You can’t know that. We get spam calls all the time where they spoof the first six digits to match something local. Like MOST of the time, in fact.
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Sometimes I forward my work number to my cell phone when I’m working from home. When those calls come in, they have our general number but will say they are from djibouti. They are not! But it’s so weird.
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I actually do know that. I’m not sure what the county did to get those numbers, but when I answer it is always a county agency. I’ve never gotten spam with those numbers. In fact if I’m in the office and use an office phone, I can use the last four digits of the number as a kind of extension. I don’t think that would work if the county didn’t have ahold of all those numbers.
You can all hate me if you want, but if some contract tracer was trying to find me bc someone I was around was now testing positive I would be mad I answered the phone. I do not intend to quarantine based on exposure. Frankly, if I am asymptomatic, the only people I would then be putting at risk would be people who willingly were around me without it masks, thereby accepting the risks we talked about (last week). Anyone I’m around in public I would be wearing my mask and they would be wearing theirs.
I am absolutely concerned about quarantining people unnecessarily.
I am currently, and have been for months, one step away from losing my mind. I just walked my little kids through their first Zoom Community Bible Study. DD7 was close to hysterical afterward when she realized she would NOT get to see her friends this whole year. The isolating parts of distancing are manifold and -yeah- I would not knowingly answer the phone for a tracer.
If I were sick? Hmmm. Not sure. I would not go for a Covid test unless I was sick enough to need treatment. At that point, yes - we’d probably post it on my social media for my contacts to identify. If I was just feeling sick at home? Not sure how I’d know. My allergies and general stomach upset are always possibly masking something else.
Get out. My friend’s husband is there on and off.
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Evidently our city switchboard is also there on and off. 
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Most People have never even heard of that country.
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Contact tracing isn’t about risks. It is about mitigating spread. If someone KNOWS they had it, and they were in contact with others, them knowing allows them to make an informed decision about not only getting tested, but who they might then voluntarily expose others to.
So, let’s say we’ve hung out together in some form, each assuming the other was COVID free. But then at some point, I come down with it. I let you know that since I was with you 3 days earlier, you are at an elevated risk. And, since you, in turn, hang around other groups of people who might in fact be caretakers of others, etc., you can decide to get tested. If you are positive, you can self-isolate, and let person X know. If you aren’t, you go about your business as normal.
But if I told you, and you did nothing, and you hang around person X who takes care of their ailing mother, etc, then you become a potential means of transmission. If you let person X know, however, they can choose to refrain from further contact with their ailing mother until they are, themselves, cleared.
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My eyes are watering continuously. 
Oh wait, it’s ragweed season. And boy, howdy, are the flowers large this year. 
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My eyes have been watering like crazy for a few weeks now. I keep being suspicious of Covid but since I also have sneezing and post nasal drip, pretty sure it’s allergies. Oh, and I take Zyrtec and Flonase already. Maybe I need to switch to a different med.
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Maybe that’s how it works in MI.
My husband works with 22 people who had to quarantine for two weeks because of time spent with 3 positives. They were instructed not to test, and were informed that even a negative would not negate their quarantine.
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I’ve never used as much antihistamine eyedrops as I have this summer. I also have taken my once-a-day Zyrtec twice a day for I don’t know how many weeks now.
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@princessjo, @qwerty6, I take Claritin. I know it’s working because I’m not having asthma attacks. But this year is a bumper crop of ragweed. I read that quail really like ragweed; around here it’s 10 feet tall. Quail aren’t.
When the Army got enough doctors we could be seen at Ft Wood I had to take every other decongestant they had in the formulary before they’d allow the doctor to prescribe Claritin.
It’s amazing how many odd side effects those others had - one even made me sneeze more. 
Eventually I flunked out of the others and was allowed Claritin.
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Claritin doesn’t work for me.
Flonase does, but it leaves my mouth so dry it’s worse.
Zyrtec was working.
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I find Claritin (aka, loratadine, since I use generic) works really well for me. But mostly, I try to avoid using it as much as possible. I found that the more you take an antihistamine, the more your body depends on it. My allergies used to be so horrible I had a box of tissues with me constantly, sneezing, watery eyes. Then, I decided to give up the antihistamines. Over the course of the next couple years, I was miserable, but didn’t take anything unless I couldn’t stand it. Now, I rarely need to take allergy medicine!
Interestingly, though, I have developed seasonal-allergy related food allergies: cantaloupe (and melons in general), bananas, and corn in particular.
Anyhow, if I need an allergy pill, loratadine does the trick. And I love that it lasts 24 hours. (I didn’t know they made a 24-hour Zyrtec…back when I used to take it, it was only available in a 12 hour form.)
Nothing works for me. Antihistamines started causing me to have heart palpitations after 2 weeks of use several years ago. So now I tough it out with cough drops as needed. It’s awesome. 
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“I do not intend to quarantine based on exposure”
@qwerty6
A guy I know - B - has a lawn care business. His employee received notice of a positive result on a Friday afternoon. He had listed his employer as one of his contacts.
Public Health began trying to contact B. He’s working, doesn’t hear his phone. When he gets the message he tries to contact Public Health. No answer. Monday Public Health is trying to contact him again - he’s working.
Finally Public Health called the employee asking him to text B that “he could go back to work”. They’d narrowed down the source of the employee’s case which was after the last time the employee had worked with B.
If I tested postive for covid I’d definitely inform folks I’ve been around.
I can also see numerous possibilities of unnecessary isolating and quarantine.
Another fellow I heard of thought he might have something. Doctor said go get tested. He’s in line, giving info when he learns how much the test is since he’s not got health insurance.
He leaves the line.
A few days later he gets word from Public Health that he’s tested postive. He’s feeling ok at this point and wondering, since he didn’t have the long swab experience, how he tested postive.
We know, right? The person with the swab did not confirm personal info before swabbing.
How many tests were messed up that day?
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Tests are free here and you don’t even have to give insurance information.
I had a test a few weeks ago. They carefully confirmed my identity at least twice during the process.
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I used to take Claritin but it stopped working for me. Zyrtec usually works but maybe I need to double up. I really dislike Flonase (and steroid stuff) but when I stop taking it, I start coughing. I’m a mess 
I do have some eye drops I could try. This summer has been horrible for my allergies. I just need to move!
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I have never met someone else allergy to cantaloupe! I can say I’ve “met” you here, right? I got it in my 30s. And I don’t get an allergic reaction every time I eat it. I never eat cantaloupe when I’m not home and will only eat a couple of pieces at home.