Coronavirus Office nonsense

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My company's CEO email blasted us (a software firm) with many instructions on our protocols for avoiding pathogens & respecting people in general. The company canceled all international business flights for instance. Among the instructions was his stipulation for all of us to work from home or avoid the office(s) if we felt sick.

Today one of our developers mentioned that he had a cold, across the table from me in the cafeteria with a bunch of people around, after mentioning his kid's cold, during an epidemic. I asked "Dude, what are you doing here?" closed my laptop, told my bosses, packed up & left.

I'm here asking if I'm at risk in this scenario. I'm an intern officially but I've been a software QA engineer with the company for over a year.

I started an IM chat with our *actual* autism group in the office, thankfully run by my regular boss (he's out of town) so I'm not particularly worried, but I'm very blunt & potentially crass with ignorant individuals during crises so I wanted to check myself.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

By "at risk" do you mean the risk of getting in to trouble at work for what you said and did? That depends on the personalities of the people who heard and saw, I suppose. Don't be too worried until you actually see some signs of trouble.

I don't suppose it shouldn't be a problem for me considering I kept it direct & to the point about exactly what the CEO told us to do.

I'm watching the news now & I feel I'm in the right.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

It is a fine line between paranoid and cautious

Sometimes you have to prioritize:. Do you want your job, health, or friends

Mask

Someone without symptoms could have coronovirus and be contagious

Incubation period

The receptionist at the health center

Ask me "have you come in contact with anyone that may have gone to China in the past two weeks?"

Short of GPS, you don't know who went where

Strangers on the bus and library could have any disease. They might not know. They don't have to quarantine. They don't have to make public service announcement

I didn't ask him to quarantine, I asked him to take his cold elsewhere.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

I think you did the right thing.

At this point I can only dream that my boss will proclaim that we should start working from home. I would be capable of doing so since my work is nearly 100% by computer and phone and almost never direct contact with the public. The boss hasn't said a word yet about any sort of plan. I even asked the office gossip queen if she's heard of the boss having any sort of talk or discussion on disaster plans in relation to the virus and apparently not. It's starting to irritate me that there hasn't been any discussion that I know of.

I had a cold this week and stayed home because I felt rotten, but also because I didn't want to infect anyone else. Work was fine with that.

I did tell a coworker that if they start closing schools in my area and more businesses send employees home and our boss still doesn't address the situation I may boldly announce that I'm working from home. I don't think I'd get fired.