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Sick With COVID, But No Place To Isolate
A sign points parents and guardians to the pick-up area for tests at Daniel Webster Middle School in Mar Vista.
(
Suzanne Levy
/
LAist
)
As COVID-19 infections surge, some people who contract the virus find themselves without a place to isolate or quarantine.
Lynae Cook is one of them. After receiving a positive COVID test, Cook, who lives with her father in Orange County, said she was worried that if she isolated at home, she might get him sick.
Since she couldn’t afford a hotel, she considered staying in her car.
But "I don't want to then be in a terrible situation or subject to encounters with cops or anything like that, because I'm staying in my car to safely isolate,” she said. “Nor does it seem like a way to properly recover from being sick."
Instead, Cook opted to stay in her room with the door closed.
Another concern is workplaces that don’t provide paid time off to isolate or quarantine.
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer has urged people to report such issues to the Environmental Health Division.
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"We ask that people call in with complaints about employers who really aren't adhering to the guidance," she said.
Ferrer added that the county can help people find a place to isolate or quarantine if they can't do so at home.
Guidance on how to isolate or quarantine can be found on the state's Covid-19 information website.
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