Symphony Silver, 8, hugs her dog Bailey for the first time after being in quarantine for the last 10 days. (CHAT News photo)

By Alex McCuaig

Together but separate

Quarantine for working families a struggle

Sep 23, 2020 | 4:30 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the lives of just about everyone, whether they have been infected with the virus or not, whether they even believe in its dangers or not. For one blended family of six in Medicine Hat, the impacts of a simple cold has split them in half.

Cassandra Silver and Kevin Klepatz along with their children, Symphony and Cassius Silver along with Dane and Tye Klepatz have gone through a trying 10 days after two of the children became sick with what turned out to be a cold.

Cassandra, who goes by CJ, choose to quarantine herself in the upstairs of their modest Ranchlands home with Symphony, 8, and Cassius, 11, because of their ages and ended up getting sick herself. Kevin and his 12- and 15-year-old moved downstairs.

“The day these two woke up sick,” said CJ about Symphony and Cassius, “he cleared out his clothes out of the closet, grabbed his pillow, his toothbrush and he just went downstairs and we’ve had no (physical) contact since.”

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It took four days to book a COVID-19 test for the family and another three to get negative results, a situation that has taken an emotional toll.

Symphony was able to escape what the family calls, “COVID jail,” Wednesday after the negative test, and her symptoms not related to her asthma had subsided. She hugged her dog Bailey and went to school for the first time since last week.

CJ and Cassius remain in quarantine with Kevin continuing to bring up breakfast and lunch to the table they have to divide the upstairs quarantine zone. He commutes Tilley for a job he just got after being laid off in the spring due to the pandemic. He fixes dinner for the family when he gets home.

It’s a situation CJ says is frustrating.

“I’ve been watching Kevin run around, do everything for everyone, deliver food and snacks and take away the dishes for over a week now and there is nothing I can do to take any of that work off him,” said CJ.

It’s an exhausting experience, says Kevin.

“Mentally, it’s been hard as well. Not being able to hug or give a loved one a kiss at night or sleep in the same bed as them. It damn right sucks,” said Kevin.

But Kevin says they are following all the health guidelines and are having to bear the consequences.

“You’re left with a week-plus really wondering are you in that (COVID) category or are you not? You don’t know. So, that part has been awkward socially,” said Kevin. “People ask, ‘why are you still there (separated), you’ve got your negative COVID test?’ It doesn’t matter, we don’t want to make everyone else sick too.”

And there are financial costs, says CJ, who works three different part-time jobs, and no government financial aid programs as of yet to address short-term quarantine situations.

“People nowadays – they’re hustling. They are trying to make ends meet and to lose even just a portion of that can really hit a family hard. Especially if you have one spouse who is the sole income earner or if you have a single-parent household,” said CJ. “It’s scary.”

CJ says she anticipates that as the winter rolls in, families will be faced with the same situation she’s in multiple times over the season.

The federal government is proposing the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit to help families financially with $500 a week for up to two who are required to isolate due to pandemic-related causes.

However, this benefit has yet to receive Parliamentary approval.