# It's here...a coworker tested positive



## MarciKS (Mar 27, 2020)

We just received word within the hour that we are on a 30 day stay at home & a coworker has tested positive. I don't know at this point whether our dept. was exposed or not. If they have been we will be receiving an email.


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## MarciKS (Mar 27, 2020)

There's just no words to describe how I feel right now.


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## Gaer (Mar 27, 2020)

Oh no!!!! My prayers are with you!!!!!


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## SeaBreeze (Mar 27, 2020)

Sorry to hear that Marci, I don't blame you for being upset, hope you don't receive an email.


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## MarciKS (Mar 27, 2020)

Me too Seabreeze. It's taking everything in me to not completely lose it. And I gotta go back to that when I return to work. I gotta slap on my brave face and march into the fray. I realize that my fray is only food service but, we come in contact with everyone at some point. Not to mention the gazillion of surfaces for things to hang out on. Turns out it was a nurse. They don't know how she contracted it for sure. They said that if we were exposed they would email us. They also said if were at risk they might be determining whether or not we should be there. So, I don't know anything at this point beyond that.


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## Keesha (Mar 27, 2020)




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## StarSong (Mar 28, 2020)

So you'll be at home for 30 days unless advised otherwise?  

What is your job within food service at the hospital? I hope all goes well @MarciKS. Please keep us posted.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 28, 2020)

Scary, I know! I hope you and your co-workers will be alright Marci !  My Honorary Daughter (mother of two of my grandchildren) has been "possibly exposed". She works for the school system and is not showing symptoms right now but is self quarantining. Schools here had already been shut down but she went in for about 45 minutes to distribute computers to parents and that's when she found out. Will keep you in prayer Marci.


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

StarSong said:


> So you'll be at home for 30 days unless advised otherwise?
> 
> What is your job within food service at the hospital? I hope all goes well @MarciKS. Please keep us posted.


I don't know anything yet on the job front. when I go back tues I will let them know I was out sick. they may send me home. I haven't received any email yet as to whether or not I was in the group that was exposed.
I cook for pts plus I work the cafeteria and i'm exposed to coworkers who pass trays to pts. plus all the staff in the hospital and visitors that come through. Right now the only people allowed in the cafeteria are on duty staff and visitors who are with a patient. We had to turn a guy away the other day who had been to the lab because he's not visiting a pt. Felt bad having to do that. I'm there to feed people and we are having to say no. Not easy to do.


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## WhatInThe (Mar 28, 2020)

Hope coworker is ok. A lot of positive tests are resulting in shut downs and closures for precautionary reasons not that everyone is going to get deathly ill. Hopefully that's all it winds up being-a positive test and not much more for them. The only thing you can do is try to live healthy ie nutrition and fitness. 

Personally I think this thing was spreading well before it hit the news here and overseas. You might have already had/have it and not know it.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 28, 2020)

Mt thoughts are with you. I can't imagine how stressful this must be waiting for an Email.


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## Wren (Mar 28, 2020)

MarciKs, thinking of you all and sending my very best wishes


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

WhatInThe said:


> Hope coworker is ok. A lot of positive tests are resulting in shut downs and closures for precautionary reasons not that everyone is going to get deathly ill. Hopefully that's all it winds up being-a positive test and not much more for them. The only thing you can do is try to live healthy ie nutrition and fitness.
> 
> Personally I think this thing was spreading well before it hit the news here and overseas. You might have already had/have it and not know it.


I agree. I think it started it's march through US long before they knew. Before any of us knew. I think that's why we were so unprepared. They won't shut the hospital down. They can't. It's an essential business.


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Mt thoughts are with you. I can't imagine how stressful this must be waiting for an Email.


It's just all the not knowing. And I've been out for a week and none of my coworkers even messaged me or nothing. I have no clue what I'll be walking back into on Tues.


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## terry123 (Mar 28, 2020)

Meals on Wheels have been bringing me lunch during the week. This week they asked us to put food on a plate and not reheat in plastic tray.  They said it was a new one to them also.


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

@terry123 most places have had to completely change how they do things overnight. Some changes we had to make were daily. Some hourly. 
We have all premade salads for the salad bar and premade sandwiches for the sandwich bar. 
They cancelled all the caterings indefinitely. So far the nursing classes have still been going on but, with this new case in our facility I'm not sure that will be the same when I return.
Many businesses were overwhelmed by overnight changes so it's an adjustment.


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

Our numbers are up today. Kansas now has 261 cases and 5 deaths. We are just getting started here. I feel bad for the ones in the hot zones. New York I guess is in a real mess. So sad.


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## Lee (Mar 28, 2020)

Marci....sincere wishes for a good outcome for you. Stay strong, stay positive, and let us know.


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## oldman (Mar 28, 2020)

Pennsylvania now has 2751 confirmed cases. Only those with life necessity jobs are allowed to be out and about.


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

WhatInThe said:


> Hope coworker is ok.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

Well, I got one piece of good news. 
I was told today that the individual works for an affiliate of ours. An urgent care clinic and it's a nurse there that got it from the pt while testing the pt for COVID19. The pt is in ICU and the 2 paramedics that took care of her and now the nurse. So, as much as I feel badly for them, I am relieved that the odds of me being in contact with that nurse is almost nothing. They are clear across town in another facility just part of the entire business.


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## terry123 (Mar 28, 2020)

Our condo office has closed for the week which I understand. They come in daily contact with a lot of us.  They have been so good to the ones of us that are handicapped.  They do extra things for us that they are not paid to do.  I bless them daily and the families they go home to.  Also bless the Meals on Wheels folks that are volunteers only.  They brought me 2 extra meals for the weekend which I appreciate.  I am blessed with such kindness.


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## terry123 (Mar 28, 2020)

I see it everywhere in how businesses have had to change. My daughter who is a pharmacist has a lot of changes there also.  Big increase in people wanting flu and pneumonia shots.  She says she lives in gloves these days.  What little food they carry is gone as soon as they stock it.  Other Grand works the floor at another CVS pharmacy and says the same thing about the food they try to keep stocked.


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## MarciKS (Mar 28, 2020)

They're lucky they have gloves. The postal workers here have been given nothing to protect themselves at all. They been getting their own gloves to handle the mail that comes from all over.


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## StarSong (Mar 29, 2020)

My postal workers all have gloves - those in the post office and those delivering the mail door-to-door.


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## MarciKS (Mar 29, 2020)

So I guess yesterday the Gov. of KS finally put out a statewide stay order till the 19th of April. Our local one is till the 29th of April.

What bugs me is after that very 1st case, why didn't they do that statewide thing then instead of waiting till we had almost 300 infected and 5 dead?


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## MarciKS (Mar 30, 2020)

Well, our numbers have gone to 325 cases and 7 dead as of today. (I should specify this is for the entire state)
We have a 2nd confirmed where I work.
I am scheduled to return to work tomorrow.
I am pretty scared. I don't know if they will send me home when they find out I've been out sick.
Frankly I wish they would. We shall see.


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## MarciKS (Mar 30, 2020)

In the past 6 hrs we've gone up to 368 cases. 8 deaths.


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## PopsnTuff (Mar 30, 2020)

We now have two cases in our little town in Virginia....six cases in the next city over about 35 miles from here  Was just a matter of time....all seems quiet so everyone should be isolating to contain this thing.


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## MarciKS (Mar 30, 2020)

I posted a video in another thread where a dr. talks about all of it. And how to stay safe.
I encourage all of you to take the time to watch it and share it.


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## old medic (Mar 31, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> The pt is in ICU and the 2 paramedics that took care of her and now the nurse



Marci...Best wishes to you....
I'm a currently quarantined Paramedic from a patient....


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## MarciKS (Mar 31, 2020)

@old medic I'm so sorry. I will be praying for you!

KS numbers are 428 cases and 9 deaths now. I will be donning my mask every day all day at work.


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