Classification of Home Isolation Room Plan
A household of two adults has prepared a contingency plan for in-home isolation in the event that one member tests positive. The plan requires one of them to sleep in the living room.
Meeting Minutes: Home Isolation Room Plan Review Attendees: Two adults, one apartment. Date: April 24, 2021
Call to Order
The meeting was called by one member of the household after reading an article about household transmission rates. The other member was informed of the meeting while making coffee and attended without prior notice.
Background
The household has been operating under informal isolation protocols since March 2020. These protocols address handwashing, surface cleaning, and the management of incoming packages. They do not address the scenario in which one household member tests positive while both are residing in the same unit, which has one bedroom.
The Plan
The plan has been discussed twice and written down once, in a notes application, under a heading that says Isolation Plan, which exists alongside other notes titled Grocery List and one titled Misc that contains seventeen items with no discernible relationship to each other.
The plan assigns the bedroom to the positive member and the living room to the negative member. The living room contains a couch.
Consequence 1: The Couch
The plan requires one person to sleep on a couch that is comfortable for sitting and not designed for extended horizontal use. Both members of the household are aware of this. Neither has raised it as a reason to reconsider.
Consequence 2: The Shared Bathroom
The plan does not address the shared bathroom. This was noted in the first discussion and tabled pending additional research. The additional research was not conducted. The bathroom remains shared and the plan remains incomplete.
Consequence 3: The Timeline
The plan does not specify how many days it would be in effect. The standard guidance is ten to fourteen days. Fourteen nights on the couch has not been costed into the plan's feasibility assessment.
Absurd Rule
The plan contains a provision that the positive member will text before entering common areas rather than knocking, on the grounds that knocking creates aerosols. This provision was added during the second discussion. It was not challenged at the time.
Current Status
Neither member has tested positive. The plan is theoretical. The couch has not been evaluated for its extended residential capacity. The bathroom protocol remains unresolved.
Action Items
- Research bathroom disinfection protocols. Owner: both. Status: pending since October 2020.
- Evaluate whether additional sleeping arrangements should be acquired proactively. Owner: neither, formally. Status: unassigned.
Adjournment
The meeting concluded when the coffee was ready. The plan remains as written.