DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel so uncomfortable all over again. We have spent what felt like nearly two years homebound because of the COVID-19 pandemic. My family and I followed all of the protocols recommended. We were strict with our children. Now, it seems all for naught. My daughter caught COVID-19, not because she broke any rules, but because she ate lunch with other students at her school. Apparently one of them had COVID but didn’t know it. Almost all of the kids got it -- and they are all vaccinated, some even with the booster shot.
My daughter spent her time off during the holidays sick in bed. Now she is afraid to go anywhere near her friends; they had just begun to “hang out” together a little bit again. I feel so sorry for them. Teenagers, especially, need the camaraderie that comes from being together. Now they are basically back in isolation. I don’t know how to support my daughter through this. She got pretty depressed in 2020 when she felt trapped in her room. And now this resurgence. What can we do? -- COVID-19 Round Two
DEAR COVID-19 ROUND TWO: This is a harrowing time for all of us. This latest variant seems to be whipping through many communities and knocking people down. As the disease is constantly changing, so, too, are the isolation requirements. Be sure to follow the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for quarantine and masking.
The CDC guidelines do not require that anyone stay home indefinitely. If you and your family are vaccinated, you can continue to be out among others, preferably wearing a mask, during this period of accelerated spread of the virus. If you have tested negative and are asymptomatic, you do not have to stay at home, at least for now. For more information, go to: cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html.