Just yesterday morning I had a few huge sneezes, kind of felt like allergies and then went away. Some throat congestion / mucus, but not much.

Later in the day the right side of my throat was sensitive to swallowing cold liquid, my right ear felt like the very beginning of what I imagine could be an ear infection, and the top of my head (scalp) feels a bit crawly to the touch and sometimes randomly pulsing on the surface.

No fever.

Are these COVID signs, should I stay out of office?

If nothing else but peace and mind, get tested. My son had cold/allergy symptoms on Thur and Fri...since he is playing football and baseball we felt prudent to get him tested. He was negative....just a cold.

Do you typically have allergies at this time of year? If so, do you feel like its allergies? If yes, then treat the symptoms like allergies and keep going.

If not, you might want to get a test.

This is the way I've been viewing my allergy symptoms. I'm just thinking about them more now than I typically do.

Could be either- wait a day or two to see if you get the headache/body aches/fatigue. Or

You could get tested. Or

You could try OTC antishistamine to see if it helps. Not benadryl because it has anti-cholinergic effects that helps with virus and allergy. Something like claritin or allegra is fine.

If you're worried about it, go get a test. My wife had what I thought were clear allergy symptoms a month ago. But because we have a 3 month old at home, she went ahead and got a test which ruled COVID out.

BowSowy said:

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If you're worried about it, go get a test. My wife had what I thought were clear allergy symptoms a month ago. But because we have a 3 month old at home, she went ahead and got a test which ruled COVID out.

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Are 3 months olds even catching COVID? I assume this is why you got the test?

HowdyTexasAggies said:

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BowSowy said:

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If you're worried about it, go get a test. My wife had what I thought were clear allergy symptoms a month ago. But because we have a 3 month old at home, she went ahead and got a test which ruled COVID out.

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Are 3 months olds even catching COVID? I assume this is why you got the test?

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Yes but even @ 3 months it appears to be a mild infection relative to RSV/Flu.

Generally speaking, sneezing is not a symptom of a Covid-19 infection.

So an elderly guy in our office I was around on Monday and Tuesday tested positive today (may have been tested yesterday). He is basically asymptomatic but a few people said he was talking about allergies flaring up when he was in office. He had to get tested for an MRI - they said his lungs looked glassy and then the test confirmed it.

I'm going to suggest anyone who was around him those two days go get tested.

Thoughts on the situation?

I feel great... a little sniffle and a little cough here and there.

ETA: still suggesting the tests, 5 days after exposure, but not requiring it. 14 day quarantine / work from home is the solution I'm going with.

Premium said:

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So an elderly guy in our office I was around on Monday and Tuesday tested positive today (may have been tested yesterday). He is basically asymptomatic but a few people said he was talking about allergies flaring up when he was in office. He had to get tested for an MRI - they said his lungs looked glassy and then the test confirmed it.

I'm going to suggest anyone who was around him those two days go get tested.

Thoughts on the situation?

I feel great... a little sniffle and a little cough here and there.

ETA: still suggesting the tests, 5 days after exposure, but not requiring it. 14 day quarantine / work from home is the solution I'm going with.

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Textbook perfect management.

We are almost 100% work from home but this person came
In two days they usually wouldn't because of some job change brainstorming meetings needed to happen.

Well, the exposure came because of this elderly person was in a meeting with 3 of us one day (3 hours), 4 of us the next (1 hour) and then 2 of us the next (45 minutes).

We haven't required masks in the office although we provide them at the front on the entry table along with hand sanitizer at the front and at every desk. Also their desks are either in different offices or have extremely tall cubicle walls as dividers.

1 of these people is a lawsuit kind of person in my opinion and has already said a few things that make me think it's major drama coming our way if they get a positive test. This person has also been 100% work from home until the last two meetings.

So we've all worked from home for the last 3-4 weeks because of that scare.

No one got it other than the elderly guy, we will call him Joe.

Well, one of the ladies who is drama said she is worried about coming back because Joe likes to go out on the town with a bunch of friends.

But Joe already had COVID... what do I tell her ? This seems illogical...

Entire office staff at my apartments has just disappeared. No one there. Sign in elevator saying all events are cancelled. Well connected resident said my next door neighbor couple and perhaps others have covid. They are close friends and she knows for sure they have it...and are still using the elevator and leaving apartment to go to the mail room and get their mail.

Almost surreal to see the staff parking area emply when it usually has five or so cars in it.

Nm

I think I would reiterate the safety precautions that your company is taking. Share the CDC guidelines about his safe return to work.

If she's a valuable part of your team and she's able to productively work from home, though, I might consider that option if she's truly worried.

That's disconcerting. Have they set up guidelines about the number of people allowed in elevators? My daughter said that her friend's apartment in Denton only allows people from the same unit in the elevator together. They use hand sanitizer before and after entering the elevator.

Can you contact the management company to find out more? I assume the complex is owned by a corporation.

cc_ag92 said:

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I think I would reiterate the safety precautions that your company is taking. Share the CDC guidelines about his safe return to work.

If she's a valuable part of your team and she's able to productively work from home, though, I might consider that option if she's truly worried.

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Well, this isn't the only drama she has given us. So I would say she's on thin ice in a lot of other ways.

But it just seems to me if someone has already gotten COVID they are the safest ones in the office.

3 of 11 people got COVID while working from home the last 7 months. This makes us a bit safer overall. In essence we are only having to distance / be a little more careful with the other 8 people.

We have high cubicle walls and separate offices for some.

I made our usual conference seat 4 people at distance. I wasn't thinking about recommending masks unless they were going to be closer than 6 feet for 15 minutes.

At my job, we wear masks when not at our desks, so we wear them in the hallways, kitchen, etc.

If we are in a meeting and able to space more than six feet, we aren't required to wear them.

So far, we have not had any spread AT work. The people who have contracted Covid have gotten it while socializing elsewhere.

I'll admit that I felt nervous about returning to the office in July, but I don't feel that way anymore.


All that being said, if she refuses to come into the office after you reiterate the safety procedures you're following, then you have your answer, especially if she's not valuable enough to miss.