Covid-19 Strikes Home (Patreon)

After watching the spread of this thing across the world, I knew how severe it was.  It wasn't until there was the possibility that I, too, might have the beast that it really struck home.  After wending my way through the self-evaluation website, I was told to call our local HealthLine.  Expecting long delays, I was surprised at how fast I was connected to a nurse at Alberta Health Services.  I was scheduled for the test for the next day (today).

Getting to the testing centre, it was more than a little surreal.  two decades ago, when I was starting my career as an educator, I taught at the South Campus of MacEwan University.  I spent many noon hours in the winter running on the taped track in the gym.  The same gym that was now the test centre.  No monstrous lineups here.  They schedule only the number they can deal with in an hour and you are given a time to show up.  After pressing a doorbell (specially rigged for the purpose), you wait until the admitting nurse admits you (one person at a time).  Once inside, it was strange to see chairs, spaced evenly about 2 meters apart with people on them even further apart.  Though no one looked like they were afraid, I could tell there was real concern from the health staff and from those of us waiting.  

Just inside the door, hand sanitizer.  You didn't get to see anyone without a cleaning.  Then you got to the first station and more hand sanitizer.  After checking you had an appointment and your health care card, you were directed to the Registration nurse.  More hand sanitization.  You ended up on one of the chairs.  Periodically (about every 2-3 minutes or so), a nurse in full personal protective equipment would announce a name.  Hard to hear at times as a gym isn't exactly known for good acoustics.  As each person follows the nurse behind the screen of the testing facility, another worker swabs down the chair and the one on either side with (my guess) a pretty effective sanitizer.

When it was my turn, everything went as I expected.  I was called.  The person doing seat sanitization quickly dashed up to make sure I'd left no virus bits behind.  The nurse checked me against the information and I was told which seat of three to sit in.  No, there was no choice.  I can guess why.  It meant that they'd only have to sanitize the entire alcove every three instead of after each one.  More hand sanitizer.  A quick swab (less than 10 seconds) and I was guided to the exit.  Not out the way I'd come in.  Down a back strip of the gym marked off as the direct route out.  More hand sanitizer.  They gave me a set of instructions (stay home until the test result comes back in a couple of days or for the full 14 days if I end up positive, basically).  A final hand sanitizer at the door and instructions to use my hip to open the door and exit.

If I had had any doubts prior to this about the severity of this virus, I suspect I'd have had a change of mind right there.  The front line workers were taking this far too seriously for anyone to doubt that we are dealing with something far more than a common cold or the flu.  I applaud them all.  It must be a huge risk, even with PPEs, dealing with all the infected (and potentially infected) day in-day out.

So now I wait, my sample bundled off to the test lab.  I really do hope its negative but I won't be surprised if it is positive.  I have several students that returned from China only days before travel restrictions were put in place after our Reading Week in February.  Several of which I was helping early in March before the campus switched to fully online teaching.  One of those students has, alas, reported positive for Covid-19.