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I totally - and sincerely - understand what you are saying - and was generally abiding by that calendar - until some other helpful person brought THIS to my desk from the CDC:
Close Contact: Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
This contradicts the calendar. Or - rather - when given a choice between the two - which do you think most workplaces choose? Your own statement - about the White House - just goes to show - the policy is not clear.
Or - rather - it's clear - on two different pages, with two different messages.
I do not see how - logically - the "2 days prior..." makes any sense. What am I missing??
I see what you're saying. It is confusing. At work--several people tested positive recently--we were told what you wrote in your previous post, "An infected person can spread COVID-19 starting from 48 hours (or 2 days) before the person has any symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19." I can see the concern now.
The CDC actually has an email address for questions. I've written twice - and both times, they responded with the cut-n-past "48" hours blurb, without reference to the calendar, and without answer my question about the logic or clarity if it all.
It does not matter if you never have contact with someone again. You had contact with them while they were transmissible for the virus, thus you should quarantine for 14 days from the time you you had contact,
because it takes some time before the SARS-CoV-2 virus shows symptoms in the person and a person tests positive for COVID-19. They actually have COVID-19. Why do you think there were so many problems at the White House? The people were getting tested, but some were already sick even before the test confirmed it.
"Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department."
The CDC goes on to detail who needs to quarantine and includes the following public chart on its website:
It says 14 days on one page - and 48 hours on another. This is the part that is not clear.
I think you are continuing to confuse three slightly different things...the date their potentially contagious state began, the date you were exposed to them, and the date of their positive result. Which date is more important for you? It is still the date you were exposed as that's when your incubation clock starts.
Let's try this again...
You had close contact with someone on November 1. At that time they didn't know they had been exposed or when that occurred, or that they were even carrying Covid-19. No symptoms either way, so forget that aspect.
They get a test that confirms it on November 4, and they tell you about it on November 4.
How long should YOU quarantine?
If you base it on the date you were exposed to them, November 1, it puts the end of your quarantine at November 14. That date is up to 16 days AFTER the contagious person might be able to transmit the virus. Looking at it this way, the date of their positive test doesn't matter and the date they actually became contagious doesn't matter. Your quarantine would extend at least 14 days beyond that period. If you wanted to be the most conservative and cautious you could choose to quarantine until November 18...that would cover all the bases because it would reflect the latest date of all...the date of their positive test result.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-12-2020 at 01:39 PM..
Yeah - I see what you're saying Parnassia - because that's what I thought too. Unfortunately - a different CDC page contradicts that math completely.
That's why I'm asking. Not because I don't understand that policy. I do. I don't understand the OTHER policy. I don't.
Close ContactSomeone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
"the date of their positive test doesn't matter" - Evidently...it does...on THAT CDC page...
Clearly - if I saw them on November 1st - and they got tested November 4th - I am NOT considered a "close contact." ...on this CDC page. Totally contradicts the other page, which says 14 days since last close contact, with no reference to the date of the test. Is the date of the test important - or not ? Unclear.
Given a choice between the two - which one do people do? 48 hours, of course.
Common sense and logic tell me it's just poorly worded - and 14 days is the "real" answer. But my common sense is not good enough. Practically no one I've dealt with sees it that way (because common sense ain't common).
In lieu of a clarifying statement from the CDC - folks will obey one page, and ignore the other. This is why I am seeking a non-ambiguous clearly worded all-encompassing statement. The "calendar" page at the CDC is only one page - they have others. Our local health dept. confirmed -- "It's 48 hours." Not two weeks. (I'm talking ONLY about the "pre-time" before a positive test for an asymptomatic person.)
Which tells me either you and me both are dumb as a rock...or the health dept. is... or the CDC policy is not clear.
Something in the logic sequence still seems to be missing...quoting one statement out of a larger discussion can put it out of context. In terms of deciding whether or not quarantine might be prudent, I don't think the date of the test is really that important, only that the test was positive. I'd still refer back to the date of contact and calculate from there. I also think I'd resist quibbling over symptomatic or not, how many times I'd been close to the person over the contact event, and for how many minutes. I'd err on the safe side, assume I may now be within my own novel incubation period and quarantine. Sometimes sticking to the bigger picture helps.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-12-2020 at 03:30 PM..
Let's say I google, "Who needs to quarantine?" Two seconds, I'm here... (link at bottom)
"Who needs to quarantine? People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19..."
So - I do not scroll down farther...at all...I cannot see the calendar...yet...I simply click "close contact" - to see if that's me! And what do I see?
Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
And just like that: I am in the clear!! Why would I ever even SEE the calendar? You read it like I read it - 14 days - but we are in the minority.
Let's say I google, "Who needs to quarantine?" Two seconds, I'm here... (link at bottom)
"Who needs to quarantine? People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19..."
So - I do not scroll down farther...at all...I cannot see the calendar...yet...I simply click "close contact" - to see if that's me! And what do I see?
Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
And just like that: I am in the clear!! Why would I ever even SEE the calendar? You read it like I read it - 14 days - but we are in the minority.
Sorry, I still don't see it, but I also understand what's meant and I can't disable that understanding. Even without triggering the calendar I still come away with the message that I need to quarantine for 14 days if I had close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. What you and others may be doing is confusing the definition of close contact (which goes into the detail about distance, minutes of exposure, etc) with the criteria that triggers self-quarantine. The date of exposure is still the date of exposure and that's what should determine how long quarantine lasts. People are trying to apply the wrong answer to the wrong question because they don't want to deal with it or choose not to believe it (using the whack-a-doodle WH might not be the best example).
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-12-2020 at 04:58 PM..
If you were out for a business reason, then you do NOT have to quarantine.
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