Musings – on the editor’s mind

Here is a great title for this column: COVID-19 at work.

Since I am not surprised, I cannot call last week’s COVID-19 coming to the Weekly News office – and going home with the staff person who brought it – a scare or even unexpected. I cannot even remember if I have only been saying for a matter of weeks or if it has stretched to months since I started a mantra of “we are all going to get COVID-19.” I know that more than once I have editorialized about our forever pandemic and that however much we are done with the novel coronavirus, it is not done with us.

By the end of last Tuesday afternoon a staff member's sniffles had turned serious and her used Kleenexes were piling up. She went home early because she was feeling run down. Constantly blowing your nose does that.

She was in the office momentarily Wednesday. Thursday the news came in: she had tested positive for COVID-19.

The office plan was to contact all staff members. We checked in with each other. Everyone wore masks in the office. I broke out the bag of 3M NK90 masks I picked up from the Chamber of Commerce when it moved its office in April.

All staff members have long been vaccinated and have had booster shots, so we all felt fairly safe and only somewhat worried.

One staff person tested negative Saturday. I waited till Sunday, wanting a fine day period to pass so the virus could fully incubate in my lungs if it existed. Another person tested – and texted – negative Monday.

My first test was a bust. No result. Great. I have always felt fine and so put my mask on and went to church.

I tested again after coming home. Negative. I texted my result to staff.

Mid last week I went to the state’s SAY YES COVID TEST: Keep Our Communities Safe website and ordered more tests for the office. They came Monday: two boxes, five tests per box. They ought to last a while.

I am keeping them in a drawer at work, along with the 3M NK90 masks.

I am certain I will have fresh words to write about the coronavirus pandemic and Skagit County’s and the country’s dealing – or not dealing – with it before the end of the year, probably more than once.

It is how I earn my living.

Get your free tests: sayyescovidhometest.org.