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Quarantine
Jan. 19th, 2021 03:52 pmMy phone buzzes, I have a notification that my parents garage door has opened.
Who is opening the garage? To find out, I pull up the Eero admin console and see that my dad’s iPhone is logged in to the Eero in the living room and my mom’s iPhone is logged in to the Eero in the garage.
Is she just going out to shovel, or taking out the trash? I pull up the car tracker. Uh oh, car is on the move. So I call my mom’s phone.
Hello?
Hi! What’s up?
I’m in the car, on my way to Meijers.
Can I convince you to go home?
Why?
Because of the pandemic. You had a positive test, you are supposed to self isolate.
But I am not sick!
I know. That is excellent! You are so lucky! But you have the virus, someone else could catch it from you, and they could die.
How do you know I have the virus?
Remember Lanny got sick? After that you got a test and it came back positive.
But I am not sick, how could I have the virus?
Lots of people get the virus without getting sick, and that is how it spreads.
Don’t be silly, I don’t have the virus!
You do, you had a positive test.
When?
Last week.
But I am not sick!
That is so great that you are not sick. I am so happy! But you still need to self quarantine.
Don’t be silly!
Remember how sick Lanny got? He was in the hospital for a week. Remember he said this is no joke?
What if I get sick? I am going to go straight to the hospital!
No. You should go home.
Why?
Because you had a positive Covid test.
When?
Last week.
How do you know?
I helped you get the test.
But I am not sick!
But you had a positive test.
When?
Last week.
What should I do?
You should go home and self quarantine.
For how long?
Probably about two weeks.
What’s today?
Tuesday.
How much longer?
Stay home until Saturday.
When did I have the test?
Ten days ago.
But I am not sick!
Yes, that’s great, but you have the virus, which means you are contagious. Someone else could catch the virus from you and die.
Ok, you talked me into it. I will turn around. But why do you think I have the virus?
You had a positive test.
I did not!
Yes you did.
How do you know?
I helped you get tested.
But I am not sick!
Yes, yes, that is so great, you are so lucky!
When did I have this test?
A week ago Saturday.
And so on...
I know from experience that if I hang up before she gets home, she will turn around again, so I stay on with her until she gets home. I watch online until I see the garage open and close, and the car turned off.
Five or ten minutes later, she may go out again and we have the same chat again. Four times today, so for. Sunday I chatted with her for an hour while she just drove around, but at least I got her to stay in the car. Yesterday my dad took her for another test and this provided enough driving to keep her busy.
If yesterday’s test comes back positive again, I think she needs to stay home past this Saturday. But there’s no sense arguing about it now, she won’t remember anyway. I focus on getting her to stay home today.
Who is opening the garage? To find out, I pull up the Eero admin console and see that my dad’s iPhone is logged in to the Eero in the living room and my mom’s iPhone is logged in to the Eero in the garage.
Is she just going out to shovel, or taking out the trash? I pull up the car tracker. Uh oh, car is on the move. So I call my mom’s phone.
Hello?
Hi! What’s up?
I’m in the car, on my way to Meijers.
Can I convince you to go home?
Why?
Because of the pandemic. You had a positive test, you are supposed to self isolate.
But I am not sick!
I know. That is excellent! You are so lucky! But you have the virus, someone else could catch it from you, and they could die.
How do you know I have the virus?
Remember Lanny got sick? After that you got a test and it came back positive.
But I am not sick, how could I have the virus?
Lots of people get the virus without getting sick, and that is how it spreads.
Don’t be silly, I don’t have the virus!
You do, you had a positive test.
When?
Last week.
But I am not sick!
That is so great that you are not sick. I am so happy! But you still need to self quarantine.
Don’t be silly!
Remember how sick Lanny got? He was in the hospital for a week. Remember he said this is no joke?
What if I get sick? I am going to go straight to the hospital!
No. You should go home.
Why?
Because you had a positive Covid test.
When?
Last week.
How do you know?
I helped you get the test.
But I am not sick!
But you had a positive test.
When?
Last week.
What should I do?
You should go home and self quarantine.
For how long?
Probably about two weeks.
What’s today?
Tuesday.
How much longer?
Stay home until Saturday.
When did I have the test?
Ten days ago.
But I am not sick!
Yes, that’s great, but you have the virus, which means you are contagious. Someone else could catch the virus from you and die.
Ok, you talked me into it. I will turn around. But why do you think I have the virus?
You had a positive test.
I did not!
Yes you did.
How do you know?
I helped you get tested.
But I am not sick!
Yes, yes, that is so great, you are so lucky!
When did I have this test?
A week ago Saturday.
And so on...
I know from experience that if I hang up before she gets home, she will turn around again, so I stay on with her until she gets home. I watch online until I see the garage open and close, and the car turned off.
Five or ten minutes later, she may go out again and we have the same chat again. Four times today, so for. Sunday I chatted with her for an hour while she just drove around, but at least I got her to stay in the car. Yesterday my dad took her for another test and this provided enough driving to keep her busy.
If yesterday’s test comes back positive again, I think she needs to stay home past this Saturday. But there’s no sense arguing about it now, she won’t remember anyway. I focus on getting her to stay home today.
