Am I Being Too Strict/Paranoid In Protecting Myself From COVID? (Caution is causing Rift w/ Family)

[CFSGangster]

For COVID I'm being extremely cautious with a strict no contact policy at all (get all my groceries curb side pickup, no "socially distanced" hangouts [phone/skype only], a caution sign on front door informing ppl the door will not be answered.)

I've basically just accepted I won't physically interact with a human being other than my parents until this thing is over.

The reason I'm so cautious is as we all know that acquired infections (particularly viral) can trigger disease progression of ME/CFS. I'm currently happily Mild-moderate (fromerly moderate) and am extremely protective of what little health I have and avoiding major risks that could potentially cause disease progression.

Problem is though the strictness it's really starting to wear on my Dad and I can see the current level of military like strictness is not sustainable long term.

He merely wants to be able to do the following:
1. Go on outdoor boat outings with 1 friend - adhering to 6 ft social distancing
2. Attend outdoor happy hour with 2 neighbors - adhering to greater than 6ft social distancing
3. Attend indoor church meeting with 4 ppl - adhereing to masks + 6ft space

All are low-moderate risk ppl.

I know the risk is quite miniscule (particularly for the outdoor activities) but living in Florida with rapidly rising numbers I lean towards strict discipline and leaving no chance.

Then I read the CFS/COVID thread of CFS ppl who think they likely had COVID who most claim was relatively benign and didn't cause severe relapse/progression.

So I'm curious what your opinion is as a fellow CFS'er is.

Am I being too strict/anal? OR am I probably just in being this cautious in protecting my health?

How strict/cautious are you personally being?

Remember that it's OK if someone has a different opinion on this topic. Let's all love each other and keep this a civil thread where we can compare notes on how serious were personally taking this.

Bonus points for sharing a research backed answer

Look forward to a fruitful discussion

 

[xebex]

Being in Florida your concerns are very valid. I would find it very hard to be relaxed about it too. To be honest, due to your location I think you are doing the right thing. If you were elsewhere with a much lower incidence rate I’d say maybe relax a bit.

I’d suggest the boat outing for your dad would be acceptable but not the others.

There’s not enough evidence to really say how it affects us but seeing as it can be deadly for seemingly healthy people and due to your location I think you are being right in your caution.

 

[CFSGangster]

@xebex
Yeah I was considering giving him the lee way of the least risky activity as meeting a compromise.

There’s not enough evidence to really say how it affects us but seeing as it can be deadly for seemingly healthy people and due to your location I think you are being right in your caution.

You know as much as I'd hate to die, that's really not as big of a concern for me though still certainly an aspect. I think you're right if it were any other place but FL at the moment is going out of control!

Thank you for your input Xebex

 

[Hip]

Here is my maths and research-backed answer which attempts to calculate the risks of these outings:

Daily coronavirus deaths in Florida are around 50 per day. If we assume a death rate of 0.5%, then for every death, there will be 200 cases of infection. So on any given day, Florida will have 50 x 200 = 10,000 new coronavirus infections.

We know that people start to become infectious 2 days before symptoms begin. And once the symptoms, begin, we can assume they will self-isolate. So that means at any given time, there will be 2 x 10,000 = 20,000 newly infected people in Florida who do not know they are infected, but are going around shedding virus.


The population of Florida is 21 million, so that 20,000 people represents 1 in 1050 who are infected and infectious. So if you meet a random person in Florida, there is a 1 in 1050 chance they have coronavirus and are infectious.

If you meet an infected person and remain 2 meters away from them, then one study found your chances of catching coronavirus from them are 80 to 1. Ref: here.

So we can calculate that your chances of catching coronavirus from a random person in Florida when you stand 2 meters away are 80 x 1050 = 84,000 to 1.

So on the boat outing, with one other person, the risk of catching coronavirus would be 84,000 to 1. At the happy hour with two other people, the risk would be doubled, as 42,000 to 1.

But if that boat outing becomes a weekly event, then over the period of a year, the chances of catching coronavirus would be 84,000 ÷ 52 = 1615 to 1.



Of course, other factors could significantly increase the risk, such as on a boat touching surfaces which have been touched by the other person, or during the happy hour, touching glasses which have been handled by another person. I don't have any data for calculating that risk.

Also, preparing food or drinks is risky: if the person preparing food or drinks at happy hour is talking socially, it's likely their spittle will land on the food or drink. So when you consume it, you catch the virus.



The indoor church meeting would depend on the activity. If lots of loud talking or laughing is involved, this can spread the virus in a confined space. If singing is involved, this seems to spread the virus very efficiently.

There was a case of 45 people from a 56-member choir catching coronavirus after a 2½ hour indoor singing session where they were all socially distanced. 2 of these 45 infected people later died. No choir members showed any sign of illness at the time, and nobody was coughing or sneezing, but clearly at least one person must have had the virus, and singing spread the virus to many other people. Ref: 1

 

[xebex]

@xebex
Yeah I was considering giving him the lee way of the least risky activity as meeting a compromise.



You know as much as I'd hate to die, that's really not as big of a concern for me though still certainly an aspect. I think you're right if it were any other place but FL at the moment is going out of control!

Thank you for your input Xebex

Yes you’re right, death is probably an easy way out in some cases. The shit people are going through who were severely ill but didn’t die or that even were mildly ill but now have some kind of ME like illness is just awful. You are right to be cautious for sure.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I was wondering all that as well- after say almost two solid months of successful isolation, somebody just stops by and strolls in and they are reporting to some office and they see people and- it felt RUDE to evict this person.

We are not good at- this isolating.

After that: I felt like maybe we had just blown our two months. Then, a good friend stopped by and we kept some distance but still: there she was no mask.

Rates are quite low where I live. So thats good.

When I chatted with a good friend recently, the level of COVID prevention she was deploying far exceeded anything I can do. I can see that I am not able to be as careful as some people. She is washing cardboard.

I have no porch for bags of supplies to sit on, nowhere to wash stuff, no patio, the food package.

Recently- the Grocery deliverer wore no masks: is standing right there.

The local sheriff: one does, one doesn't

the water district door hanger man- I am sitting outside, he walks up to me and hands me a flyer he had already put one on my door- EGAD, sir.

In another example of how far will we go, a relative is going to show up- after exposure events in airports.
We are facing having to pay for a 14 day quanranteen of my son-in-law. So we have $300 a nite Bed and Breakfast shacks in the woods, $200 a day motels, closed up lots of stuff. This is going to cost a couple of thousand dollars to re-unite my daughter and her husband.

And she never got the stimulus check. Nothing ever came.

Like when things actually cost alot of money, you confront- are we REALLY going to quanranteen him for 14 days, or just three?

 

[maddietod]

One huge factor is how thoroughly other people are isolating. I think it's important to know all the details about your father's friends' contacts. That said, the boat sounds safest because it's outdoors and the air will be moving. I would do that myself, wearing gloves throughout and a mask when the boat was still. But if I did this, and I wanted to see my daughter who has asthma, it would be up to her to decide if she felt safe to see me before 2 weeks of isolation.

 

[Likaloha]

For COVID I'm being extremely cautious with a strict no contact policy at all (get all my groceries curb side pickup, no "socially distanced" hangouts [phone/skype only], a caution sign on front door informing ppl the door will not be answered.)

I've basically just accepted I won't physically interact with a human being other than my parents until this thing is over.

The reason I'm so cautious is as we all know that acquired infections (particularly viral) can trigger disease progression of ME/CFS. I'm currently happily Mild-moderate (fromerly moderate) and am extremely protective of what little health I have and avoiding major risks that could potentially cause disease progression.

Problem is though the strictness it's really starting to wear on my Dad and I can see the current level of military like strictness is not sustainable long term.

He merely wants to be able to do the following:
1. Go on outdoor boat outings with 1 friend - adhering to 6 ft social distancing
2. Attend outdoor happy hour with 2 neighbors - adhering to greater than 6ft social distancing
3. Attend indoor church meeting with 4 ppl - adhereing to masks + 6ft space

All are low-moderate risk ppl.

I know the risk is quite miniscule (particularly for the outdoor activities) but living in Florida with rapidly rising numbers I lean towards strict discipline and leaving no chance.

Then I read the CFS/COVID thread of CFS ppl who think they likely had COVID who most claim was relatively benign and didn't cause severe relapse/progression.

So I'm curious what your opinion is as a fellow CFS'er is.

Am I being too strict/anal? OR am I probably just in being this cautious in protecting my health?

How strict/cautious are you personally being?

Remember that it's OK if someone has a different opinion on this topic. Let's all love each other and keep this a civil thread where we can compare notes on how serious were personally taking this.

Bonus points for sharing a research backed answer

Look forward to a fruitful discussion

I am also very strict all the time....no one else is allowed in our house, my hubby picks up our groceries(right into the trunk with no human interaction) and we clean all groceries when they come in the door, etc. I figured I survived one virus that almost killed me( West Nile meningoencephalitis) and am not sure I could survive another!