After an agonizing day we finally just learned we’re both NEGATIVE!
Very happy.
Thank you for sharing the good news, @sherpa!
@sherpa, have you researched the false negatives for the test you took? I don’t know what’s the case now, but in the past, the covid tests were giving about 20% false negatives. Normally I’d think that a negative covid test meant no infection, but losing the sense of smell has been a pretty good indication of covid. Then again, people lose their sense of smell sometimes without covid.
I’ll add to what CF posted and note that fatigue with an abundance of sleep hours + loss of smell were my two main symptoms. Perhaps proceed with caution?
@sherpa great update.
My kid in Phoenix has a sore throat. His doc had him get a Covid test today. He said it will take 8-9 days to get the results! What?..
When Is the governor of Arizona going to realize his state is having surge issues and do something. There is speculation he will reinstate SIP. But so far…he has done NOTHING. I’m not impressed. .
I’ve been under the impression–maybe someone can help me out–that people who got the covid loss of smell or taste lost it for quite a while, more than a day or two, whereas if you lose your sense of smell because of, say, a bad cold, you get it back pretty quickly.
So if the loss of smell persists, I’d suggest a second test, especially if the fatigue persists as well.
I was infected mid-April and although my sense of smell is coming back, it’s spotty, and still not functioning at 100%.
I don’t know what’s leftover COVID damage and what’s Nasocort & allergies.
In my husband’s case it took a good ten days-two weeks to fully regain taste/smell.
@“Cardinal Fang” - We’re very concerned about that possibility, especially in light of her loss of sense of smell.
But as of now I haven’t been able to determine exactly what test we took. It was like you see in TV, where you drive up and stick a swab up your nose, but that’s all I know.
Yesterday they told us they’d post the results on our online charts this morning. After waiting until 2 p.m., I decided to call and was told the good news. When I asked about the false negative rate, they told me they didn’t know, and advised that I wait until the result is posted in my chart, and (hopefully) it will give me enough information that I can research it from there.
Not exactly a satisfying answer, but for now it’s all I’ve got.
The optimist in me thinks that given our near constant proximity, it’s unlikely that one but not both of us would have it and the likelihood of two false negatives is the square of the likelihood of one, so even with a 20% (or 30%) chance of a FN, the chance of two is only 4% (or 9%).
The realistic me thinks that we need to be hyper-vigilant for at the the next week or ten days.
I went on a deep dive on covid and loss of smell (anosmia) after posting. It seems the mean time for getting it back if you lose it is about a week.
Some people take a lot longer, and, alarmingly, there’s some reason to believe some people who lose their sense of smell or taste will never get back to the way they were before, yet another of these long-term effects we don’t have a full understanding of, so far.
I wish we had a better handle on these long term effects. My son is working in a grocery store, so he’s at increased risk of catching covid. He probably wouldn’t die of covid if he got it, but permanent loss of lung function or permanent loss of sense of smell would be awful side effects. He’d be broken hearted if he could never play hockey again, and he’s a foodie so losing his sense of smell would remove one of the joys of his life. I wish we knew more.
@Sherpa, hope your tests results are accurate. But glad you are staying vigilant.
We do allow him to see about 4-5 friends whose parents we know well and know they are being pretty careful. And he is seeing them, just not for long periods of time. It still leaves a lot of time for tech. Plus there is not a lot for them to do. Sometimes they come here (we have a pool), sometimes they do trunk parties at his school, sometimes they go to eat at an outdoor restaurant. Just not a lot of places to go. I guess more opportunities will start opening up fairly soon.
This is their first general briefing since March 9th. ?
There is a hyper link in article to the new guidance.
‘CDC Issues New Guidance for Americans As States Reopen From Coronavirus Closures’
“The agency’s director warned that the pandemic ‘has not ended’ as states reopen and activities resume.”
“THE DIRECTOR OF THE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over as states ease restrictions meant to curb its spread.”
“The CDC issued guidance Friday to help people resume their daily lives and attend events and gatherings more safely amid a backdrop of rising COVID-19 case counts in 22 states and upticks in hospitalizations in at least a dozen since Memorial Day.”
“I know that people are eager to return to normal activities and ways of life,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said on a call with reporters Friday during the agency’s first general press briefing on the virus since March 9. “However, it’s important that we remember the situation is unprecedented, and the pandemic has not ended.”
“The new guidance emphasizes the three cardinal rules of the COVID-19 crisis – wash your hands regularly, stay at least 6 feet apart from people outside your household and wear a mask in public – and includes more specific advice for activities like eating at restaurants, hosting cookouts and traveling overnight.”
“Dr. Jay Butler, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious disease and COVID-19 response incident manager, declined to say whether the new recommendations would be enough to prevent the virus from spreading at protests or political rallies but said “the guidelines speak for themselves.”
In the absence of any data on how frequent longer term damage or disability (e.g. lung damage) after clearing the virus is, nobody can make a good personal risk assessment if including that risk.
What???
@“Cardinal Fang” yep…the kid was told 8-9 days. Ridiculous.
I’m hoping he has results by Monday or Tuesday. Which would be 4-5 days…even that’s long!
I’ve been going to the office quite often recently. We are required to wear masks, and our scheduled “office time” is staggered so no one is working very close to anyone else. We have to take our temperature and send it to the office manager upon arrival. I feel very comfortable going in.
The number of new cases is increasing in my SE PA county. Today’s local paper said Covid is starting to infect the Plain Sect community. Ugh! This just means that people will say if we just isolate the Plain Sect (like they did with the nursing home residents), our county is fine.
Well the Plain Sect does not go to the doctor. It’s not part of their culture. They only go to the hospital if it’s life or death, which apparently it has been, since the country hospital has seen a significant uptick in ICU patients in the past week. They would not get tested if they felt ill but didn’t need the hospital. So our increase in cases is because it’s in the community.
Just learned today that an acquaintance of mine tested positive.
DS#2 had been feeling a bit under the weather. Got tested a few days ago. Results took a day or 2 longer than expected, but came back negative! He decided he was just bored 
Stay healthy, everyone.
? but not unexpected.
Thank goodness he will not owe a cent, it looks like.