So a personal experience regarding COVID. WWSND?
Most of you know my 21 year old had COVID. We live in Maryland. He recovered fine, we quarantined him, and none of us caught it. His friends he'd been in contact with all got tested. He was super pro-active about contacting them all. One out of about 25 tested had it.
Fast forward. Two weeks ago I get a call from an obscure #. I don't answer it. The message is from a man who says in a very threatening tone "I am calling on behalf of the MD Department of Health. It is extremely urgent that I speak with you. Please call us back at 888-555-555 or 240-XXX-XXX." It was after 7PM I'm thinking "scam."
2 days later, a female calls. Same exact message, threatening tone. Do some Google research thinking I'm being scammed, find out it is the MD contact tracing group. I'm like yeah....no. I'm not taking that call.
Why you may ask? One, I didn't appreciate their tone nor approach. They never say why they are calling. Two, privacy. Yes, the greater good issues, blah blah blah. But I'm a bit fed up with the Nanny State telling me what I can and cannot do, threatening me with jail and fines for not wearing a mask, and essentially lying to so many of us. I also know we handled this in the most responsible way. I was tested twice, my son twice, my wife twice, the one infected three times, and everyone he came in contact with got tested. Where else I went, what I did is simply none of the Government's business. So I've not answered the calls.
My wife did. She told me what questions they asked....I forget them all, but being in the business of helping some companies do contact tracing, I determined them to be utterly useless. Much of what they said was "get tested, wear a mask, be careful" - essentially a lecture.
I received one this morning, ignored it. Checked the voice mail, and the woman says "We have been trying to reach you. We will try you again. It is urgent you answer the next time we call."
I'm like WTF? Guaranteed you don't hear from me at all now. They called again. I let it go to VM.
It's eeery. Gestapo-like. I don't plan to answer.
Would you?