in Dental college and they were not working on patients because of Covid, but that is needed to graduate. So they started fitting and testing N95 masks but many did not pass the smell/taste test because of fit. I wanting to make sure my daughter gets out of college as a dentist, so I contacted 3M and ask about all the sizes of masks and options. I was given the info, but also told, that I probably wouldn't be able to get any masks, because only government agencies can buy N95 masks, then they distribute to the most in need, who I suspect are medical personel, first responders, etc. This was on 7/16/20.

 

[donheff]

I'm not sure how available N95 masks are.
My daughter is in Dental college and they were not working on patients because of Covid, but that is needed to graduate. So they started fitting and testing N95 masks but many did not pass the smell/taste test because of fit. I wanting to make sure my daughter gets out of college as a dentist, so I contacted 3M and ask about all the sizes of masks and options. I was given the info, but also told, that I probably wouldn't be able to get any masks, because only government agencies can buy N95 masks, then they distribute to the most in need, who I suspect are medical personel, first responders, etc. This was on 7/16/20.

This is what the Defense Procurement Act could have solved. Big, guaranteed contracts allow manufacturers to ramp up production without risk. It's not worth fretting about now - it simply is not going to happen in the near term. Same thing with testing capacity and particularly the rapid tests that could enable schools to open - ain't going to happen in the near term.

 

[Badger]

From what I’ve read Covid is too widespread in the US to make effective use of contact tracing any more, we missed that window of opportunity. Waiting 5-10 days for results makes tracing useless as well. Between that and many Americans ‘you can’t tell me what to do’ attitude, we’re all left with protecting ourselves come what may as others have noted. Contact tracing now seems a waste of (scarce) resources, but politicians will do it anyway so they can say the did to cynical voters. We’re a nation with a huge willfully ignorant population...on display for the world to watch. Sturgis is the latest example, with thousands of family gatherings daily adding to the case load...
https://www.npr.org/sections/health...ublic-health-capacity-in-many-states-what-now

+1 Especially the bold type. You can't trust most people to understand or follow responsible behavior. There is frequently the thought that fudging on the recommendations by the most knowledgeable scientists and doctors is OK. They convince themselves that since it was only once then they don't have to worry and then they pass the virus on to you. It's like the excuse of a pregnancy where they say, "I don't know how that happened since we only had sex one time."
Stupid is as stupid does. Too many people with the mentality of a box of rocks.



Cheers!

 

[Badger]

This is the saddest thread I have read since joining all those years ago.

We have not left our house since January 15th. With one exception: Last week the State of Colorado forced me to have an emission test done on one of the vehicles. It was, however, less traumatic than I imagined. I did not have to get out of the car. But did have to speak with the attendant through the cracked window and accept the receipt.

In any event, that has been the only contact with another person we (well, me) have had since January... and we are quite committed to continuing this isolation into next year. Yeah, it isn't easy since we are more accustomed to 25,000 miles RVing each year.

You may very well be the last one left when this is over.



Cheers!

 

[donheff]

The irony to me is that if everyone wore N95 masks we could knock this out rapidly. N95 masks actually protect the wearer if worn properly. I know someone will say the masks simply are not available, and that was a good excuse a half a year ago, but to be floundering around as we head for Labor Day just blows my mind.

On the other hand, the CDC says that if 95% wore the marginal masks that are already widely available we could knock this out in a few weeks. In America's politicized mask, anti-mask environment that isn't going to happen. We could have N95s available in every supermarket and hardware store in the country and people wouldn't use them.

 

[harllee]

The irony to me is that if everyone wore N95 masks we could knock this out rapidly. N95 masks actually protect the wearer if worn properly. I know someone will say the masks simply are not available, and that was a good excuse a half a year ago, but to be floundering around as we head for Labor Day just blows my mind.

I don't think real N95s are available. From what I see available and from the reviews much of what is available they are cheap copies and probably no better than a cloth mask. Plus for an N95 to work correctly it must be sized and fitted correctly.

But I agree with your sentiment--even if we all wore what masks are available and social distanced this thing could be knocked out pretty fast.

 

[harllee]

I started this thread and I hope to keep it open and focused on contact tracing. So please let's limit the mask discussion and not get political so the thread will not be shut down. I personally would like to discuss the mask issue but that does not work on this Forum.

 

[Rianne]

I started this thread and I hope to keep it open and focused on contact tracing. So please let's limit the mask discussion and not get political so the thread will not be shut down. I personally would like to discuss the mask issue but that does not work on this Forum.

Contact tracing is discouraging. When the Univ. of Ill. students come back to Champaign I'm staying away from campus. The administration says they have all the safety issues in place. There will be contact tracing, testing, masks, sanitizing...seriously? Can you imagine contact tracing a college student? They go to classes, dormitories, restaurants (ours are currently open to indoor seating), study groups. I can hear the question: How many people have you come in contact with in the last week? Hundreds?

 

[sengsational]

Specific contact tracing is probably not realistic when the prevalence is so high and contacts so numerous. Maybe it should be more like public situation review. Ok, you got it. Where did you go and what did you do in the last X days? Less about who was there and more about behavior and situations where transmission might have occurred. Then, with enough data, and the magic of statistics, we can use that to change what we do.

 

[harllee]

Contact tracing is discouraging. When the Univ. of Ill. students come back to Champaign I'm staying away from campus. The administration says they have all the safety issues in place. There will be contact tracing, testing, masks, sanitizing...seriously? Can you imagine contact tracing a college student? They go to classes, dormitories, restaurants (ours are currently open to indoor seating), study groups. I can hear the question: How many people have you come in contact with in the last week? Hundreds?

Sad but true. My contact tracer friend says that some young people who have tested positive have given her pages of names of people that have recently been in contact with. Impossible to trace.

 

[Navigator]

Contact tracing is discouraging. When the Univ. of Ill. students come back to Champaign I'm staying away from campus. The administration says they have all the safety issues in place. There will be contact tracing, testing, masks, sanitizing...seriously? Can you imagine contact tracing a college student? They go to classes, dormitories, restaurants (ours are currently open to indoor seating), study groups. I can hear the question: How many people have you come in contact with in the last week? Hundreds?

Certainly contact tracing will not get everyone an infected college student comes in contact with. Even if it only finds a portion of exposed students though, the infection rate will be lower than if university didn’t do it. Having said that, I will be avoiding universities also.

 

[RonBoyd]

I don't think real N95s are available. From what I see available and from the reviews much of what is available they are cheap copies and probably no better than a cloth mask. Plus for an N95 to work correctly it must be sized and fitted correctly.

Yes, N95 masks are reserved for medical personnel (supposedly) and not easy to find. KN95 masks, on the other hand, are more available.

Both form a complete seal around the mouth and nose.

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/whats-the-difference-between-n95-and-kn95-masks/

 

[harllee]

Specific contact tracing is probably not realistic when the prevalence is so high and contacts so numerous. Maybe it should be more like public situation review. Ok, you got it. Where did you go and what did you do in the last X days? Less about who was there and more about behavior and situations where transmission might have occurred. Then, with enough data, and the magic of statistics, we can use that to change what we do.

Sengsational--good thoughts. From my contact tracer friend I have learned that the #1 source for virus spread in my area was the nursing homes, although that seems to more under control now. #2 is family meals and family get togethers. Young people gatherings is probably #3 (20 young people contracted the virus at a bar that opened illegally). Funerals have been a big source of spread in my area. Inside dining at restaurants has seen some spread. There have been some spread in work areas but we do not have any meat plants or large factories. There was some spread at the Whole Foods Grocery. Our schools and university are just now opening so major spread has not happened there yet but over 30 college football players tested positive. No spread so far in hotels. No spread identified at any outdoor rallies. No spread so far at any dentist or doctor offices. Most all spread has been indoors with extended contact more than just a few minutes.