Erin Petenko is VTDigger’s data reporter.
Right now, my experience is so rare that I’m being asked to write about it.
Next week, it could be so common that everyone on your Facebook page has an opinion on it.
I’m writing this from coronavirus self-quarantine, working from home after a potential exposure to the infectious disease that is increasingly dominating the headlines. So far, the experience has been both immeasurably stressful and exceedingly boring, with a hint of confusion and guilt about my actions and my road ahead.
Last weekend, I attended a conference for data journalists in New Orleans. On Tuesday, the conference organizers learned that one attendee, still unnamed, tested positive for coronavirus. Those who had close contact with the person have been notified, they said. No new infections have come forward yet.
Immediately, journalists across the world starting pouring into message boards and comment threads with questions about what the right move should be for them. Should they get tested? Should they self-quarantine? What does self-quarantine even mean? (Can I pet my dog?)
I had my own pressure to ask these questions: I’d been staying at my family’s house in New Jersey and was planning to drive up to Vermont next week. The 14-day window in which a potential infection could appear loomed large in my mind as I calculated it out. I had no symptoms or particular reason to believe I was exposed — except for the simple fact that exposure to germs at a 1,000-person conference, with people talking, sitting next to each other and drinking together after hours, is very hard to control.
We weren’t the only ones asking these questions. ProPublica found that people across the country were given inconsistent and confusing advice about when and how to self-quarantine. Complicating matters is the fact that attendees had difficulty getting tested for coronavirus, so there could still be unknown cases lurking around.
For now, most of my friends have decided to work from home, and I have postponed my trip to Vermont.
I’m no epidemiologist, but here’s my logic: While the chances of any single one of us having coronavirus from that one case is slim, the chances of at least one person having it are high. And if I am that person, I do not want to also be the one to infect my neighbors and friends.
I also was not sure what self-quarantine would really mean, especially as a member of a household of five. The CDC has very clear guidelines for people who are self-quarantining because they have coronavirus, but it’s not so clear what applies to people who sorta, kinda, possibly, might have coronavirus.
For now, I am mostly working in my room and washing my hands whenever I leave it. I’m appropriating my own bathroom and avoiding touching much in the kitchen. I’ve been taking the family dog out on walks for fresh air, but I’m not going to stores or restaurants or sneezing on every neighbor as they walk by, usually my favorite hobby.
My household has been more than generous, despite the fact that they keep pointing me to the Lysol and latex glove supply. Other family members have chimed in to offer more help, but I don’t need it. I’m lucky to have a home, a steady food supply and the ability to work remotely.
Not everyone in Vermont has those privileges. There are people whose lives and livelihoods depend on going outside every day, and if they have to quarantine, they will suffer. If coronavirus becomes more widespread, we Vermonters have to check in on our neighbors and not just ask, “are you sick?” but also, “are you doing OK?”
And beyond that, we have to persevere through our worst instincts in stressful situations and remember each other’s humanity. My colleagues have been sharing photos of their pets to counteract the feeling we get looking at the news. I’ve heard that one group has set up a regular conference call every couple hours while they work, so they can take five minutes to talk to another human being and relax.
Social isolation is a massive problem in Vermont, and it’s got its health risks, too: Loneliness can cause depression, heart problems and early mortality.
To quote one journalist on Twitter: “Social distancing may mean staying further apart from each other physically in coming weeks. We should compensate by caring even more about each other than usually, because we are, of course, all in this together.”
And by the way, you can pet your dog: The World Health Organization says it’s fine as long as you have no symptoms, as they are not susceptible to coronavirus.
VTDigger is posting regular updates on the coronavirus in Vermont on this page. You can also subscribe here for regular email updates on the coronavirus. If you have any questions, thoughts or updates on how Vermont is responding to COVID-19, contact us at coronavirus@vtdigger.org
