Caught Covid outside? :(

[Threelittlegins]

My husband has been working from home for months.
We don’t go to a supermarket we have food delivered and we always wipe it down.

Since lockdown began the only places we have been is for a walk.

I take my DS for a walk to our local park most days. (Only a baby so we don’t use the play area)

On Tuesday I met up with a friend and we went for a walk around a local lake.
It was quite busy but I never had close contact with anyone.
A few runners did run past quite close though.

Me and my friend distanced the whole time.

Before our walk we visited the cafe for a takeaway coffee. It’s all done outside so we didn’t have to go in.

I did drink from a disposable coffee cup but sanitised my hands when I’d finished, washed hands when I got home.

This morning I’ve got a sore throat and a tickly cough. 😖
I’ve ordered a test.

Did you get your results yet?
I hope your sorethroat is better. I think it is likely it will come back negative for you. And best luck with that

Regarding joggers, I think you are being unreasonable, much. They are following the rules too. Get out of their way or go elsewhere if you so not like them much. Most people cannot keep as isolated as you are managing. Still, they are not rule breakers.

@MushMonster

Regarding joggers, I think you are being unreasonable, much. They are following the rules too. Get out of their way or go elsewhere if you so not like them much. Most people cannot keep as isolated as you are managing. Still, they are not rule breakers.

The majority of joggers I pass all come from behind me; if I see them infront, I move.
But most of them I do see until they appear from behind me and don’t distance at all.

A mask offers me no protection. It’s for the safety of others, not myself.

Not true - have been shown to protect the wearer and also reduce viral load (how much virus you inhale). High viral load leads to more severe disease, low viral load leads to milder disease.

This is just one link but there are actually loads of studies showing that masks protect the wearer as well as those around them.

www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-08-oxford-covid-19-study-face-masks-and-coverings-work-act-now

I think other bugs are not only easier to catch than sars-cov-2 but also more likely to be transmitted by touch (for coronavirus it's mostly via the airborne, respiratory emissions route) - so I'd guess you've caught something else (here's hoping!).

Just read your last post. Yes, you sound anxious. Understandable with a small baby. Keep calm. Chances of it being covid are tiny for you. Babies and children are quite unaffected by it, the immense majority. And so if you or your husband are not in the vulnerable lot, for the vast majority of people is not a major illness. All points to just a minor inconvenience for you, most likely because it is the first time you have been out in colder wheather for a long while, and you just got a sore throat out of it.
You will get the tests results soon.

@IloveJKRowling you are correct, I was just about to say this about masks, but you said it better than I could anyway
If you are that anxious I agree with others, wear a mask outside. Yes, you don't have too but you can.

OP they are still adhering to the rules. They are allowed to run. They do not stay close to you for time enough for anything to really happen. They do not take 15 minutes to pass you.

@MushMonster

Just read your last post. Yes, you sound anxious. Understandable with a small baby. Keep calm. Chances of it being covid are tiny for you. Babies and children are quite unaffected by it, the immense majority. And so if you or your husband are not in the vulnerable lot, for the vast majority of people is not a major illness. All points to just a minor inconvenience for you, most likely because it is the first time you have been out in colder wheather for a long while, and you just got a sore throat out of it. You will get the tests results soon.

Op has been to the park most days, she hss been out in the cold most days.

....that should read SOME other bugs are more likely to be transmitted by touch and easier to catch. Obviously not all. One of the amazing things I've found out in this pandemic is that measles is incredibly contagious - reproductive number of 12-18. Thank goodness for vaccination.

Indeed wear a mask on your walks OP. PP are correct. It will help you with your anxiety about it.

Has your husband not been outside in the last two weeks? You could have picked something up off him if he was asymptomatic.

Totally possible. I am taking the same precautions yet last month I caught the worst cold I’ve ever had! It alarmed me because it showed how despite the measures I’ve got in place I could still get Covid

@IloveJKRowling

....that should read SOME other bugs are more likely to be transmitted by touch and easier to catch. Obviously not all. One of the amazing things I've found out in this pandemic is that measles is incredibly contagious - reproductive number of 12-18. Thank goodness for vaccination.

Yes it got a jawdropping R number. It was the vaccine what fred us of it. I am so hoping the same applies to covid! And the first vaccine is ready, followed very closely by others. Lots of hope appearing on this. And also, though we are seeing more cases in the second wave, the amount of deaths is much much much lower. And the hospitals are copying better. There are some treatments now. Interferon, it seems to do well to start the immune system early on and so avoid pneumonia. Some antivirals too are working well (not sure those are available in UK yet). OP, see there is an infinitesimal chance you got, and much much much hope for it not to harm you or your family.

How can you be adamant you didn’t catch it from your friend (an hour’s walk chatting together?) but that you probably caught it from a passing jogger (10 seconds?) Even with distancing surely you would have had more contact with droplets in the air from walking and talking with your friend.

@doireallyneedaname

Totally possible. I am taking the same precautions yet last month I caught the worst cold I’ve ever had! It alarmed me because it showed how despite the measures I’ve got in place I could still get Covid

I am in the priority sector. Had to keep working. Had to share space with people (not that many though). Have gone to shops, parks, pubs (only twice), doctor's, park, gym almost daily. This year we got a runny nose that lasted 2 days, all the household had that. And a tummy bug I had, only me so must have been something I ate or drank. That was it. Not bad for all these months.

@justleavemebe

Op last weekend I woke up with a headache and nausea. Didn't think anything of it until someone mentioned getting a test, got the results today- positive. No cough, temp or loss of taste and smell. I've just had to do the track and trace and there's a bunch of symptoms. People are walking around infecting others because they just think they've got a cold or a bad headache, I went to work mon-Wed god knows how many I've put at risk.

That's interesting, DD has had a headache and nausea all week. No obvious cause. No known covid cases at school (she's 10).

Either way - it just shows how easy it is to pick up a virus (of any kind) while out and about!

Get well soon

A jogger is not close enough to you for long enough, even if he does come up behund you.

It could be Covid, a tickly cough is one of the 3 main symptoms. If it is my guess would be the joggers, especially if any came within 2m.

I have asthma and I also have ankylosing spondylitis which is an inflammatory condition. So yes I do think I’m vulnerable to Covid

If it is any reassurance AS does not put you at increased risk of either catching it or having it severely. Some medications may suppress your immune system but the list of the ones that are a concern in COVID is reducing as more information becomes available. And of course some of the rheumatic anti-inflammatories are being looked at as potential treatments in severe covid cases.

Hope that reassures you.

OP it WAS prolonged contact if you went for a walk together and then both had a coffee. It wasn't a 5 second interaction with the postman, was it. Distancing is all very well but it's only a guide, the virus doesn't magically stop at 2m. If you spend a prolonged period of time with somebody you run the risk of catching something.

@How2Help

I have asthma and I also have ankylosing spondylitis which is an inflammatory condition. So yes I do think I’m vulnerable to Covid

If it is any reassurance AS does not put you at increased risk of either catching it or having it severely. Some medications may suppress your immune system but the list of the ones that are a concern in COVID is reducing as more information becomes available. And of course some of the rheumatic anti-inflammatories are being looked at as potential treatments in severe covid cases.

Hope that reassures you.

@How2Help

I’ve just read so many different things about inflammatory auto immune conditions making your vulnerable to Covid.
I’m not sure what to believe.

@justleavemebe

Op last weekend I woke up with a headache and nausea. Didn't think anything of it until someone mentioned getting a test, got the results today- positive. No cough, temp or loss of taste and smell. I've just had to do the track and trace and there's a bunch of symptoms. People are walking around infecting others because they just think they've got a cold or a bad headache, I went to work mon-Wed god knows how many I've put at risk.

How did you manage to get a test? I just went online to try and get one for DD as she has those symptoms (plus fatigue) and it said we can't have one because she doesn't have coronavirus symptoms. Did you just lie to get a test? Good thing you did, obviously!

Just read an article saying 50% of children who tested positive with symptoms didn't have any of the 3 'main' symptoms. More than 50% had a headache or fatigue...

Yet again op you are another person has assumed wrongly that it's impossible to catch covid because you are distancing.
I haven't read the full thread but did you wear a mask ?
The risk is lower because you distanced and outside but it's not impossible.
There is another thread similar but if you go out there is a strong possibility you will catch it .
Obviously I'm not saying stay in but just be mindful.
Masks , distancing, wash hands all will help but not eliminate the virus.
Also get a test before you decide you have Covid .

[quote Threelittlegins]@christinarossetti19

I take it you were wearing a mask OP? If so, your chances of having contracted covid would be even less, so that's good.

No I wasn’t, and I didn’t realise you had to wear a mask outside on a walk.

I didn’t go indoors.[/quote]
No you don't have to wear a mask outdoors but if you want to reduce possible transmission of covid, I don't understand why you wouldn't.

No you don't have to wear a mask outdoors but if you want to reduce possible transmission of covid, I don't understand why you wouldn't.

Because the risk of transmission outdoors is minuscule.