There's Been No Aria Yet

(Or, with a nod toward my opera roots but an acknowledgement of the body shaming "It's not over until the fat lady sings.")

It's a (hot) weekend of graduation parties, the kick-off to our pool parties, and and other looked-forward-to events. But we're hanging here, binge-watching Shadow and Bone, because Beatrix is in quarantine.

A girl in her class was diagnosed with covid from a rapid test, and so another five girls who were near her at lunch were sent home just as soon as they got in to school on Wednesday, and told they had to finish out the year remotely (that goodness the school has a way to do that). 

And even after a year and a half of this, it's all pretty confusing. What exactly was "close contact" (confused by being at lunch and maybe outside and such)? How long exactly to they need to quarantine before they can test, and when can they go beck to regular activities? Does the 2nd test have to be a PCR test? Can they still get their 2nd shots? Should they be in their rooms alone, especially if they are not symptomatic? Is it good or bad, given this, that Beatrix had the normal slightly crappy reaction to the 2nd shot? Add to this all the hassles of trying to end the year remotely, turn Beatrix's computer back in, etc. Toss in the whammy that the first diagnosis for the girl affected may have been a false positive, and that MDH apparently does not know what to make of that (especially over the weekend), and it's all a little murky.

So we are all trying to do the right thing, and so we stay home, and Patrick and I frantically try to re-arrange the rest of our summer schedule because it turns out quarantining for even a full week (especially after I was sick the week before, took 2 covid tests and still have bronchitis) can really throw things off. And we feel lucky to have that ability.

All I know is that we are so close to the finish line, but right now it's looking more like a highly distractible wiener dog race than an Olympic track event (and maybe that last reference is not even such a good one now given the controversy about this summer's Olympics).

We have vaccinations for kids 12 and up, but no protection yet for the younger kids, and things are open and masks now not required like the whole pandemic has suddenly just gone away. My friends with younger kids are (rightfully) freaking out, and dreading another summer where they need to stay in and guarded, trying to explain to their kids why everyone else is out doing things.

And how are those families still supposed to test? Saint Paul just closed the civic center site on Fridays and Saturdays, which were prime testing times for people who, you know, work. You can mail them in, but have you noticed that the mail is not exactly speedy yet either? The airport site is well run, but kind of stressful, and it can be an easy 72 hours until you get the results (though it has often been faster.) It all depends when the vials get sent off and when they are processed. Again, I'm glad it's there, but it seems like it should be more efficient by now, and like there should be more, better answers.

And we're still working really hard to get people vaccinated, and I don't understand why they are not.

So yeah, it's been a hell of a long tragic opera and I am really waiting for that final aria...