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Distribution of tests and masks is kind of iffy. My local-area libraries still offer them, but there are no longer lines around the block to get them like there were five months ago. You do need to be careful about the expiration dates on them.
Free K95 masks are still available from CVS pharmacies; just ask the cashier. Usually they give you four, but sometimes just two, and sometimes they don't have any. One time I went to a store near where I work, and they gave me two bags of 20!
These masks are government surplus, so you never know what you might get. Some have elastic bands that go behind the head, which I prefer, as the elastic bands that loop over the ears can sometimes be too tight. Some have a rather coarse finish, while others have a pretty smooth finish and are individually sealed in a pouch. A couple times, I got the coarse ones in a plastic baggie.
On the other hand, we recently purchased a package of 10 KN95s because they were colored black. They were about $1 each, but were flimsy; the elastic broke very easily on all of them.
As a church musician my wife has always had higher odds of exposure than me, and last week she finally tested positive (from exposure to one of the ministers who had tested positive, we think). A couple of days later I started showing symptoms (mainly congestion and coughing), but I have tested negative twice, so I must have a mild case. In fact I only had one heavy day: by the end of last Thursday I went to bed early with body pain and exhaustion and slept for nine hours.
My wife has improved steadily, and today we both have some congestion and coughing left, mainly. Neither of us experienced loss of smell or taste. I'm just grateful it happened early enough to allow me to volunteer at HeroesCon this weekend.
Haven't got it yet (AFAIK) but with all my shots and masking when required I hope for the same as you guys.
I'm working from home and never go out unless it's someplace with good ventilation (i.e., outside). My wife works at the health department, where everybody is masked. Neither of us have gotten it.
Tomorrow I go into the office for the first time since March 9th 2020. This is just a one-off for now.
We're supposed to be back to full hybrid in September. I don't know if that includes me yet or not.
They actually closed our office, so we're all permanently working from home, now. Definitely don't miss spending several hours a day on the LIE*.
*Stands for "Long Island Expressway"
Travis Herrick (Modular Mod) said:
Tomorrow I go into the office for the first time since March 9th 2020. This is just a one-off for now.
We're supposed to be back to full hybrid in September. I don't know if that includes me yet or not.
Remember how I tested positive for COVID a few months ago and kept saying I never felt a thing? Well ... I tested positive this week, and I definitely feel it.
I'm baffled in that I took a test Monday at my workplace and it came up negative Tuesday, but later Tuesday I started feeling bad, and took two home tests on Wednesday. The first, which I took early in the day, was ambiguous, but the second one was definitive. I'm also baffled in that I have had all of my shots.
Now, I've been out and about, on public transit, at church, and at a comics/anime/gaming/movies/TV/pop culture convention called Blerdcon last weekend, so I can't pinpoint where I might have been exposed. But I will dutifully isolate in my bedroom for the next week and ride it out.
Here is Los Angeles County the hospitalization rate has been climbing. It looks like the indoor mask mandate will be back by the end of July. I'm starting to use a mask again, since the increased infections from the latest variants are already out there.