Alone, Together: How Do You Self-Quarantine With Other People?

At first, Gabrielle Wunsch thought she was feeling flushed because something had upset her that day.

"I was reading my book ... and I realized all of a sudden 'Gee, I feel awfully warm,' " said Wunsch. "I thought, 'Well, maybe it's just because I'm upset.' "

Her chest started to hurt, and she developed a dry cough. But she assumed it was just from her asthma or allergies. She also thought maybe it was psychosomatic — with all the news reports and concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus, it could be she was just imagining it.

"I thought, 'OK, I'm just I'm paranoid. I'm gonna go root out the thermometer,' " Wunsch explained. "And I had a low grade fever. I think it was like 100.3 or something like that."

So Wunsch and her husband, Bruce Chrisp, went to the Kaiser hospital near where they live in Vallejo to get tested for COVID-19. But they said the hospital could not, or would not, provide her a test because her symptoms weren't severe enough.

Without the ability to get tested to know how infectious Wunsch might be, Wunsch and Chrisp decided to follow best practices from their doctors and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and self-quarantine in their home.

Reducing Exposure Risks at Home

So how do you quarantine at home when you live with your partner, roommates or kids?

According to Arthur Reingold, professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, there are some things you can do to reduce the likelihood that the infection will spread within the same household.

"If the person who is in quarantine develops a cough or sneeze, they clearly need to put a mask on and be wearing a mask," said Reingold. "We would not want to be sharing eating implements, for example, with somebody who's in quarantine."

Here's the full list of things you can do:

• Minimize contact with other people in your household.
• Maintain good hygiene: Wash your hands and keep surfaces clean and sanitized.
• Don't share eating utensils, if possible.
• If you are showing symptoms — cough, shortness of breath or fever — wear a mask.

Staying Connected

For about a week after Wunsch started showing symptoms, she and Chrisp lived on separate levels of their cabin-like home.

To stay in contact, they'd use FaceTime or sit on a deck more than 10 feet apart. Or they'd stand at opposite ends of the stairs to talk.

Wunsch said that while being apart has been difficult, she's been using the forced downtime to try to relax and get well.

"It's a great opportunity to FaceTime with your friends, read books, relax," said Wunsch. "And not feel like you have to do anything."

Chrisp said their pets — three cats and a bird — have provided a lot of solace, too.

Another couple, Amy Draizen and Jesus Sierra, also believe they could have been exposed and imposed a self-quarantine for several days before Draizen was able to get tested.

"When I spoke to my doctor, she said, 'You're negative, but since you were exposed, we still recommend you self-quarantine for 14 days,' " Draizen said.

While under quarantine, Draizen found a few different ways to pass the time.

"My time has been [spent] at home with my dog — reading, playing piano," said Draizen. "I've been keeping in touch with my friends on social media and texting a ton and phone calls."

Her partner, Sierra, said that he's been using the downtime to watch movies, catch up on reading and work on a book of short stories that he's writing.

"Generally, I'd go out to cafes. I work at home, too, but typically I like to be out," said Sierra. "It's sort of a little bit of an adjustment to do that. But still, once you lose yourself in the writing, time goes by pretty fast."

Experts like UCSF psychiatry professor Elissa Epel say that staying in contact with friends is key to getting through this period of social isolation. And, when possible, opt for seeing each other's faces.

“Seeing someone’s face can be more helpful than texting because that type of human contact — all of the social signals and love — comes through more when you can see a human face,” Epel explained.

Another way of dealing with being stuck at home? Settling into a kind of routine, which can help with anxiety and uncertainty.

"So there might be time that is quiet in the house," said Epel. "There might be a time when you don't have discussions about what is happening with the virus or with politics."

As for Wunsch and Chrisp, it’s been nearly two weeks since they started their self-isolation. Wunsch has tested negative for three different kinds of flu and is starting to feel better. But she still can’t get tested for COVID-19.

And despite their best efforts, Chrisp ended up getting sick, too. So now they’re back together, in isolation.