Why did Mom come out of isolation on 10/2?!?!
Regardless, that’s in the past. I’d check and see what the school’s policy is on positive kids returning to school. I’m honestly not sure whether exposure to you impacts when their isolation ends.
Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Because two kids had tested positive and symptoms began showing up. So the kids had been exposed. The options at that point were to try to isolate half the family in one side of the house and the other half in the other side of the house, or just reunite everyone. Let mom start helping again (she was feeling fine), and just accept that everyone (except maybe me) was going to get this.
Thanks for sharing. I agree that on 10/2 when 2 kids tested positive, mom quarantining became unnecessary. You were all very likely to have Covid at that point.
I do not think continued exposure to Dad changes the kids’ quarantine dates.
I get that it would be difficult. I would have been tempted to try, but… I don’t have four kids so it’s super easy for me to say what I’d do and a whole lot more difficult to actually do it.
Anywho, just looked up the local district’s guidelines.
Not counting exposure to you, due to having had Covid themselves kids would stay isolated for the longer of 10 days from the onset of symptoms or 3 days fever-free without fever-reducing medication. You’d said 1 day… our district says 3 
Adding exposure to you into the mix… our district says you can end quarantine after 7 days with a negative test or 10 days without, but you don’t start the clock on that until the last exposure.
But… the whole point of quarantine is to see if they get sick. You already know they DID get sick and you’re all coming out of isolation…
I’d probably just follow the end-of-isolation guidelines and send them back to school on 10/12 or 10/13 as appropriate for each kid.
I’m not sure following end-of-quarantine guidelines makes any sense in your case.
How serious?
Was the experience any different from another cold virus pre-covid? Obviously there were attempts to quarantine, but it otherwise sounds like a BAU cold experience.
I don’t believe so. I think the CDC says if you are w/in 90 days of infection you do not need to quarantine for close contact.
Hope everyone is continuing to get better and no one has any long haul symptoms.
that is a hell of a few weeks…glad you are getting through it. bonus points for actually knowing all the data points for the family.
I feel like quarantine is a lot like recycling in the 90’s. Where you spend an hour every week sorting paper and plastic into bins, but then you see your neighbor burning tires in the backyard.
Nothing too serious for any of us. Just 24-36 hours of a normal cold/flu for the kids, and probably 48-72 hours of normal cold/flu for mom and dad.
Honestly, I don’t really know what is meant by “the flu”. Is it the high fever + sweats + chills + hallucinations or just a very bad cold? I think I’ve had 2 of the former in 20 years.
This is definitely our experience (and has been for most of the pandemic).
Our first run-in will demonstrate this story:
About a year ago (the weekend before Thanksgiving), daughter does her first ever sleepover with two other girls, and first time relaxing our COVID protocol to that extent. The next day, the host girl develops symptoms and tests positive. We put our daughter in isolation for 7+ days and skipped Thanksgiving with the grandparents. The other girl and her family went on their scheduled vacation leaving the next day.
In this case, fever, fatigue, body aches, cough, congestion.
Yeah, i had flu a lot as a kid. Unlike a cold, it comes with fever, body aches, extreme fatigue, and a distinctive unpleasant flavor to the phlegm. Something i didn’t realize until i had the “flu mist” vaccine, and realized i recognized that nasty smell/taste
My recent experiences with influenza (despite being vaccinated) are roughly 36-48 hours of being unable to do much of anything and having a fever of 101 or higher. Colds are mostly just an annoying few days of discomfort with a sore throat or runny nose. Breakthrough COVID sounds a little bit between the two, maybe closer to the flu than a cold?
Yes, I’d say a mild flu for both me and my wife. But I am sure that different people experience different symptoms.
I’m usually sick for two weeks with a cold. Not nearly as sick as with the flu, but it lasts a long time.
It’s not new for me to avoid people who are sniffly and coughing.
What? No, I don’t think that’s a normal flu…
Hallucinations aren’t uncommon with fever.
Yeah. There are different kinds of hallucinations. Delirium hallucinations is a thing.
Well, learning new things is why I come here. I will now increase my “likely flu” cases from 2 to around 5 over the past 20 years. I’ll accept the rare hallucinations as a special bonus.
not all hallucinations are unicorns shitting rainbows