Thread by @jencouldrey, On Friday I received the dreaded message...I'd been exposed to COVID.Here is [...]

On Friday I received the dreaded message...I'd been exposed to COVID.

Here is my experience and observations so far...

Apparently I was near someone for over 15 minutes who has since tested positive. Unfortunately, that's all the information you get. It would be INCREDIBLY HELPFUL if the app told you when & where the exposure happened, for many reasons...

Telling people when & where exposure happened enables individuals to understand:
a) who they might have exposed (I saw my family last weekend, did my exposure happen before or after our visit?)

b) the timing of your quarantine period (regardless of testing outcome, you're supposed to quarantine for 2 weeks after exposure- did my exposure happen on Aug 31 or Sep 10? Not a huge deal for me, but what if I was an hourly worker who was supposed to be going in to work?)

c) without knowing when & where I was exposed, we lose any insights into how community transmission is occurring, what behaviours are risky, and what policy changes are required

My only way to deduce where this might have happened was to make a list of everywhere I've been and everyone I've seen over the last two weeks, and to reach out and ask them if they received a similar notice.

Thankfully, all 3 of the people I'd seen had the app and did not receive a notification. This led me to believe that the exposure likely happened in line at the bank or post office. Since I wore a mask and kept my distance both time, I was reassured that I was hopefully safe.

My husband and I went to get tested at a drive-in site Saturday morning. We arrived at 9:30 and were there for 3 hours. The line was twice as long when we left. Meaning that those who arrived at 12:30 would likely be in line until the site closed at 6...

...so if you didn't arrive by 12:30, you weren't getting tested that day. I heard reports of similarly long lines at testing sites around the city. It seems our government hasn't invested in infrastructure to support more efficient testing, despite this being here for 6 months.

I really believe they should have expected testing needs to skyrocket in the fall, with a second wave expected, school re-opening, and seasonal colds / flus making people question if they might have it. (Don't we all always have a sore throat these days?)

Back to the app: by Saturday morning, this is what my app showed.

What???

Apparently the app doesn't retain user history...

I feel like the privacy concerns about the app have led to it being ineffective. Did you know that the govt has no record of infections reported through the app? The fact that it doesn't retain user history OR notify you of when or where your exposure happened reduces its utility

Then began the long wait. My husband and I isolated ourselves from each other in our house. We canceled our outdoor dinner plans. We postponed all errands and appointments. On the plus side, I finally gave myself permission over the weekend to relax and do nothing.

Two days later, I got the good news- I tested negative!

Bizarrely, despite sitting right next to me during testing, my husband's news took another 24 hours to come through- also negative :)

Now, we're unclear whether we're supposed to keep isolating or not. The doctor at the testing site said if we test negative, we're fine. Some govt sites say if you've been exposed to Covid, you should continue to isolate for 14 days regardless of a negative test...

We'll err on the side of caution...but again, what if our livelihoods relied on us being able to leave the house?? What if we had kids...would they be expected to stay home from school for another 2 weeks? This would be a much more difficult choice with significant implications.

So, in summary:
- everyone should download the app (even just to help deduce where others' exposure happened)
- keep your social interactions headline-friendly
- keep wearing your mark & keeping your distance
- we need better testing infrastructure & clearer guidance

One final thought: I've heard from a few people that they received notifications of exposure despite not having gone anywhere- and left wondering if it's a glitch. To me, this is just one more reason why showing the point of exposure is critical, to legitimize the notification.

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