In which I am told "no", and this is splendid news. Stay safe, all y'all!

 Like most people, I generally prefer to be told "yes" when I ask a question.

Yesterday was the exception.

Tested negative for Covid 19

I think I've been pretty careful since lockdown started here in March:  I wear a mask in public.  I wash/sanitize my hands a LOT.  I mostly stay away from people.

HOWEVER

When a co-worker at the library fell ill with a fever and cough, we all got sent home, the building closed for a mandatory deep-clean, and...

I worried.

To be fair, I am a world-class worrier.  I hold a black belt in Self-Doubt, and in college I took a double undergraduate major in Fretting and Vexation, with graduate level work in Apprehension and Second-Guessing.  

Fortunately, my mom insisted that I also study something that would lead to a paying job, which is how I ended up as a librarian.

my current workstation at the library

I called my favorite crisis manager and described the situation:  

• I was in the library with the potentially-contagious person for more than 5 hours last week, but we were not in prolonged proximity--staff members mostly bellow out "coming through!" when approaching any of the blind spots and bottlenecks, and then rush through them fast so we aren't standing around close to each other.  
• I don't know how long ago her symptoms began.  Current conventional wisdom says that a person may be shedding virus a couple of days before showing symptoms.  The science on asymptomatic transmission is still mostly dark and mysterious.
• I don't/didn't have any symptoms that were out of the ordinary for this time of year.  Scratchy throat/congestion is normal for me in summer, especially when I spend my mornings sanding exterior walls on the barn to prep for painting.

Given those data points, my favorite crisis manager was not concerned about me.  However, she also knows me (and loves me anyhow, which is crazy but there ya go), so she said "Go get a test so you can get some sleep."

And I did.

My doc ordered the test and I drove about 15 minutes to the location in Smokey Point

And...it wasn't that bad.

The new procedure doesn't require the swab extension to the top of the brain stem

This morning I got a phone call and an email to let me know the results: negative.   

YAY!!!

My takeaways:

• If you think you're being careful, be more careful still
• Wear the mask.  Wash the hands.  STAY AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE.
• Ignore the so-called federal leadership's words on the topic.  The virus is bad, it's contagious, and it would be really easy to catch it and spread it further.  Don't be that person.
• If you think you've been exposed, get the test.  It's not that bad.

In the morning, armed with your negative test results, you can return to online meetings.  Invite your friends to photobomb you.

These little cuties joined me on a Zoom call today.

Stay safe, stay well, and someday this will be a great story to share with young people who weren't here when it happened..