So Can I Fly?

I'm continuing to read guidance on covid and when one is considered "safe" to go out in a mask, and it seems the CDC says 5 days after the first positive test, you can go out and do whatever IN A GOOD MASK. That obviously means you can't go out to eat, but it does mean you could pick up food. The intent is clearly "run in and pick up" and not "go for a long day at the mall."

Advice gets muddy after that—when exactly are you contagious?—and I'm pretty sure they think they know, mostly, but aren't completely sure. It's one thing to run into a deli, but it's an entirely different thing to spend 5 hours crammed into an airline seat next to a stranger.

Advice does agree that if you feel sick, you should stay home. Check, that makes perfect sense. But I don't feel particularly sick and it's now been six days since my first positive test.

I have a booking for a Monday night ticket from Newark to LAX. That's day 7 and Monday and Tuesday are two of the lowest-travel days. I'll keep an eye on the seating on the plane. I feel kind of paranoid. What if they're wrong about masking up and being basically okay after 5 days? But we'll see. It's all just stuff to think about—at what point do I feel like I'm channeling Typhoid Mary versus "masks are fine, shut up"? I guess we'll see.