Do you know what the set up is like? Is the lecturn several feet (or more) away from the “audience”??? If so, I think he will be “contained” enough. Might the church have a plexiglass option for the lecturn? For in front of him? Or could you somehow provide that?
If elderly people are making the choice to attend a service like this in public with lots of people some of the responsibility is on them. They may mask anyway. If you son is symptomatic, keeps some distance from others and masks when not reading - or sits slightly away from the audience really I think he has done his part.
But you have to act on what gives YOU comfort in this situation. There is no one answer, but there are many opinions.
Thanks @abasket. He reads for two minutes, and others come right after him, including the minister, so he cannot really be contained. I may ask the minister but I think due to liability they may then tell me that he shouldn’t come!
I have a backup reader so we are also discussing my son waiting outside, then going to the back of the church, so he can at least be there. Or he could read masked. He can also attend the internment of course.
He was an usher but that is out
I am providing masks and sanitizer to give the message to people that it is okay to do so, at the church and reception hall. Some people are embarrassed so hoping that makes them feel comfortable. I am hoping people don’t stay away out of health fears (flu too).
You should totally do what is right for you. My kids spent a lot of time at the lecturn doing readings all through school and even after. It meant a lot to me to hear their voices and words.
One more thought. Could you record him and play the recording if there is a mic? He could still be announced so everyone would know it’s your mom’s grandson speaking. A recording even on a phone and then played over a mic is likely to be pretty clear.
Also, is the church large (relative to the expected attendance) with high ceilings, and is it well ventilated? That can affect the risk level if he (or anyone else) brings uninvited viral guests.
Another thing to consider is if the eventgoers tend to be well vaccinated and/or have had recent infections. Some estimates of infection are as high as 94% in the US, with much of it during Omicron.
@abasket Great idea. Sending to my son. Thank you! @ucbalumnus high ceilings, probably well-vaccinated attendees, no special ventilation
@bluebayou I lean toward your feelings. He flew last night double masked (exposure was just the day before so not contagious yet). He is mid-30’s and not coming “home,” but rented a car and hotel room.
My main concern is elderly attendees, as I have indicated. Frankly, I am no spring chicken and have vulnerabilities, as does my daughter, so even on the family level we will be conservative.
I emailed the church/vicar to see what they would like us to do.
My brothers say “everyone is probably exposed,” but my son KNOWS he was exposed and I think that is different.
We got covid in July. Right before we left a former co worker of my husband’s called and asked us to dinner. He sat across from my husband and I sat to his side. I remember that he complained about his allergies acting up. In hindsight, my husband’s symptoms started 4 days later.
We were in route to our daughter’s house, she was having surgery.
I know our dinner companion must have had covid, how I wish he had called us to inform us. He knew the medical situation with our daughter, we talked about it.
So @compmom at least you know your son had exposure. Now you can work with it. It sounds like there are some alternatives. Even though the timing stinks.
We had been so careful, my husband wanted to see his friend so badly. It wasn’t the best decision but we couldn’t have foreseen it.
Oh my gosh, how frustrating! In the end, did either of you pass it on to your daughter and/or did her surgery get delayed, or did you not find out about your covid until later and things went off ok? I hope her surgery went off ok and went well and that she’s recovered from the surgery!
Thanks. Strangely enough our daughter’s surgery had been postponed for a week because she had covid! So she was immune, unfortunately her fiancé was not but he didn’t catch it from my husband or earlier from my daughter.
If my daughter had had her surgery on her original date, we would have been gone when the former co worker called. Strange how life works.
Daughter is recovered from the surgery. Unfortunately it was stage 2 breast cancer, she’s in the middle of chemotherapy. Still more to the process but she’s tolerating the chemo quite well and her prognosis is quite good.
I’m so glad that you and your husband did not cause a disruption to your daughter’s surgery–that would have surely felt terrible!!
I’m hoping your daughter’s treatment goes well and this will be in the rearview mirror before she knows it. Tough to go through (I am about 6 years post chemo/rad for BC), but 2023 will be a new year for her! Best wishes.
This was interesting to see on BBC this morning and would be good for those wanting to avoid Covid to know. It could also explain why spreading continues to happen even though there looks like no close source:
Fomites (surface contamination) has long been a known vector for spreading the virus, but it was greatly overestimated in the early days. I.e. it is possible, but not that likely. Note that a similar concern can exist with restaurant food prepared by cooks who unknowingly have COVID-19. Consuming food with the virus on it does not appear to be a common means of getting COVID-19.
If you want, you can go back to sanitizing and scrubbing all surfaces, groceries, etc. like lots of people did in the early days. But the benefit is small relative to the effort when compared to other typical mitigation measures (vaccination, avoiding crowded enclosed spaces, wearing N95-quality mask when in enclosed spaces, etc.).
Personally, I’m not the least bit concerned any longer since we prefer to keep our immune system challenged by exposure as we age. We have vaxxes and have had a round of Covid for antibodies to assist.
However, I know there are some who prefer to stay away from it entirely if they can, often due to health reasons. I posted the current research story for them. It tells what appears to be safe and what appears to let the virus live for longer, along with ways to try to deal with it.
The article also mentions the most common way to transmit Covid is still the air.
Thank you for the article, I’ll share it with H. He and I understand that the risk is very low, however we do continue to sanitize items brought into our home and clean surfaces. Not only do we have multiple risk factors, but we care for our unvax’d GD several days a week, including providing lunch and snacks. We are vax’d, and we wear N95 masks indoors when we have to go to a doctor appointment or have workmen in our home, so our biggest risk is being around our GDs and their parents. Our actions may be overkill, but they’re no hassle for us and they relieve some of our stress.
Well my son flew across the country and tested the next morning, and got a positive. He is now stranded in a hotel room. I brought him mashed potatoes, yogurts and other things he night be able to eat. He can come to the burial and stand at a distance.
sorry, i am in a similar boat. WE had a huge conference in Vegas this week (50K people) so I knew that i would get exposed, but if not around one person for a long period was keeping my fingers crossed. My last booster was about 90 days ago and it was the new one. The big thing though is that one of the coworkers I was working in the booth with tested positive yesterday. I know when I left Thursday afternoon he was saying how he was not feeling well and was sick on Friday and got the positive. He was boosted 6 weeks ago.
So I feel like I am 2/3 days behind him. So here is the kicker.
He, myself, and one other person who was there this week are suppose to be back in Vegas on Monday for another conference (much smaller) where we have a booth. We need coverage. So now I am testing every day but if i test positive by Monday that leaves one person left if they remain negative. This is a risk . I miss the days when we would go to these things, and yes, we would get sick, but unless it was the flu, fever, etc. noone was concerned.
So for now I am missing a big holiday party tonight as I wait.
D2 got really sick last week with a febrile illness. Tested negative for Covid every day. It was probably the flu, though she didn’t get tested for that. She is vaccinated against Covid and influenza. She said this illness was much worse than her very mild covid infection. Her husband didn’t get whatever it was that she had, surprisingly.
