#if you think you'll give our cancer and dialysis patients the death cough than don't come

[soryualeksi]

Okay, so. I'm ALL for not spreading, you know, deadly fucking disease to your fellow human beings, but WHAT is it with people, like, pretending to not understand the mere concept of a common cold anymore??

I keep being made an unwilling participant in a discussion that goes as follows:

"Hm, I have a cough and a sore throat."

"Oh dear."

"But I keep testing for Covid every day before coming into work."

"That's the responsible thing to do."

"The tests keep coming back negative."

"That's good to hear. Let's hope it stays that way."

Now normally, this would be the end of this extremely awkward sickness-smalltalk that I don't actually wanna know anything about. But no. Then they suddenly double down.

"I don't trust the tests."

"Well, I trust you to have done the tests in the correct manner, so if they keep coming back negative I would assume you don't have Covid."

"But I have a cough and a sore throat."

"Yes, I mean, it could just be a common cold. Those still exist."

"But I've been like this for a week now."

"Colds are like that."

"But also my head hurts a bit."

"Colds do that, too."

"But also I feel kind of tired and ill."

"Yes, that's... Look, I'm sure that before Covid you've had a cold at some point, too?"

"But I don't trust the tests."

AND THEN IT JUST GOES ON LIKE THIS.

WHAT IS BEING EXPECTED OF ME HERE.

;_;

I don't want to invalidate people feeling worried and then I usually say, look, if the ONE blob of nose slime that contains like three little particles for the test to come back positive on, is hidden SO deep within your nasal cavities you can't get it on your swab no matter how hard you poke around there, then even if you HAD Covid - which you don't - I think it's unlikely there'd be enough of the virus in that other little blob of nose slime over there you could possibly fling into the air IF you coughed wetly on the next person without covering your mouth.

Like?? Is this a new kind of social ritual I don't understand??? Are we signaling our place in the "We are mindful of the pandemic" hierarchy by??? Insisting our runny nose must be from Covid and we just cannot detect it AND ALSO IF YOU'RE SO WORRIED THAN WHY ARE YOU AT WORK WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT WHY DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT

???

I don't wanna have this discussion anymore, I don't know what to say other than "In this case the evidence points to: common cold."

What is the purpose of this discussion, what answer do they want, what am I supposed to provide them. ;_; Please. You probably have a cold. If you feel so shitty that you have to constantly let me know, than maybe you should go get sick leave from your doctor, why are you telling ME, why do you believe that there's no other respiratory infections besides Covid anymore, WHAT DO YOU WANT, and also WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE *ME* YOUR DISGUSTING-ASS COLD SOB

I'm sorry for ranting, but this keeps happening and I'm TIRED. If you're really, truly worried you are infectious with a nasty disease, then stay the fuck home. And if you're not. Then WHY. Are we having this stupid discussion.

;_;