Q&A: What should I do if I’m exposed to COVID-19? Is it safe to travel for the holidays?
Since Thanksgiving, Idaho has reported record numbers of COVID-19 cases, COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations related to the disease — and health officials are bracing for even more as Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays approach.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has shared the CDC’s message encouraging people to spend the holidays at home with their household members, and some of Idaho’s health districts have also repeated that message.
Brandon Atkins, spokesman for Boise-based Central District Health, said health officials know it’s not an ideal situation.
“I know it’s a hard message to hear, but we can’t guarantee anyone’s health and safety as a result of (the surging cases),” Atkins said. “And it’s not just fearmongering. Who is that one person you think is OK to die because of this choice that you’ve made?”
So what does a safe holiday look like as the pandemic continues? And what should you do if you think you’ve been exposed to COVID-19?
CAN I SEE MY LOVED ONES FOR CHRISTMAS?
Like it did at Thanksgiving, Central District Health is standing by its message discouraging travel and gathering for the rest of the holiday season, including Christmas and New Year’s.
“The message we’re trying to share is that no one is recommended to travel because we are in a high-risk community spread area,” Atkins said, adding that many other states are in the same situation.
If you plan to gather with others regardless, the CDC recommends isolating from close contact with non-household members for two weeks prior to the gathering — meaning anyone who wants to celebrate Christmas Day with extended family should’ve started isolating on Dec. 11. All individuals attending the gathering should do the same. You should also plan to isolate for an additional two weeks following your last close contact with non-household members.
Atkins said the majority of people test positive for COVID-19 or start to show symptoms three to five days after exposure while others can take longer and, of course, some people may be asymptomatic.
Current Stage 2 restrictions in Idaho technically limit all gatherings to 10 people or fewer, even in private residences. Ahead of Thanksgiving, local health care providers said they were seeing a significant amount of COVID-19 cases resulting from family gatherings.
IS IT OK FOR ME TO GATHER WITH OTHERS IF I GET A NEGATIVE COVID-19 TEST FIRST?
Atkins said prior to Thanksgiving, many people seemed to be using a negative test as the OK to travel or attend gatherings. But that plan is flawed, he said.
Infected individuals could potentially receive a negative test when they have a low viral load, then spread the coronavirus to others before they ever realize they’re infected. There’s also the chance that you could test negative and become infected between your test and your gathering.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I THINK I’VE BEEN EXPOSED?
With what Atkins called “unbridled spread” of the virus in the Treasure Valley, it’s possible to be exposed to COVID-19 even if you celebrate the holidays solo. If you’ve spent time with someone who later tests positive or if you start to experience symptoms yourself, Atkins said the most important thing to do is isolate yourself.
“One of the basic guidelines that we couldn’t emphasize enough is that if (someone) believes they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 ... the main message is that they need to be isolating and quarantined,” he said.
That doesn’t just mean avoid social gatherings or higher risk activities.
“You shouldn’t be going to grocery store,” Atkins said. “Send someone to do any activity (outside the house). That’s what quarantine is. Quarantine isn’t ‘go about your life and hopefully nothing happens’ ... which is what many people in our community have been doing.”
You can find a nearby testing site at get-tested-covid19.org. As you wait for test results, continue to isolate, Atkins said.
In recent weeks, the CDC has adjusted its quarantine guidelines to add “acceptable alternatives” to the 14-day quarantine: 7 days of quarantine with a negative test and no symptoms or 10 days of quarantine without testing and with no symptoms. Still, Atkins said a two-week quarantine is the safest considering the possibility of false negatives in testing and asymptomatic spread of the virus.
“No negative test is going to release you from quarantine,” Atkins said. “It can give you a sense of peace in your mind, but you still have to keep to yourself for that two weeks. You can’t get a clean bill of health from something that is an unknown.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IF I TEST POSITIVE?
In a best-case scenario, your local health district would have a contact tracer checking in to track your symptoms, help trace possible exposures and answer questions you may have. But health districts across Idaho are falling behind on lab results and notifications due to the surge in cases and staffing shortages (Central District Health has only 30 contact tracers for its population of half a million people).
Those contact tracers are overwhelmed trying to reach all COVID-positive patients, which means not everyone with a positive test will get a call from the health district. Officials are prioritizing high-risk individuals, like the elderly, and those who could potentially spread the virus to others, like school-age children.
Without guidance from the health district, some people aren’t clear on what their next steps should be after a positive test result. Atkins said those anyone who gets a positive result needs to quarantine for 10 days following the onset of symptoms. He also said people who test positive must be responsible for informing people they may have been in touch with while infected.
“Contact tracing could be more effective if the community was really working together to protect each other, but right now we’re not seeing that,” Atkins said. “And if you know someone who has been exposed and you know they’re not (contacting others), you need to follow up with that person and let them know they’re putting people at unnecessary risk.”
“I know it’s exhausting,” Atkins said. “It’s a worldwide exhaustion. But we just have to keep going until we show there’s an effective light at the end of this tunnel.”
