How's 'that' situation going now?

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

1. How is the Coronavirus situation where you live? What's closed down? Have you gone out much? Are you (Oh, what's the trendy term now " Self-distancing "?) staying inside as a precaution or actually infected or is anyone else you know? I hope, if so, you're well. Let's...well, exchange comments.
2.   I am now in Portland, Oregon. The Govenor, and then, locally, Portland declared a state of emergency. I saw the comment made that Oregon was the furthest behind on dealing with CV of the 3 West Coast states.
3.   I went out yesterday ( Sun.), I am ill and had sleep to make up to-day (Mon.) and ended up not going out - I may go out across the street to a all-nite grocery tonite-early Tues. I have not heard of a regular medical appointment Tues. being cancelled.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I went to lunch with my former co-workers last week (at a popular but not very good Mexican restaurant) and there wasn't a mask in sight (including me, I must admit).

I just got back from the grocery store, for the first time wearing no mask. There were only two shoppers (together) wearing one. 

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

An update: home test came up negative after five days, so we seem to have dodged that bullet. We are both still masking when indoors.

Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod) said:

My wife sang in a concert Saturday night, along with a large group of singers and instrumentalists (it was selections from Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts). Monday we got an email saying one of the performers had tested positive on Sunday. CDC recommendations are that vaccinated people with a possible exposure wear a mask in public for ten days and get tested after five days, even if you don't develop symptoms. So we're hoping for the best, and we do have a supply of home tests.

[Richard Willis]

Here in Los Angeles County the indoor mask mandate remained in place a couple of weeks after it was listed in the rest of the state. Our Health Department waited longer because of case numbers and hospitalization numbers. The case numbers everywhere seem to be unreliable since self-testing became an option and reporting results is spotty. Hospitalization numbers are very reliable. Available hospital beds is also a major factor since some areas of the country have fewer hospitals.

Since the masks mandate was lifted, when I visit grocery stores I don’t wear a mask. A handful of people in the store still wear masks. I always have one in the car and sometimes carry one in with me depending upon reasons. Once I was lined up at the checkout and a toddler was in the cart’s child seat directly in front of me. I put the mask on because he was too young to have been vaccinated. Anyone with unvaccinated kids at home should wear a mask. Neither the toddler nor his mother were masked.

I haven’t had any symptoms since this all started and have so far never been tested. I’ve been giving blood every couple of months and they test for diseases. I haven’t been attending any events at all and when infrequently getting together with friends there are only a few of us and all are fully vaccinated. Since there are a lot of self-tests available, I think I will order some.

I just received my second booster shot at my Kaiser Permanente hospital. The hospital still requires masks to enter. I’m not sure if this applies to all California hospitals.

[The Baron]

I noticed that the credits for the recent Doctor Who stories that I've been watching this weekend list a "Covid Coordinator" and "Covid Assistants".  I can't help thinking that "the Covids" sounds like someone the Doctor would've fought back in the 70's.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Just got back from New Orleans, and after two years, I finally picked up the bug. I'm staying upstairs while Kathy is downstairs, since she's still testing negative. Hopefully I'm already through the worst of it, but we'll see. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Get well soon, Rob (and here's hoping Kathy doesn't catch it, too). 

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Thanks, Jeff. I'm feeling better already (not tip top, but seeing improvement), so I think my fresh booster is doing good work. Kathy has also not been feeling great, but also better than yesterday... and still negative. 

[ClarkKent_DC]

About a week or so after I went back to work after testing positive for COVID, I got a second booster shot. The next day, I read an article in The Washington Post about the latest thinking about getting boosters, and it stated "anyone who had a coronavirus infection in the past three months may consider postponing an additional dose."

Oh, well ... 

[ClarkKent_DC]

As the semester has ended, my employer is continuing to monitor COVID, but it has eased its requirements a bit. With most students gone for the summer, weekly COVID tests are no longer required for all students, faculty and staff, only for people who exhibit symptoms. Masks are still required indoors but not outdoors. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Last week I walked in to a Walgreens pharmacy to verify whether they administered COVID boosters to walk-in customers or if an appointment was required and ended getting my second booster. Tracy hasn't gotten hers yet and she's kind of annoyed at me. My LCS now requests (rather than requires) masks, and I am happy to comply. That's about the only place I wear one these days, though, I must admit. 

[ClarkKent_DC]

My employer sent word to the staff today that, going forward, masks will be optional. Still required on University transportation, but otherwise at every individual's discretion, with nothing to be made of anyone choosing to wear one or choosing not to. 

Fine by me. Several of us in my division were moved to new offices within our building -- another department moved out, and our senior vice president declared dibs on the newly vacated space before someone else did -- and the desks in my new room do not have the four-foot high plexiglass shields affixed to them like the ones in my old room. So I did have to wear a mask all the time on behalf of my new office mate when we were both around on the same day. 

Since the company has been aggressively monitoring COVID rates, and everyone is supposed to have all of their shots (and I know I do), I feel reasonably safe on that score. But on the other hand, we had an after-work happy hour at a nearby restaurant, and two days later my supervisor told me somebody at the gathering tested positive. I took a home test which was negative, but I'll get an official test when I go back to work on Monday.

[Richard Willis]

I have all my shots and have never had any symptoms. It occurred to me that if I did have symptoms I should have an easy way to test myself.

Since there are self-tests available for free through the mail, I ordered some (two boxes adding up to four tests). Then they lamented that they had a lot of them and not enough orders, so they offered up to four more boxes adding up to eight more tests. This second shipment just arrived. 

The bad news: The first four tests say they expire in mid-August. The eight I just received expire on July 20.