Today I got my COVID test results. Thankfully, I’m negative. Like I mentioned yesterday, I went into room-based isolation with cold symptoms and a sore throat yesterday morning. That day in isolation was hard. I constantly imagined testing positive for COVID. That’d mean at least five more days in quarantine. It’d also mean I would have to alert my nurse practitioner and the facility’s behavior specialist, both of whom I’d seen on Thursday.
I felt intense guilt about possibly having infected my staff too. After all, when I was still only experiencing a sore throat, the staff tried to reassure me that I couldn’t possibly have COVID. It may be true – I had my second shot of the vaccine last week -, but I couldn’t be sure.
Can you imagine that, a year ago, we were just at the beginning of this pandemic? On March 12, 2020, the first local case of COVID-19 had been discovered. On March 13, the community service event that was due to take place at my day center as part of a countrywide volunteering initiative, had been canceled. The day center closed five days later, on March 18.
I hadn’t seen my husband since the first weekend of March I think and wasn’t going to see him again till sometime in late May. After all, at first visiting the care facility was discouraged, then it was completely prohibited except in rare cases when a family member was essential for a client’s care. My husband wasn’t.
I am so glad that now, during the second lockdown, care facilities remain open to visitors except when there’s an outbreak of COVID or suspected COVID, as in my case yesterday. I am so glad one of my fellow clients, who had her birthday on Tuesday, may receive a visit from her family tomorrow.
I had my own birthday on June 27, one day after the final restrictions to visiting were lifted, provided there’s no countrywide lockdown or COVID outbreak. Though we’re in a countrywide lockdown again, the lockdown policy remains that care facilities can be open. I credit the prime minister’s late mother, who died in a nursing home during the first lockdown or so I believe.
This post was written for today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday (#SoCS) prompt of day/week/month/year.
A Multitude of Musings 
So glad to hear that your COVID test results were negative. It must have been a huge relief!
Take care and enjoy the rest of your weekend. x
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Thank you. Yes, it’s a huge relief for sure.
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You are so right, it sure has been a year, long and strange, but we hope we all learn a lot from this experience. I’m glad your test results were negative.
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Thank you. Yes, we’ll definitely all learn something from this weird experience that is the pandemic.
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Phew! I am so glad your Covid test was negative. It must have been such a relief.
It is crazy to think this pandemic has gone on a whole year. I remember Boris Johnson saying 3 weeks lockdown and hopefully then it would be under control and that was almost a year ago. lol
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Yes, my negative test result was a relief. I also remember our first lockdown initially would’ve lasted three weeks. How weird that it’s now been a year with only some relief over the summer.
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it has definitely been a very tough year for all of us! I am glad your care facility remains open during the second lockdown. Xxx
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Thank you. I am glad about that too.
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