Was it COVID-19?
March 15, 2020 12:59 AM Subscribe
Husband came down with flu-like symptoms on Feb. 29 and tested negative that day for flu. Was it actually COVID? And if it was, do I need to do anything now?
Husband came down with a fever, chills, and cough - but not necessarily shortness of breath - on Feb. 29. He went to urgent care and got a flu test which was negative. The doctor explained that since his fever had only started that morning, it was not surprising that his test had been negative. He was prescribed Tamiflu with good improvement and was fever free for 48 hours before heading back to work on March. 3.
We are 12 days out from when he went back to work and he still has a cough but no fever, chills, body aches, etc. Three other people in his office also came down with similar symptoms almost at the same time, with one being diagnosed with pneumonia and the other testing positive for flu. All have mostly recovered and are back at work.
If this was COVID (we are in the south and had no reported cases for a least another week), do I still need to worry about disinfecting or quarantining? No one else in the family has symptoms or fever and I was pretty hard core about disinfecting while he has quarantined.
Husband came down with a fever, chills, and cough - but not necessarily shortness of breath - on Feb. 29. He went to urgent care and got a flu test which was negative. The doctor explained that since his fever had only started that morning, it was not surprising that his test had been negative. He was prescribed Tamiflu with good improvement and was fever free for 48 hours before heading back to work on March. 3.
We are 12 days out from when he went back to work and he still has a cough but no fever, chills, body aches, etc. Three other people in his office also came down with similar symptoms almost at the same time, with one being diagnosed with pneumonia and the other testing positive for flu. All have mostly recovered and are back at work.
If this was COVID (we are in the south and had no reported cases for a least another week), do I still need to worry about disinfecting or quarantining? No one else in the family has symptoms or fever and I was pretty hard core about disinfecting while he has quarantined.
Act as if it were, for the sake of your family and community.
posted by pompomtom at 5:22 AM on March 15, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 5:22 AM on March 15, 2020 [7 favorites]
I feel like it's possible. I went to Las Vegas January 25-28 for a work meeting, brought my husband. Shortly after returning we both succumbed to the 2nd most virulent flu I've had in my life. Temps over 101, all the symptoms. It subsided by Day 6. I now wonder if this was an early case. But yeah, I agree "act as if it were" and continue to quarantine yourselves.
posted by Miko at 6:53 AM on March 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Miko at 6:53 AM on March 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
Unlikely. Community transmission was not to be happening at that point, it sounds like they all got the same thing, which was detected in one person as the flu. I’d be assuming he had the flu.
It sounds like your question is if you should act like you’ve been exposed and can’t transmit it any longer - unless you’ve been diagnosed with it, no, you should not assume that.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:55 AM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
It sounds like your question is if you should act like you’ve been exposed and can’t transmit it any longer - unless you’ve been diagnosed with it, no, you should not assume that.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:55 AM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, he doesn't want anyone getting flu, either. This morning I had a horrible realization: we know that flu is already around, and we know that a lot of people every year are hospitalized for the flu and many die. Well, now, even if "all" you have is regular flu, if you get it and need hospitalization, you'll be competing with everyone who is in the hospital for COVID - and it's the same staff care and the same equipment and the same space. So we could even see more fatalities from regular flu because of the new load on the system.
So, if I were you I'd continue to quarantine.
posted by Miko at 7:12 AM on March 15, 2020 [7 favorites]
So, if I were you I'd continue to quarantine.
posted by Miko at 7:12 AM on March 15, 2020 [7 favorites]
This has proved surprisingly hard to find information on.
Here is the only useful thing I turned up, which suggests that you should no longer be infectious roughly 10 days after a mild case.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:36 AM on March 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
Here is the only useful thing I turned up, which suggests that you should no longer be infectious roughly 10 days after a mild case.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:36 AM on March 15, 2020 [3 favorites]
Btw, the gold standard for actually saying you are immune is an antibody test from a blood draw (which doesn't exist yet) - this is not the nasal swab test, which only tests for actively secreted virus particles. It is unclear whether "lack of secretion after an active infection" means immunity. Worst case is nasal secretion ends after two weeks but it hangs around In your guts for a longer time (and there is proof of fecal secretion).
posted by benzenedream at 9:13 AM on March 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 9:13 AM on March 15, 2020 [2 favorites]
You'd need to worry about distancing even if it was certain he didn't have COVID19. Stay home.
posted by waffleriot at 1:47 PM on March 15, 2020
posted by waffleriot at 1:47 PM on March 15, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by benzenedream at 1:35 AM on March 15, 2020 [1 favorite]