You have questions about the pandemic? We have answers.

In this summer of discontent, we’ve decided to dig in and get to the truth

The summer of 2020 is beginning to feel like a bust. Cousin Joe Bob and his kids showed up from Florida’s pandemic-ridden panhandle. To escape, you grabbed a weekend away. And got sick.

Soon it will be time to go back to work. But your boss has questions. And so do you.

To help, we researched answers from experts. (Take heart: Their summer’s lousy, too.) Q This summer, nobody really wants Californians. We face restrictions — ranging from mandatory testing to self-quarantine — when vacationing in states like Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and other great escapes.

So why aren’t Bay Area counties banning people from “hot zone” states like Georgia, Texas and Florida? A Our own transmission rates are so high that outsiders don’t significantly add to the threat, say health officers. It doesn’t make sense for California counties to erect stiff quarantine rules or recommendations for visitors from outside the state.

”The main exception to that would be if they have a known exposure from wherever it is they’re returning from,” said Dr. Sarah Rudman of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. Source: Stanford Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, July 29 Q The Bay Area feels dangerous because it’s so busy. It’s safer to vacation someplace rural, right? A In theory, yes. Large metropolitan areas with a higher number of counties tightly linked together through economic, social, and commuting relationships are the most vulnerable to the pandemic outbreaks. They are more likely to exchange tourists and businesspeople, increasing the risk of inter-county infections, according to a new report by Shima Hamidi, a public-health expert at Johns Hopkins, and Sadegh Sabouri and Reid Ewing, both urban planners at the University of Utah.

But this is interesting: It’s not the density that makes a city sick, it’s the connectivity and crowding. In fact, counties with higher densities have lower virus-related death rates than bucolic counties, possibly because of superior health care systems. Source: Journal of the American Planning Association, Aug. 7 Q

I’m home from my trip. Can my boss insist that I get tested and wear a mask?

A

“Employers have the option — especially health care employers — to set alternate or more conservative recommendations (than counties) — for exclusion from work, tele

work or testing prior to returning to a work setting,” Rudman said. Source: Stanford Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, July29

Q

What are the best kind of masks?

A

All masks are not the same. According to a new visual technique developed by a Duke University team, the most effective coverings are N95 masks without valves — the hospital-grade coverings that are used by frontline health care workers. “Paper” surgical masks seem flimsy, but also performed well.

But even handmade cotton face coverings provided good coverage, eliminating a substantial amount of the spray from normal speech.

On the other hand, bandanas and neck fleeces such as balaclavas hardly blocked the droplets at all. Researchers saw more droplets expelled through these materials, perhaps because the fabric broke up larger droplets as they pass through the material.

If you want to be extra safe, add a face shield. Source: Science Advances, Aug.7

Q I visited a friend who is now sick, and I think I was exposed. What are my risks? A “Close contact” is defined as being exposed to an infected person during the period they’re contagious, which is defined as being 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms or any time through the next 10 days of their illness.

In a health care setting, exposure is presumed if you are within 6 feet of an infected person for 15 minutes or more. Social settings are more complicated, of course. They’re influenced by the type of facecovering you wore, air circulation and other factors. It’s good to be conservative, and assume the worst.

If you don’t have symptoms, self-quarantine for 14 days from the last time you saw that person — and get tested. If you’re sick,

self-quarantine immediately. If you think you may

have accidentally exposed someone else, tell them directly; don’t wait for city or county officials to do it. Friends don’t let friends spread COVID-19. Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Q

How should I monitor myself?

A

If you have a thermometer, check and record your temperature twice a day. Contact a doctor immediately if you feel feverish, develop a cough or shortness of breath, have persistent pain or pressure in your chest, develop confusion, are unable to wake up or stay awake, have bluish lips or face, or develop mild symptoms such as sore throat, muscle aches, tiredness or diarrhea. Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Q How soon do symptoms appear? A Until last week, we believed that most symptoms appear around four to five days after infection. But a new study of patients by a National Institutes of Health team in Wuhan, China, sought to improve the accuracy of our estimates. The team calculated that the median incubation period was 7.75 days. About 10% of patients showed an incubation period of 14.28 days. Source: Science Advances, Aug.7

Q I was sick, but recovered. Do I have to be tested before returning to work? A Nope. While a lot of employers require a test, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actually urges against it. There’s no need to repeat testing of people who have been infected and have returned to health, it asserts.

Why not? Multiple studies show that some people test positive for weeks, even when they’re no longer infectious, because of residual fragments of viral genetic material, said Dr. Sarah Rudman of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. This false-positive test keeps them from returning to work or being reunited with their loved ones.

Rather, the safest step is to self-isolate for 10 days after your symptoms begin — and stay there until your symptoms have been gone for three days. For instance, if your symptoms went away on day 7, you’re considered cured after day 11. If your symptoms linger for 13 days, you should add another three days to your isolation. Source: Stanford Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, July 29