The CDC issued a change to their definition of what constitutes a “close contact” of a person testing positive for coronavirus, meaning that more people exposed to covid-positive individuals will need to quarantine and get tested. The previous guidelines stated that “close contact” meant that someone spent fifteen minutes around that person, but they’re now stating that it’s a total of fifteen minutes over the course of 24 hours. They’re basing this on a case study out of a prison in Vermont, where six new prisoners and a prison guard all caught the virus. The guard was allegedly wearing a mask at all times but caught it too. I’m relying on CNBC’s reporting here because I read several articles about this and think they do the best job of reporting it.
The Centers for Disease Control updated its definition of what it means to be in “close contact” with someone infected with Covid-19 on Wednesday, after publishing a report on Covid-19 cases that took place at a Vermont correctional facility.
Previously, the agency said that “close contact” meant being within six feet of an infected person for 15 consecutive minutes. Now, it’s considered “close contact” if you spend a total of 15 minutes within six feet of an infected person over the course of a 24-hour period, starting two days before the onset of illness. For example, if you had three five-minute exposures to the person over the course of a day, that would count as close contact.
A study published on Wednesday outlines how a mask-wearing corrections officer in Vermont contracted Covid-19 after having several brief interactions with Covid-positive individuals over the course of an eight-hour shift.
After reviewing surveillance footage, public health officials noted that a 20-year-old corrections officer had 22 interactions (lasting about a minute each) within six feet of six incarcerated or detained individuals who were asymptomatic and awaiting Covid-19 test results. In total, the study authors estimate the officer had 17 minutes of exposure to infected people over the course of the day.
A day later, the six individuals tested positive for Covid-19. But since the corrections officer wasn’t technically deemed a “close contact,” he continued to go to work. Seven days after the brief exposures, he developed symptoms of Covid-19.
It’s worth noting that the officer was wearing a microfiber cloth mask, gown, goggles for eye protection and in most interactions, gloves. The incarcerated or detained people also wore microfiber cloth masks most of the time, but the CDC says “during several encounters in a cell doorway or in the recreation room, [they] did not wear masks.”
First of all, the fact that we’re not hearing more about how coronavirus is spreading so rapidly in the incarcerated population (and among unlawfully detained immigrants) is unconscionable. There are surely so many cases going unreported. Why are prisons and jails not enforcing mask-wearing? Oh I know, because they don’t care if prisoners get sick or die. They will spend millions of dollars outfitting prisons with military tactical gear but balk at basic preventative measures during a pandemic. The for-profit prison system needs to be abolished.
As for how this affects everyday people, we need to wear masks at all times, remain vigilant, and not make exceptions for friends. (The CNBC article has more on that if you’re interested.) My son and I have the KN95 masks (from Amazon and they’re available at stores near me now) and are only wearing those, not the cloth masks, when we go out. This also really brings it home that people working in the service industry need to consistently and correctly wear masks. Whenever I go shopping I see multiple shoppers in my small town (which has had 500 cases so far) without masks. I also see workers talking to each other with their masks pulled down. There are always people with their masks pulled down beneath their nose. It’s frankly scary and makes me anxious whenever I go out. Plus, I know people who are still hanging out in groups over five and who are not in a social bubble. I wish them well and hope they’re ok but I doubt I’ll ever hang out with them again, even when this is over. It’s just too much of ideological difference for me to ignore.
Photos credit: Michael Amadeus/Unsplash and Anna Shvets/Pexels
Exposure is accumulative: that’s scary.
In New Zealand, where there are hardly any cases and very good contact tracing, they just discovered that someone caught Covid with just 3 minutes of casual exposure to an infected person.
So NZ have just redefined ‘close contact’ of 15 minutes’ to ‘casual contact of 3 minutes’.
THREE MINUTES?? 😲😳😫
I wonder if this also applies to being in a place an infected person might’ve just been. For example, we have signs posted at my condo complex to not share elevators unless you are in the same household. So if someone is waiting for one, you wait distanced, until they’ve gone in, doors close, then you move to press to get the next one. If someone isn’t wearing a mask (even though they’re supposed to!) or wearing an old (too “used” ineffectual) mask, could there be enough of a viral load to get through your own mask???
As if there wasn’t enough already to be worried about!!
Yes. The 3 mins case was from dock workers, where a person was on a ship for 3 mins where the infected person had been. I don’t think they actually had face to face contact, hence the term ‘casual contact’. They were both wearing PPE!
We know the virus droplets hang in the air. We know you can get it from breathing it in.
We know being in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces increases risk, exponentially.
We’ve know this from the beginning from all the cruise ship infections where some cabins had no windows and used recycled air, carrying infected droplets to all parts of the ship. You also don’t want to be flying.
This is why some countries only allow 1 household member leave at a time. And why many bars, gyms and dancing venues are closed. Because talking, shouting, singing, sweating can also force droplets into air, that an unsuspecting passerby can breath in.
In China, passengers on a bus got infected from not touching anything but merely breathing the droplets an infected person left behind, earlier that day. Never mind the social distancing measures, the bus circulated the infection via air conditioning.
If you must leave home, choose open, well ventilated areas.
Masks are crucial. If not to fully stop the infection, to at least lessen the viral load you inhale, thus making you less prone to serious illness.
Glad to hear you’re being safe out there, CB. Here in California we have a mask mandate, which makes shopping more comfortable, but I’m still baffled by the number of people that don’t wear their masks properly and don’t social distance. I carry alcohol spray hand sanitizer for the sole purpose of spraying a little wildly when people crowd me. Lol they tend to back up to the proper distance at that point.
I was shocked to see KN95s at Lowe’s (and N95s on their website!). I’ve been going in to work since August, and wearing only my Cambridge Pro or KN95s. So much is beyond my control that it feels comforting to at least be as safe as possible on my end.
I live in So.CAl, on the westside, in Century City. MASKS ARE mandated, but it doesn’t seem to be enforced ANYWHERE. The number of MAGAts here in my area is ASTOUNDING me (Westside has usually been HEAVILY Dem.)! My condo complex had to send out ANOTHER letter yesterday to remind people to not just WEAR a mask when you step out of your unit, but to wear it PROPERLY, OVER YOUR NOSE and covering (over your mouth) your chin. When I drove through Beverly Hills to my pharmacy a couple of days ago, I passed three BH policemen, standing in the sidewalk, in a “triangle “ formation, less than 2 ft from each other, only ONE wore a mask!! I wrote down the two cars’ numbers and called the station to make a complaint.
IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE TO GET THIS UNDER CONTROL! It can be done in 6-8 wks according to Fauci and other experts!
I’m with you about the masks, I honestly want a survey at this point to just UNDERSTAND why. like, 10% – because they don’t know how to wear it, 15% because they think it’s cooler to pull it off their nose, 23% to rebel against the norm, 7% to infect as many other people as possible, 2% because the mask gets moist and they hate the word moist etc.
ahaha omg thanks for the tip, people tend to pull their masks off their noses and I’ve actually seen people adjusting the mask when it starts to pull up, you can literally see it’s less comfortable to wear it that way, but no, they have to look cool and pull it down, dammit. and then come way too close totally out of the left field, so spraying the sanitizer might just keep them away
Lol lol I hope it works for you. Gotta find a little humor in these strange times!
So basically you’ve got to treat them like an unruly cat and use a spray bottle on them?
Bwahahaha yes exactly! I have to say I used a spray bottle to train one of my dogs and he learned MUCH faster than some humans 😋
I’ve had to make a complaint in my dentist’s office when her PA came came out of the restroom (in the hallway) she wasn’t wearing one at all, came into the office maskless, and when I made a comment to the Dentist, she pulled it on, but UNDER HER NOSE. This is a periodontist! Everyone else was masked. When she was explaining procedures to me, she even pulled her paper surgical mask down several times. I sat up and told her that I while I know she said they rapid tested every couple of days, rooks temps…I wasn’t comfortable being in such a lax office, especially one where they’d be SO in my face, and I would need to find another doctor. And I left!
How friggin’ hard IS a this? ESP. In a medical office?? I’m not ready to get sick (or more probably die, due to my immunodeficiency) because someone is a *little* uncomfortable.
Good for you for leaving, but I’m sorry you were put in that position, and by a medical professional at that. The sheer hubris on display from people who should absolutely know better is staggering. If they were only endangering themselves it’d be easy to shrug off their audacity, but this behavior is getting innocent people killed and/or leaving them with long-term ramifications the totality of which we can’t even comprehend yet. I am so angry.
Ty, Sunday, I am, too!!
If. It , is. Only. Themselves. But it’s not. It’s EVERYONE they come into contact with and everyone they bring it home to (or pass on the way home!).
And now with this new info, about it being cumulative?? No thanks. I’m done being “nice” and not making “waves” about mask wearing .
I’m so sorry you had to do that, it’s crazy! I made the decision for my son and me that we would not get our teeth cleaned, even though it takes six months to get an appointment, because I don’t trust that dentist. I’m really sorry you had to deal with that I would be so stressed, the person is right in your face and they have a medical degree.
Thank you, CB. It’s not something I’d’ve done unless I had to (a medication caused a problem). I have to have one more visit, but have made it at another Dr. And asked a LOT of questions about their protocols!
Good for you! These people are driving me crazy, and especially someone in the medical field, who is in people’s faces all day long. I had to go to the dentist last week and was very nervous, even though they were suited up like crazy and there were lots of precautions. Most places here in NJ are excellent about enforcing the masks, and people have settled down and are wearing them, but far too many are still getting together socially.
I’m so ready to just hibernate for the winter and not see anyone.
My “regular “ dentist (who assed the need for the periodontal appt) and his back office assistants are suited up in quasi-hazmat suits! Complete with full head masks that supply oxygen for them. All the front office are FULLY masked and separated. BIG difference. Ugh… I feel like I need to be in one of those full body condoms like Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley wore in “The Naked Gun” movie!
It is so hard to be around people, because there are so many levels of defiance and ignorance.
I had to go in for a mammogram, and the office did everything they could to keep us safe. However, one lady in the waiting room sitting 6 feet to my right PULLED DOWN HER MASK TO COUGH. I looked at her with such dumbfounded horror. Of all the things to do! But I don’t know if she even realized what she did.
Another patient parked herself in one of the changing rooms, and I went to go to my locker in that room, she was sitting there with her mask off. I was so pissed! Why would you take your mask off in ANY public place? Much less a tiny room with no air flow? After she left, I had to hold my breath to take my clothes out of the locker in that room, then I ran to another room to get changed.
Agreed with all of this @Celebitchy I went in for a new doctor visit (finally have health insurance!) and one of the nurse assistants was sitting there in the open with her mask under her chin talking casually with one of the other nurses at the station. Then I saw her roll her eyes and chuckle when I sprayed some rubbing alcohol on the door handle before entering the bathroom. It’s amazing to me that this happens at a hospital/clinic and a fairly reputable one at that. One person can destroy all of the efforts of everyone else and put us all in danger.
I’m really trying not to be angry all the time, to focus on the positive, and to be grateful for my job and my friends who I trust (I have a completely different friend group now, love you guys) but it is HARD. People are such f’ing assholes during a pandemic and this has really made me question my belief that the majority of people are decent. They are not, they are selfish f’cks who don’t care and can’t be bothered. /rant.
Sad to have to agree with your assessment about the majority. WTH happened to society, when SO FEW can be the *littlest bit* inconvenienced/uncomfortable for the greater good!? Can you imagine if this happened during either of the two World Wars?
Same situation at my local grocery store – multiple store employees wearing their (thin, disposable) masks under their noses, one store employee wearing a face shield with no mask (which does literally nothing, that’s not how air works), and some shoppers completely unmasked. Going grocery shopping should not be a live-threatening activity and I am furious that this is where we are.
lol “that’s not how air works”
Face shields, scarves and bandanas are not permitted in Australia. You must wear a FITTED MASK. You can wear a face shield if there is a fitted mask underneath of course.
To add to this, please explain to me why it’s necessary for both members of a couple (or an entire family) to be grocery shopping? One can’t stay home or in the car?
YES. and strolling very slowly, and chatting. every time I see that I’m like – can’t you just go to the freakin park?
We’ve all had a lot of time to adapt and so many are still refusing, amazing.
I know! I see whole families out all the time. It’s crazy.
+10000000
My husband and I go grocery shopping together because he’s not good at giving me a list. He never has been. He just tells me to get “stuff” but no guidance on what kind of stuff he wants or needs. He also bags the groceries and does a better job than the cashier and uses less plastic bags.
Then shouldn’t he be the one shopping?
@fluffy bunny, with all due respect, please limit your exposure, this is far from over.
I work at a bar, and the amount of people who come in in pairs or even groups to pick up their takeout is incredible.
Also, we have a mask mandate, but lots of people just ignore it.
SOOOOO many wear it on their chin or under their nose!
Some even have mocked me because I wore a mask before there was a mandate. Sorry, a lot of my regulars are elderly and don’t protect themselves because “It’s all a hoax” so it’s on me to protect their dumbasses.
Today I have a cough and my temp is 99.6 (my normal range is 96.5-97.3). Hoping for the best.
In Ohio the state has provided masks for all inmates and wearing them falls under state mandates. Back in May there were large outbreaks in the prisons but that has gotten under control. It’s stupid people in the general public who are running our numbers up. They’ve gotten lax about social distancing and like everywhere we have militant Karen’s & Kyles refusing to mask up at all.
People also need to remember that you should be washing those cloth masks after every use. You need to handle them like there is coronavirus on the outside that you are then transferring to your hands. I see people balling up their masks and putting them in their pockets, flinging them around in circles on their fingers (so flinging any viral particles around in the air). Also people who wear glasses should be washing those in warm soapy water daily.
You should be wearing a mask AND staying 6 ft away from people. It’s not an either/or, as some people think. It’s both. Mask + 6 ft apart and get away from anyone not wearing a mask asap.
I’ve been wearing my glasses almost exclusively since March (normally I’m a contact wearer) but it never occurred to me I should be washing them as well. Thank you so much for pointing this out! I’m going to start washing them when I come back home now.
Has there been any research on how long the virus can last on human hair? I see so many women wearing their hair down, messing with their hair, fussing with their hair and I just wonder if they have Covid on their hands, did they not just transfer it to their hair? Not everyone washes their hair everyday. I don’t know, I just hate everything right now…
“You should be wearing a mask AND staying 6 ft away from people”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS!!!!!! So many people (especially in my damn office) think it is ok to be close with people if you have a mask on. Masks don’t eliminate risk, they lessen it AND it is supposed to be done WITH distancing.
Welp, this makes me even more nervous now. Our new nurse just got diagnosed with Covid, she had 2 days worth of symptoms. And all of us nurses took turns training her the last 2 weeks before she felt bad on Wednesday. Today we got the results, now most of usare getting swabbed. Our office has been super careful and we wear lots of protective gear bc we do get patients with Covid. And we’ve had no staff covid positives before this. I know I never had my mask off around her, but this new research is troubling. Plus my MIL just had to go into the hospital bc she fell and broke her hip. I know she’ll want my help, but I definitely won’t be able to at all now.
My husband texted me this am that the hospital morgue is full (because funeral homes are full), and expired patients remain in ICU beds.
And people still go to the fkn bars.
I use a cloth mask with a particulate filter then cover that with a surgical mask that I can reuse, and I use lab goggles when I go to the grocery store or pharmacy, where I inevitably see a couple of imbeciles with their masks below their noses. Sometimes it takes all my effort to not verbally assault them while I fantasize about the nose being a good target for my fist.
“expired patients remain in ICU beds.”
That is so incredibly sad. I can’t believe that we are at this point, and I can’t believe that so many people don’t take it seriously. What I have heard from my former classmates who work at hospitals is so horrifying, and yet there are other classmates that call it a hoax. It is surreal to see doctors arguing with ignorant Trump devotees who deny the threat.
It’s so horrible because it did not have to be this way. It is incredibly, endlessly sad. We are in for a brutal winter, and I hope for the safety of all care providers, including my beloved spouse.
There will be serious PTSD issues for HCWs going forward because of the pandemic. I’m a former RN/CCRN and I cried so hard when the video of the traveling nurse (https://nypost.com/2020/04/10/icu-nurse-weeps-after-treating-coronavirus-patients-in-ny/) posted to social media. My heart breaks for every MD/RN/RT/MA who is in the ICU and/or ER for the horror they have to deal with. Such an emotional/psychic toll. I feel like HCWs should be interviewed about the horrors they deal with and it should be on the nightly news in every town in every state. People need a goddamned wake up call.
How do they know the officer didn’t contract the virus some where else or from some one outside of work? He used full protection…it doesn’t make sense. But I guess the mask he was wearing was to protect others not himself. I’m guessing the prisoners weren’t wearing masks? Had they been wearing mask, I highly doubt the officer would have caught it…but who knows.
Masks lessen the risk, they don’t remove all risk. It has to be done with social distancing.
It seems that “viral load” is important with this virus. How many particles you are exposed to over a period of time matters. If they are being repeatedly exposed in small doses in 1 day, it sounds like the viral load can build up over time.
Thank you for posting this! I’ve been witnessing all of this horrible behavior as well. I had a one on one meeting with someone who wears the mask on his chin. Before we met I made it clear he had to mask up properly. He gave me a song and dance about how he always does because his father in law died of covid. Next meeting with a group he took his mask off when speaking!!!! I walked out. I see this nonsense every time I go out!
I went into shoe store the other day and the lady behind the counter had her mask down below her nose. I walked right back out and as I was walking oit, in walks a lady with her 4 year old son. Little dude was not only wearing a mask, but wearing it CORRECTLY. I told him I liked his mask and good job for wearing it. He told me he liked my mask too. 💕
But yeah, children can grasp this concept but not some grown adults. Stay vigilant everyone. It’s so scary.
The interview with ZDogg MD and Dr Monica Gandhi on mask wearing is excellent. Dr Gandhi believes that mask wearing protects the wearer not just others and some local governments have been changing their message to let people know this.
Mask wearing is crucial. I have the same experience that other have encountered – people not wearing their masks correctly or not wearing them at all. It is so frustrating. Surely it would help the economy, and keep businesses open, if we all wore masks???
What do you all think are the best masks? I’ve been so confused… KN95 seem good but it seems like you need to be fitted for them? And these are diff from N95, which aren’t available? I started out using surgical masks but was concerned they didn’t fit me properly, had gaps, plus I got a rash one day from it rubbing. I’m now using Ministry of Supply masks with a filter, which fit well and I can breathe well through, and no rash. But is it enough? I got one for my brother who has to fly next week and I’m concerned about that? Honestly, even with lots of research it’s hard to figure out what’s best. Any advice or thoughts much appreciated. Also, thanks to wild waffles above re washing glasses, I never thought of that! And btw in NZ, it seems too that someone got it from touching an elevator button…
FYI — I talked w a medical friend last night and she said the ministry of supply masks esp w the filters they sell — offering >95% protection — are good, close to the N95’s at >99% protection. She also recommended wearing glasses, ideally goggles esp for long flights or enclosed situations. Hope that helps…