
Doctor details just how responsible "living room spread" is for COVID-19 uptick
By Mustafa GatollariUpdated
The COVID-19 pandemic has completely turned the lives of nearly everyone around the globe upside down and caused massive shifts in the socio-economic balances of entire governments, massive corporations, and general power dynamics. The implications of such large-scale social changes have started several conversations regarding the best ways to help "things get back to normal."
This has led to some demographics of people swear off wearing masks entirely and/or flout social distancing measures. While there are more extreme groups of people who will go so far as to call the coronavirus "a hoax", there are other groups of people who point to the increase of cases in places like California, Germany, and New Zealand, which have stringent lockdown orders, as "evidence" that the spread of the virus is inevitable.
But there are loads of healthcare professionals who demonstrate just how to spread of the virus can be curbed by implementing social distancing measures, like this story told in a Twitter thread by Dr. Dara Kass about a young man who took a rapid COVID-19 test before visiting his family.
A 🧵 on COVID Living Room Spread:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
Saturday:
- Older, out of the house brother wants to visit younger siblings.
Mom says "get a test on the way, if you are negative you can come."
- Rapid test is (-), family spends a day together inside, laughing, playing, eating.
1/
The test had come back negative, so the young man decided to spend some time indoors with his siblings and family. However, soon after leaving the house, he develops a cough.
Sunday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Older brother leaves, his cough starts.
- Mom sees her elderly parents in her home, unmasked for dinner and hanging out.
- They are in the same "bubble" and have seen each other regularly in the pandemic.
2/
The following day, the young man's mother had her own parents over the house for a dinner. They had their masks uncovered as they were part of the same pandemic "bubble" and had been visiting one another regularly. So they figured how harm no foul.
Then, the day after that, the nanny gets thrown into the mix.
Sunday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Older brother leaves, his cough starts.
- Mom sees her elderly parents in her home, unmasked for dinner and hanging out.
- They are in the same "bubble" and have seen each other regularly in the pandemic.
2/
Monday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Children's nanny comes to work.
- Mom goes to work, spends time unmasked with close work colleagues.
- Older brother tests, 20 yo white male, COVID (+).
Tuesday:
-Mom begins to track family contacts, and starts to develop symptoms.
3/
However, the older brother who came to visit actually tests positive after developing symptoms. The mom and entire family begins developing symptoms themselves. It isn't long before Mom tests positive herself and everyone begins self-quarantining, but by that time, it's a bit too late.
Wednesday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Mom tests COVID +
- 2 children, 6 office mates, 2 elderly parents and a nanny begin quarantine, all initially testing negative.
-Nanny decides to quarantine with the family to isolate from her own children at home.
4/
Thursday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Mom symptoms get worse, everyone else locks down.
Friday:
- Nanny, a 60+ yo Black woman, tests COVID (+), develops mild symptoms
5/
The symptoms start worsening for everyone involved and it only took a week to happen. But that's not the end of the story, the health implications ended up being extremely serious for a ton of different people, and it at all stemmed from the "out of house" older brother's visit.
Sunday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Mom is improving
- Nanny is not feeling well
- 1 office mate, a 70+ yo white woman tests COVID (+) with mild symptoms.
- Office mate's daughter arranges for antibody infusion due to risk factors on day 2 of symptoms.
6/
Monday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- 3 yo daughter tests COVID (+), mild symptoms.
- Older brother (patient zero) feels well.
- Mom has relapsing symptoms.
-Nanny is feeling okay.
- Office mate feels better after antibodies.
7/
The story begins to paint a picture of how the most some of the most vulnerable members of society are the ones who get the short end of the stick when it comes to COVID. In this case, it's the Nanny who works in the family home, who also doesn't have a primary care doctor.
Tuesday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
-Elderly parents, youngest child, other office mates continue to quarantine and continue to test (-).
Wednesday- Thursday:
- All patients improve EXCEPT the Nanny.
- She continues to get worse and has no primary care doctor.
8/
Friday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Nanny is Day 8 of symptoms and worsening, time for her to get antibodies.
- There is no central system for her to find out how to get them.
- Mom, now better, starts making calls as her advocate.
9/
Out of everyone involved, this woman is now the one fighting for her life. She now requires an antibody infusion, her oxygen account is low, so she needs help breathing and has been put on steroids.
Saturday:
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
- Nanny, Day 9 of symptoms, gets worked up for synthetic antibodies.
Sunday:
-Nanny gets first antibody infusion.
Monday:
- Nanny is weak and her oxygen is low. She goes to the hospital and is admitted.
10/
This started with a 20 yo healthy white male testing (-) to see his family.
— Dara Kass, MD (@darakass) December 29, 2020
Infected 3 "family" members land in the lungs of a 60+ yo Black woman who is now hospitalized on oxygen and steroids.
This is living room spread.
And it has to stop.
/fin
Dr. Kass highlighted this case as a clearly delineated instance of "living room spread" and how this is one of the most seemingly harmless, but actually pernicious ways that COVID-19 keeps surging up again after leveling off for a few weeks or days.