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Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night
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So we are mandated by the Governor to practice workplace safety. Our office is required to issue PPE (disposable surgical masks) and check employee temperatures before coming in the building. The guy in the office next to me refuses to comply. He will not wear a mask and hasn't since the requirements. The employer won't do much about it.

Everyone had to work from home for two weeks in April because the same guy shook someone's hand at a gas station that had a family member with Covid19. Last Monday, he went home feeling ill around 10 am (allergy symptoms in his words). He was out Tuesday. Inexplicably came in Wednesday and was out Thursday. We were closed for Independence Day on Friday. Thursday we found out his wife had been running a fever and she had been around three positive cases. Yesterday, we find out a worker in another building who's gf has the same maiden name as his wife and goes to the same church is positive along with his gf. Last night we find out the coworker next to me is positive. Half the office was getting swabbed. My temperature was 97.1F despite it being 95F and wearing a mask. I've worked out 4 times in two days and feel fine for now. Now I wait 48-72 hours. They are cleaning the building tomorrow. We are reopening Thursday. The doctor told me to quarantine until I get my test result. The office said come in unless you're symptimatic, which is totally reckless as it could be spread around. Apparently not everyone in the building agrees to get tested to complicate things. Some who just returned from Florida. To make matters worse the guy that has it has been trying to come back to work within the first week. Apparently sending nastygrams to our HR manager in supposedly a joking manner that is being let go because he's a manger and they are friends. He told me Covid19 was a hoax and it was created by the Democrats to get at Trump. He thinks the answer is herd immunity. Over 20 people at his church apparently have it I just learned. I actually think he may have wanted to get it believing he could gain immunity.He has some extreme views. He has lost the trust of the office. I'm very angry with him. It's going to cause a major rift. Management seems okay with him which sucks.

My wife is in heart and liver failure. She needs a partial lung transplant. We have to live on separate sides of the house for 2 to 3 weeks per her doctors. No contact, sharing utensils, or food. Her cardiologist and pulmonologist have said she will not survive Covid19 (my coworker knew this as did my boss). Going forward I plan to get in contact my my boss about the situation. I have to stay home until I get my results. Also, it isn't safe until everyone else gets their results. This is a bad situation. I actually need to go in tomorrow and now it's a mess. I just hope my result is negative. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Btw the test doesn't hurt. It tickled. Afterward I had a good laugh. For some they do get a rush of drainage and nose bleeds though they told me.
Last edited by: WFPB Athlete: Jul 8, 20 6:20
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Hoping for the best for you are your wife.

This does not sound like an employer I would continue to work for personally.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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That is awful. Thoughts to you and your wife. And hopefully after everything is in the past you find yourself a better job because your management sucks.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Hire a covid workplace civil rights attorney. Have them draft a nasty gram and insist the employer pay the attorney bill for being so reckless
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Ugh. I'm very sorry about your wife's conditions. I sincerely hope that she gets what she needs---and is able to live a long and happy life.

I agree with the other posters....your employer sucks.

Contrast that with my own, who sends out a notification for EVERY SINGLE likely and confirmed case. All infected and exposed individuals are sent home for 14 day quarantine (min), and entire work areas are cleaned and disinfected, masks are required everywhere, there's daily screening (questionnaire, and forehead temp) prior to authorization on-site, and ...and, its a terminable offense for non-compliance or falsification. WE have a dedicated sanitation staff, whose sole job is to walk around the facility all day cleaning every touchable surface once an hour. My own director sent me home three weeks ago (I'm now on indefinite work from home) because he was concerned about *my* risk.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Thoughts and prayers for you and your wife. I won't say what I think of your co-worker, or more so management/leadership. Wishing you the best.

David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [david] [ In reply to ]
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I hope your wife feels better really soon.

But man this is depressing, and why we in the US will be dealing with this virus way after the rest of the developed world is way passed it.
Sheer and pathetic nonsense.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [ In reply to ]
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I don't know. It's just common sense to wear a mask, get tested if you have symptoms and be careful around other people out of respect. I've noticed there are always some idiots refuse to do that. Just look at any conversations in any forum, facebook or news comment section. It's mind boggling.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [trener1] [ In reply to ]
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That sounds terrible. Best wishes for your wife and the situation in general.

I work for local government in the UK (Scotland) and we are still working from home; from 12th March for me. There are a number of us who want to get back to the office for a range of reasons, even if just part-time in there, but management are extremely cautious about the possibility of that short term and even long term. So, life at the kitchen table with MS Teams video conferencing and jabber is still the way for me for a while.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [trener1] [ In reply to ]
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trener1 wrote:
I hope your wife feels better really soon.

But man this is depressing, and why we in the US will be dealing with this virus way after the rest of the developed world is way passed it.
Sheer and pathetic nonsense.

I'm from Canada. My brother told me I need to "get out" last night and it wasn't safe. He actually asked me "what the eff are you even doing there?" It was an emotional reaction of true concern for me and my situation, but it did give me pause. What are we doing here in the United States in dealing with this pandemic?
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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I hope your test result is negative and your wife continues to stay safe from COVID-19. A close family member has told me of similar workplace issues at a large business. Unfortunately, this isn't a good time to be looking for a new job.

Strength to you as you stay vigilant.
Last edited by: Mark Lemmon: Jul 8, 20 7:25
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [Mark Lemmon] [ In reply to ]
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Mark Lemmon wrote:
I hope your test result is negative and your wife continues to stay safe from COVID-19. A close family member has told me of similar workplace issues. Unfortunately, this isn't a good time to be looking for a new job.

Strength to you as you stay vigilant.

Thank you for the kind words. I wish you and your family well also through these difficult times. You are right about employment. This isn't the time to be job hunting. There's a lot of value in having a good job and you have to appreciate it. On the other hand employers need to realize they are now in the business of managing public health and safety. I'm not sure anyone was prepared for this crisis.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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That's some world-class disregard on the part of your co-worker. I wish you and your wife much medical good fortune.

I had to have my own COVID-19 test about 10 days ago (pre-op requirement). Thought they were taking brain tissue samples. Sucked mightily. But it came back negative. I've been on "work from home" status since mid-March...

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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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WFPB Athlete wrote:
trener1 wrote:
I hope your wife feels better really soon.

But man this is depressing, and why we in the US will be dealing with this virus way after the rest of the developed world is way passed it.
Sheer and pathetic nonsense.


I'm from Canada. My brother told me I need to "get out" last night and it wasn't safe. He actually asked me "what the eff are you even doing there?" It was an emotional reaction of true concern for me and my situation, but it did give me pause. What are we doing here in the United States in dealing with this pandemic?

Maybe I am just lucky, but even living in a hotspot like Toronto, I can't imagine your workplace story playing out like that up here. We may not be great at this, but very few are being intentionally reckless as far as I can tell.

It seems to me if the goal is to save the economy, that is likely better met by managing the virus, as opposed to letting it run wild so that it prevents even a controlled "reopening". But I suppose if one simply doesn't care about ICU overcrowding and high death rates, the fastest way to save the economy is open everything up immediately - full steam ahead.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [The Guardian] [ In reply to ]
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The Guardian wrote:
But I suppose if one simply doesn't care about ICU overcrowding and high death rates, the fastest way to save the economy is open everything up immediately - full steam ahead.

Economic modeling has shown that letting the virus run wild for eventual "herd immunity" is actually worse for the economy.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Good luck to you and your wife. Heartbreaking to hear your story.

Contrast that to mine. My daughter had a co-worker test positive. The store owner immediately closed the store and notified everyone that worked a shift with that person in the preceding 10 days and gave them the option of immediate 14 day quarantine or get a test and if negative come back to work. My daughter chose to get a test and ended up being positive and we quarantined her in her room since June 23rd. We only interacted her with her while both gloved and masked. She has had zero symptoms during the entire time and had another test on Monday which was negative. She just had another test this morning and waiting on results (she needs 2 tests within 48 hours to be allowed back to work). Btw, the store is still closed but opens again tomorrow.

We decided for my wife, son and I to all get tested and we fortunately came back negative. The worst part about the test for me was that once the swap was up there the nurse wiggled it around a bit. Makes me shudder just thinking about it. And then she had to do the other side as well.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Hey I wanted to wish you my best and likewise to your wife. Fingers crossed for her safety.

My question to your employer is if they were able to work from home for 2 weeks, why not give all employees the option to keep continuing from home if they feel safer. I won't even let my employees in our building right now until the city would make it illegal to be indoors without a mask. Now that they have and I have that stick, should I choose to send people to work, I can enforce that, but for now, we're not going onsite because I don't think an indoor environment is worth the risk that we would cause this to spread. But when we do, those who want to stay remote can choose to. Having said, that, my company can do pretty well everything internally over cloud computing. There are things we have to do on customer premises that are all deferred for now and it hurts business wise, but employee health has to come first. If employees are not healthy the biz will fall apart anyway, so its not worth the risk.

That's my 2 cents, and as you can see my views on what happens indoors is completely different from what we do in society outdoors (sport) and I am living it at major financial penalty, but its worth the investment in employee health and well being.

Mainly I hope your employer can become more flexible.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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What state do you live in? In my spare time, I am an employment attorney and there may be some avenues of relief for you, though all come with the risk of retaliation. I can point you to some colleagues in most states who could probably help.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [The Guardian] [ In reply to ]
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The Guardian wrote:
WFPB Athlete wrote:
trener1 wrote:
I hope your wife feels better really soon.

But man this is depressing, and why we in the US will be dealing with this virus way after the rest of the developed world is way passed it.
Sheer and pathetic nonsense.


I'm from Canada. My brother told me I need to "get out" last night and it wasn't safe. He actually asked me "what the eff are you even doing there?" It was an emotional reaction of true concern for me and my situation, but it did give me pause. What are we doing here in the United States in dealing with this pandemic?

Maybe I am just lucky, but even living in a hotspot like Toronto, I can't imagine your workplace story playing out like that up here. We may not be great at this, but very few are being intentionally reckless as far as I can tell.

It seems to me if the goal is to save the economy, that is likely better met by managing the virus, as opposed to letting it run wild so that it prevents even a controlled "reopening". But I suppose if one simply doesn't care about ICU overcrowding and high death rates, the fastest way to save the economy is open everything up immediately - full steam ahead.

I think his church might be advocating getting it. The way he discussed herd immunity and the taking no precautions is insane to me. He said if I get corona, I get corona and that you can't be scared. Positive or negative that is one irreparable relationship. Sadly I actually don't mind him, but I can't respect someone that had no respect for myself or others.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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Your situation really stinks. If your employer won't deal with it, a phone call to the state OSHA department would be in order. Not much will happen immediately, except a letter to your office notifying them of the complaint. But if complaints continue, an investigation should be done.

What happens if you refuse to go into the office with this situation? Especially your home situation, compounding the effect?
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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WFPB Athlete wrote:
trener1 wrote:
I hope your wife feels better really soon.

But man this is depressing, and why we in the US will be dealing with this virus way after the rest of the developed world is way passed it.
Sheer and pathetic nonsense.


I'm from Canada. My brother told me I need to "get out" last night and it wasn't safe. He actually asked me "what the eff are you even doing there?" It was an emotional reaction of true concern for me and my situation, but it did give me pause. What are we doing here in the United States in dealing with this pandemic?

I'm so very sorry to hear of your story.

The wanton disregard of well-being of others, on not much more than a whim, seems unique to this country, even when compared to other countries with similar historical backgrounds (viz. Canada and Australia). My wife, who grew up in Canada, remarked on how the concept of personal freedom is presented as an unalloyed good and gets emphasized out of proportion relative to other issues to consider. One of the first things people retort after being told that their opinion is factually wrong, odious, etc. is "freedom of speech", whereas such concept really only even pertains to interaction with the government.

We are now seriously considering permanently relocating some time in the future.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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WFPB Athlete wrote:
Last Monday, he went home feeling ill around 10 am (allergy symptoms in his words). He was out Tuesday. Inexplicably came in Wednesday and was out Thursday. We were closed for Independence Day on Friday. Thursday we found out his wife had been running a fever and she had been around three positive cases. Yesterday, we find out a worker in another building who's gf has the same maiden name as his wife and goes to the same church is positive along with his gf. Last night we find out the coworker next to me is positive. Half the office was getting swabbed.

This is terrible, and I'm sorry. That guy sounds like a real asshole.

To everyone who says 'people need to get on with their lives' or 'people need to be free to make their own choices'... this is what happens when a signle individual follows that line of thinking and plays it out to the end. With public health, individual actions have significant consequences to the community. The impact of individual actions extend beyond the tip of one's nose in a pandemic.

It's sad that we've positioned altruism and freedom (patriotism) as opposing ideals. Individual idiots are why we're collectively f*cked here in america.

I hope that everything is okay for you and your wife. My blood is boiling reading your post.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [NordicSkier] [ In reply to ]
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NordicSkier wrote:
The Guardian wrote:
But I suppose if one simply doesn't care about ICU overcrowding and high death rates, the fastest way to save the economy is open everything up immediately - full steam ahead.

Economic modeling has shown that letting the virus run wild for eventual "herd immunity" is actually worse for the economy.

Agreed. Herd immunity is like 70%. We are approaching 1% and the economy was hit so hard. Herd immunity isn't a realistic option, unless it actually happens. I would be worried of the result.
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [WFPB Athlete] [ In reply to ]
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I hope you and your wife are OK. These stories about people who have decided that their beliefs allow them to endanger others just enrage me. The inconvenience of wearing a mask, working from home, and giving up some of our social lives is so minor compared to pandemic disease. If we all just wore masks and washed our hands we could beat this.

Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe
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Re: Had to get a Covid19 Test Last Night [LouisQ] [ In reply to ]
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LouisQ wrote:
What state do you live in? In my spare time, I am an employment attorney and there may be some avenues of relief for you, though all come with the risk of retaliation. I can point you to some colleagues in most states who could probably help.

I have since talked to management and they have now said we are to return upon informing them of a negative test result. At the earliest that's likely Monday. I do feel better about things and I'm praying for a negative on my result. Perhaps him getting it will be a blessing, if he is held out for an adequate amount of time and we're negative. Although, he could potentially become infected again or show symptoms longer than 2 weeks. Management needs to have a serious handle on his condition as it pertains to the rest of us. Chris Cuomo was running a fever for weeks and eventually gave it to his wife after weeks of quarantine. It will be a concern moving forward no matter the result.
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