ocrenter: speaking of quarantine, I’d really support requiring airlines to ask for proof of a recent negative (last 48-72 hours, no older) COVID swab before boarding passengers for Northeastern airports, as well as requiring quarantine. The majority of cases in places like NJ are starting to be from imported outbreaks, and most of the hotspots aren’t within easy driving/train/bus distance.
We could even randomly check car passengers for proof of recent test and quarantine plans … there’s precedent in the US for this. California has ag inspection stations at its borders to prevent importation of dangerous parasites. A virus is essentially a dangerous, microscopic parasite.[/quote]
great in concept. problem is pandemic is so widespread and so many folks clamoring for tests that we now have shortage of plastic swabs and result time gets dragged out to a week.
if someone had activated national defense production act early on regarding all items (reagents, swabs, masks, PPEs) we would have been in good shape. (for example Taiwan added 60 mask assembly lines within a month’s time).
anyhow, we are asking patients without symptoms to not test due to supply constrains and excessive delays. all of the medical groups within the county lobbied the county to fall in line on this and the news today is the county has agreed to fall back to no testing of asymptomatics.
what I’m telling asymptomatics who was exposed: assume you have it, quarantine for 2 weeks, take zinc and vit D and aspirin.