[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by GTO

Despite taking the utmost precautions, I caught the bloody Covid-19! Am isolated on 3rd floor house with everyone else on the 1st floor house. My result came in yesterday. Strange virus - waves of weakness & chills come and go.

02 is holding steady at the 97 - 98 level. Have started the standard 5 - 6 medicines.

Get well soon! I caught it and recovered during March 21. Despite taking the normal precautions. I have realised that the modes of transmission are so varied that it is next to impossible to ensure that you do not catch it. People like you who are taking a host of precautions are catching it, while people who have been out and about do not catch it even after being in close contact with ones who have it . Bit of a confounding disease.

Actually, in my view, the most irritating part is the home isolation, otherwise, it is just a slightly more severe instance of a viral fever (usually).

[poloman]

More than one year has passed since the pandemic has hit the world. But unfortunately we are as or more clueless, we were one year before.

Suddenly it looks like everyone around you is hit by the virus. Things were looking under control just a month back. How can it spike like this just in a matter of weeks? No one has a clue. People who are taking extreme precautions are also hit. Around 7 Cr people should have been vaccinated and as per some so called serum studies up to 40% might have already got the disease. Then who are getting affected now? Why is the intensity increasing? How come only in China everything is under control?

Extremely unfortunate that medical fraternity have no clue about any of the questions general public have. They are back to old ways of advising lockdowns everywhere.

[am1m]

Doctors and scientists have learned a lot about this virus. We have several vaccines available to us in record time. That doesn't happen without understanding a whole lot about this virus.

Politicians, media, and most of us in the general public haven't learned a thing though. Or just don't want to. Those public medical officers who have to report to politicians can't speak their minds unfortunately.

Hence, like with any calamity in the olden days that we couldn't understand (floods, droughts, etc.) we resort to actions based on faith/authority figures - lockdowns, immunity boosters, blaming outsiders, etc. Might as well pray and offer sacrifices.

Plus we all have our blind spots, we think we are taking precautions (basically avoiding what we don't want to do) while exposing ourselves doing something that we really want to do. We all do it without even realizing it.

Several doctors on this forum have been sharing the correct information right from the start. The vaccination drives are ramping up in our country and we have one of the best vaccine manufacturing and delivery mechanisms in the world. Most of us here on this forum are relatively privileged to be able to take precautions and take care of ourselves, compared to millions of people in our country and around the world. We'll get through this.

[sagpatel]

Guys, is it mandatory to have RT-PCR report to enter Maharashtra from Gujarat by Road. I am currently in Vapi and planning to return to Mumbai on Friday.
I know that you require RT-PCR report to enter Gujarat but is the same required to enter Maharashtra?

[GTO]

Thanks a ton for the good wishes, guys!

Originally Posted by paragsachania

So the fact that most of them catching up with this virus despite of all precautions is true.

Dude, I'm telling you. Since last March, I haven't visited any public place, nor walked into a restaurant or mall. I meet very rarely with very few people and even those are on the terrace, socially distanced with mask etc. This is one crazy virus.

The single place I have visited with a lot of people was the vaccination center for Mom's first shot.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

If you had taken all 'normal' precautions, one of the few remaining ways you could have caught it is from test-driving cars

Would have been my first suspect, but I haven't test-driven any car in 2 weeks!

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Hope that it does not affect you badly - please be sure to take steam inhalation so that the mucus does not harden. There are also some good prone breathing exercises which help evacuate the lungs from mucus. Keep a close watch on your blood oxygen levels.

Thanks man, doing.

[Merril]

Originally Posted by poloman

Suddenly it looks like everyone around you is hit by the virus. Things were looking under control just a month back. How can it spike like this just in a matter of weeks? No one has a clue. People who are taking extreme precautions are also hit. Around 7 Cr people should have been vaccinated and as per some so called serum studies up to 40% might have already got the disease. Then who are getting affected now? Why is the intensity increasing? How come only in China everything is under control?

Extremely unfortunate that medical fraternity have no clue about any of the questions general public have. They are back to old ways of advising lockdowns everywhere.

I think the real issue is that the general public still doesnt understand the power of compounding. If we did, we wouldnt have financial advisors using this line as their very first pitch when they meet a new customer. In many ways this disease is similar to doing an RD or an SIP, small small increments will go under the radar, but at certain point the curve just explodes. This virus isnt doing anything new, but neither are we. In fact, most of us (perhaps not the ones on this forum, but general indian population) over the holiday season reverted to the same old ways of operating. It is here that *localised* lockdowns would help. Contact tracing, identifying hotspots, isolating these etc.

The other way to look at it is the large segment of india that cannot really afford to stay at home. For them it is either go down the drain financially or take their chances with the virus. For this segment, unless we vaccinate them, lockdowns arent going to help.

But I do think saying that the medical fraternity is clueless is being a bit disingenous. Also, I would look at numbers (not just numbers related to the pandemic) coming out of China quite skeptically.

JMT.

[MCR]

Originally Posted by GTO

Despite taking the utmost precautions, I caught the bloody Covid-19!

Get well Soon.

According to my Wife's Cousin, who is a Doctor (Practicing @ St.John's, Bangalore. She was COVID-19 Positive last year), the spread is mainly due to following reasons;
1. Asymptomatic people socially mingling and becoming super spreaders!
2. Reduced Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) among people in general.
3. Reduced Sanitization levels in public places(even in 5 Star Restaurants).
4. Kids not wearing masks and transmitting the infection to adults.

She says, the gestation period for the Virus is now close to 14 days after contacting the same in certain cases.
She also says there is high chance of infection if you;
1. Eat out (people in proximity, mask down and utensil / Table ware contact).
2. Stay in a Public Dormitory (Hotel rooms, Airbnb etc.)
3. Close proximity with anyone without wearing a mask for a long time.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by Merril

I think the real issue is that the general public still doesnt understand the power of compounding. If we did, we wouldnt have financial advisors using this line as their very first pitch when they meet a new customer. In many ways this disease is similar to doing an RD or an SIP, small small increments will go under the radar, but at certain point the curve just explodes. This virus isnt doing anything new, but neither are we. In fact, most of us (perhaps not the ones on this forum, but general indian population) over the holiday season reverted to the same old ways of operating. It is here that *localised* lockdowns would help. Contact tracing, identifying hotspots, isolating these etc.

JMT.

None of this make any sense anymore. Infact during holiday season OCT-NOV we have the numbers started going down. People like GTO who were so careful, how did they catch the virus. There are multiple other pathways and reasons for the spread which are not known it seems.

One thing for sure, kids and children are playing a major role in this outbreak. 40 kids in a neighboring apartment complex have tested positive. They don't wear masks and have come out to play in large numbers. Most of them are asymptomatic, but becoming super spreaders.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by poloman

There are multiple other pathways and reasons for the spread which are not known it seems.

That is quite possible. Eventual research might show that.

But it is also possible that the pathways are the same but we don't realize how we are exposing ourselves. Can't comment on the precautions people I don't know personally are taking. But from what I've seen in my own behavior and the behavior of people around me, especially family, each of us will believe we are taking 'full precautions' while in reality we have exposed ourselves in some (already well-researched and documented/published) way.

Classic example is people wearing masks while walking outdoors to a restaurant and taking them off while eating inside. People refusing to go outdoors for a walk but staying cooped up indoors with their kids, who are happily going outside and playing with other children from other households. People scrubbing surfaces but attending family functions indoors. (Not blaming- I do such things myself, use 'covid' as an excuse to get out of things I don't want to do, and ignore the equal exposure risks while doing stuff I want to do.)

Again, to reiterate, I can't comment on the precautions any particular person took- I don't know. But these are the things I've seen happening right from the start and all of those people will say that they were being careful and thus attribute some extra special powers of transmission to this virus that in all probability behaves like any other respiratory virus. (Something that the good docs on this forum have also been saying from the start.)

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by GTO

Despite taking the utmost precautions, I caught the bloody Covid-19!...

Wish you a speedy recovery. Get well soon!

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by GTO

Dude, I'm telling you. Since last March, I haven't visited any public place, nor walked into a restaurant or mall. I meet very rarely with very few people and even those are on the terrace, socially distanced with mask etc.

Wish you a speedy recovery.

Don't kick yourself for this. I know of so many people who have got it in spite of being extremely careful. On the other hand, I've seen (and still see) so many senior citizens happily attend mass gatherings without following any norms. Looks like a lot matters on chance.

This virus is not going anywhere, and we have to live with this, probably for years/decades. There's only so much anyone can do, and that too, only for a finite amount of time. We know that pandemic fatigue has set in. There are already protests happening due to lockdowns/curfews, or intention to lockdown.Life has to go on.

I somewhere believe that each of us are going to get it sooner or later, vaccine or not. As doctors have said, most of the cases are mild/asymptomatic, and such media frenzy has been unjustified. No one can be careful every single time, and that too in long term. On the other hand, the virus just needs one small slip up from us. No contest.

[PetrolRider]

My 7 year old son got infected with Covid-19 out of nowhere few days back. Our samples were also sent for testing and results are awaited in a day or two. Meanwhile my wife has already developed a fever, we are dead sure we both also has been infected now.

If you want a good laugh, go through the Prologue of how our life was since April 2020.

Since last April, myself, my wife and my 6-year-old were kept ourselves as in kind of house arrest. Only surviving on various online delivery platforms starting from groceries to vegetables to medicines and toys and books for my kid.


The rules that we followed:

• All items delivered at doorstep has to be sprayed with Dettol solution at the door itself and then items that can be washed are washed with soap solutions.
• No maid or any kind of help are with us since last year March.
• Door bell and main door knobs are wiped regularly with disinfectant wipes.
• If anyone ever had to step out, W95 marks are compulsory even for my son and medical gloves are for us. After back to home, shoes are first sanitized before being brought inside shoe stand, clothes were immediately put to washing machine, hands and legs are washed with soaps thoroughly.
• Sanitizers are at every place in my house and in car. I wipe my car with disinfectant wipes after each use.
• So much so, my son too have not stepped out to play outside.

Now my wife and son are treating me as if I am the Myanmar Junta

P.S.: Could someone from Pune point me out to a good Covid home isolation package?

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by GTO

Despite taking the utmost precautions, I caught the bloody Covid-19! Am isolated on 3rd floor house with everyone else on the 1st floor house. My result came in yesterday. Strange virus - waves of weakness & chills come and go.

02 is holding steady at the 97 - 98 level. Have started the standard 5 - 6 medicines.

That's sad to know Admin ! However take it easy. You will surely get well soon, wishing you a speedy recovery Science behind covid-19 is evolving, confusing and frustrating. If you suspect test driving cars is possibly how you contracted this virus, then there are recent studies pointing out that transmission from surfaces is unlikely. An year back, the world was paranoid about touching anything ! I am seeing cases where Rapid antigen test (66% sensitivity) is turning out positive on the same day at one lab where in other lab reported RTPCR negative ( sensitivity 95+%) !! There are false positives and negatives and what not but that has been true with every damn disease out there. The cycle threshold value ( CT value in RTPCR ) has been revised by ICMR India yesterday. CDC USA now recommends 10 days isolation from first symptom onset. It was strictly 14 earlier. Some doctors across the world still recommend 14,20 days etc. Something else will again be modified and revised with time. There is simply no end to this. We are focussing too much on Covid, that's all. This virus will never ever leave this planet, take it written from me. Let's all learn to co-exist with it.


Finally what really matters to Doctors and public alike at the end of the day is the clinical profile of someone who has tested Covid-19 positive. When the signs and symptoms are mild to none, absolutely nothing to worry about. Keep taking the standard set of medicines you are prescribed and soon get back to your routine life without any apprehension.

I am deeply thankful to you to have chosen to home isolate yourself than getting hospitalised thereby making that one bed available for a really needy patient ( covid or non covid). Mumbai is again reeling under severe bed shortage. Young guys/girls working for top corporate companies or those who are highly affordable come and get admitted even when they are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic But I am glad Mr. GTO, admin of a most popular best automotive forum in the world has been a responsible and a considerate citizen in this regard. Thanks again man for setting an example.

Regards
Dr. Vivek

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by GTO

Despite taking the utmost precautions, I caught the bloody Covid-19! Am isolated on 3rd floor house with everyone else on the 1st floor house. My result came in yesterday. Strange virus - waves of weakness & chills come and go.

Get well soon! Hope the spread is well controlled in your family!

I hear very bizarre stories off late about the spread of covid. In my family, a cousin of my dad, who is around 65yrs of age caught the infection from one of his daughters. And by the time he knew he was positive, he travelled in a car with two of his brothers to and fro my native and I believe they had shut the windows but not wearing masks. Both his brothers are asthma patients who would suffer every time there was weather fluctuations. However, they both did not catch the infection even two weeks after the incident.

And ever since last may, my parents have been working and we had been to a lot of places like crowded restaurants, tourist spots, some rural areas where no one wore masks and so on. This made me feel we were exposed to the virus in some or the other way until my Mum got an antibody test done out of curiosity. It turned out to be negative Hence they would be heading for their vaccination soon.

Since I am out of India for a while, can anyone tell me if retail sales of rapid test kits have been done anytime? If not, then what is the reason this isnt happening? This is a good idea for people who want to test themselves at their convenience and the asymptomatic ones can at least get to know they are infected and wont end up infecting more. Here in Germany, its being sold like regular medicine and from my company, we have been given enough test kits so that I take a test every alternate working day before coming to office. I thought this was a good idea to curb asymptomatic spread of infection.

Why isnt this being done in India?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

Could someone from Pune point me out to a good Covid home isolation package?

I had read an article in late March which mentioned KEM, Noble, Ruby and Sahyadri as some of the hospitals offering these packages. However, I would recommend checking with the doctor who is treating you, if opting for such packages is really required.

Wish you and your family a speedy recovery!

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I have any personal experience with the above hospitals.