Dear People with “Just a Cold,”
Maybe you do have a cold. But also, you might have COVID. Let’s recap the Omicron symptoms:
- Cough
- Fatigue or tiredness
- Congestion and runny nose
That’s right: Also symptoms of a cold.
So before you get around anyone, TAKE A COVID TEST. They are available in stores (you can use your FSA/HSA), and there are free testing sites all over the place.
If it’s positive, ISOLATE, FFS.
And let’s be clear: You shouldn’t be around anyone if you have a cold either.
It’s because of one of you that my son and sister in law had a lonely Christmas.
Gideon hung out with some friends. Two days later, he didn’t feel well. Typical cold symptoms. We sent him to his room. Tested him: positive. Then Eddie, Dominic and I tested ourselves: negative. We waited a day. Tested again. Negative. Waited. Tested. Negative.
Only then did we feel like we were safe to be around other people.
Even though we didn’t have any symptoms.
See how that works? Protecting others?
We just tested again to be safe.
But Christmas 2021 is the one Gideon will remember as the one where we made him wear what amounted to a HazMat suit to open his gifts.
I haven’t ever gotten Coronavirus [knocks wood], and I don’t plan to get it. I’m not taking chances.
The bottom line: If you think you have a cold, get tested anyway. Don’t be a Typhoid Mary.
Kthxbyeeee,
Beth
* To the tune of this classic.
Observe and report 
You know, I’m not taking a test since getting a test is kind of a challenge here. If I get a “cold” I’m just isolating as I would anyway BUT I don’t have a family so I can do that.
I used to have on my syllabus, “If you’re sick, stay home. You WON’T be in trouble. We’ll work it out.” My students never believed that and came to class sick.
I got H1N1 and was sick for two weeks, fever of 103, passing out in the kitchen — and my fucking students complained that I missed class. I GOT it from one of them and I can still see her nasty little snot coated face and hear her refusal to go home when I told her to. It’s crazy how our school system teaches people to be stupid and selfish. Things like “you only get two excused absences in the semester” spread disease.
That’s my rant… 😀 Stay well
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You are right, and I’m so sorry that snot-nosed hussy did that to you. Get a cold. Test or isolate. Yes.
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Yep. Well, I knew what I was in for. They were all 19… 😉
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