SIL positive but hasn’t been anywhere

[Imateachergetmeoutofhere]

My sister in law tested positive for COVID yesterday but lives alone. She has only been to the supermarket and out for walks alone in the past few weeks. Trying to work out how on earth str could have caught it! We did see her about ten days ago but we are a family of five and none of us have had any symptoms. We have also been in school/seen other family members who are older and none of them have symptoms. I would have thought if it was us, someone somewhere would have had symptoms from our wider circle. How on earth could she have caught it at a supermarket or on a walk?

@OverTheRainbow88

I wouldn’t feel bad, she will be fine.

She knew your kids are all at school and you’re a teacher and as an adult she made the decision to see you.

There may be 50 cases in your
School currently but no one has symptoms as 80% are asymptomatic

I hope she feels better ASAP

I wish I had your crystal ball and knew who would be fine and who wouldn't...

She may not have told you the full story of course. Just a thought.

The virus isn't just magically circulating in supermarkets, it's everywhere allbeit diluted. It lives on hard surfaces for up to 72 hours, been suggested in can live on glass up to 28 days. Door handles,post,light switches,letter boxes,phones, TV remotes, car doors shopping,bags,purses,glasses.

@SteeperThanHell

Considering she is “ 48 with no underlying conditions” and a female, she is very very very very vert very likely to be fine.

Perhaps something to do with the 94% false positive test rate

Do the flats have a communal outdoor bin? Could have been another resident with Covid (symptomatic or not) has touched the bin then she has.

If she has her own outdoor bin could be the bin man has touched her bin after touching the bin of someone with Covid. Round here the bin people wear gloves to protect them, but it does not stop them spreading it through contact.

Early on in the outbreak our local authority advised residents that refuse collectors touch approximately 800 bins a day and therefore to be rigorous with hand washing after putting the rubbish out or moving your bin on collection day.

Living in a flat with shared communal areas she will touch so many surfaces others have touched and could have then inadvertently touched her mouth or nose.

@Namechangedforthisoct2

Perhaps something to do with the 94% false positive test rate

🤣🤣 Do people really believe such stuff?

The supermarket seems like a likely source especially with so many people not wearing masks from what I've heard from others in my local area (I've not been to the shops since before lockdown and only shop online for this exact reason). Surface transmission is thought to not play a big part at all so less likely to be a communal door or bins...

Surface transmission isn’t looking important but aerosol transmission absolutely is, so while she probably hasn’t got it from touching something it is perfectly possible she might have got it from breathing in air in the communal hallway of her flats.

She could have picked it up easily enough off a bag of carrots touched by an infected person before her then scratched her nose before washing her hands etc. Easily done, and while wiping everything down/disinfecting/sanitising is a massive pain in the arse I think right now it's sensible with numbers so high.

Or it could have come in on her post via letters or parcels. I think the virus doesn't live as long on paper and cardboard but that doesn't mean it's impossible to pick it up. You could open a parcel and the cardboard might be covid free, but the parcel tape on it could be carrying viruses because they live for longer on shiny smooth surfaces. Or you open a birthday card envelope and the person who sent it sealed the envelope by licking the gum bit to moisten it and transferred germs - I only seal envelopes with a drop of water from the tap for this reason.

@Imateachergetmeoutofhere

My sister in law tested positive for COVID yesterday but lives alone. She has only been to the supermarket and out for walks alone in the past few weeks. Trying to work out how on earth str could have caught it! We did see her about ten days ago but we are a family of five and none of us have had any symptoms. We have also been in school/seen other family members who are older and none of them have symptoms. I would have thought if it was us, someone somewhere would have had symptoms from our wider circle. How on earth could she have caught it at a supermarket or on a walk?

Why do you think she can't have caught it in a supermarket?

The virus can live on surfaces. So unless she sterilised the trolley, wore gloves and washed everything when she got home it's entirely possible that was the source.

@ImMoana

This is one of the issues, though isn’t it?

People think being ‘very careful’ consists of trips out shopping and being part of a bubble with a family of 5. Said bubble has DC attending school and parents that work outside the home. And they see these people inside. Without masks. And are then genuinely ‘surprised’ when they contract COVID.

Sorry OP. I do sympathise but I think this just highlights the perception of being ‘careful’ versus the reality.

Agree completely. So many people thinking that just because they are in a support or childcare bubble so are “allowed” to meet people inside means they can’t catch it. Mind boggling

[quote OverTheRainbow88]@SteeperThanHell

Considering she is “ 48 with no underlying conditions” and a female, she is very very very very vert very likely to be fine.[/quote]
She is likely to be fine, but nobody can say that she will be.

Long Covid is increasingly a problem in younger people and is incredibly debilitating for those who are suffering from it. It is not as simple as you fully recover or die.

Surely by now, everybody knows that some people have covid with no symptoms at all. Especially children. So anyone in your family might have had covid without knowing it and passed it to your SIL.

Or, she may have caught it by hand contact with an infected surface (anywhere) then touched her face. That's why people are continually reminded NOT to touch their face AND to wash hands when they come home, after shopping, unpacking their food delivery etc.

   I really can't believe that after  8 months of daily publicity about covid 19, anybody in UK could not know the basic facts above. 
    Are you in USA, getting fake news from Trump?

I caught a cold in the middle of the first lockdown and it was a bit unsettling, thinking it could have been COVID. I did go to the supermarket a few times but I was SO careful about not touching my face until I'd thoroughly washed my hands and so on.

The thing is, we touch our faces so often without even registering it, and bacteria and viruses are everywhere. There's always a risk unless you hermetically seal yourself.

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

So she hasn’t been anywhere except an indoor public place and seen family with school age children within the last 14 days.

You’re right OP it’s a mystery.

This

So she’s in a support bubble with a family of five including a teacher and three children who go to school? I would say that is relatively high risk if you are trying to be careful.

Also communal hallway means touching door handles, non ventilated corridor with anyone walking through and breathing filling the air with virus if currently ill. And most people won’t be wearing a mask at home, so won’t in the corridor.

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

So she hasn’t been anywhere except an indoor public place and seen family with school age children within the last 14 days.

You’re right OP it’s a mystery.

This!!

From the title of the thread I had thought this was about someone who hadn't stepped foot outside their home but no, it's about someone who has been to the supermarket, currently the no 1 place people say they've been before testing positive. Then also been socialising indoors.

It's an airborne virus so hardly surprising supermarkets are a risk.

@Namechangedforthisoct2

Perhaps something to do with the 94% false positive test rate

Cannot WAIT to see your source for this

So the title should be. 'My SIL has Covid'

@ThatsMeChickenArm

So the title should be. 'My SIL has Covid'

That wouldn’t be anywhere near as goady 😉

[quote BetterCare]2 in 10 people are catching Covid from Supermarkets it is one of the more common places for people to catch it.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/supermarket-shopper-rules-asda-tesco-19311883[/quote]
This report does NOT say that 2 in 10 people are catching Covid from supermarkets.

It says that 2 in 10 people who tested positive for Covid had been in a supermarket. As this was after 5 November, the supermarket, plus schools and, for some, work is just about the only indoor place that people can go.

So most people are going to supermarkets. And a minority of them happen to test positive for Covid at some point, which they may have caught elsewhere.

@Namechangedforthisoct2

Perhaps something to do with the 94% false positive test rate

Tinfoil hats at the ready!