Negative. The result came back negative, meaning that ‘on the day of the test’ (Friday) I did not have COVID-19, and presumably still don’t.
Woohoo!
It’s not often you dance around exuberantly at negativity, but there it was - no house arrest, no further isolation, no dreadful panic at the thought I might have infected someone else. Just boogieing in the house to an inaudible soundtrack of joy. Negative, it seems, is the new positive.
That has been of great concern to many of us - the thought of accidentally passing it on. I’d rather be in the ICU on a ventilator myself, than live with the thought I accidentally put someone else on that ward! And of course, given the choice, I’d rather not be there either, what with all the pain and anxiety that would cause others, let alone me.
It’s another reminder of how connected we all are. If I know a hundred people and each of them knows a hundred people, that’s a network of something like 10,000 people. The virus has a natural R rate of 3 I think, which is frightening when you connect the dots - in short leaps, thousands of people are two high-fives away. No wonder this thing spreads so fast. It’s like spam.
It’s made me think a lot about all those hidden connections we have too - the brushing past people in the street, using a petrol pump or an ATM, pushing the screen at the supermarket self-service checkout, sitting in a cinema seat. I feel about a thousand percent more mindful of those kind of things now. Hand sanitiser, masks, social distancing - these things are here to stay for a while aren’t they?
Well. For today at least, I’m negativo, king of the negatives, proven officially by the sceptred-cotton-buds-soaked-in-pink-solution, to be currently and right regally unencumbered by the coronavirus. It might not be a permanent victory, or indeed a big one, but for me for now, not testing positive for COVID-19 is sweet.
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