Minister @middlechurch. Bi 
+ committed to building Church reflecting God’s queerness. Christian nationalism makes Jesus weep. he/him
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1. Last night, I found out I may have been exposed to the coronavirus through a friend I had dinner with on Tuesday. I'm a minister: I work with old people, babies, immunocompromised folks, people who lack insurance. I can’t risk their health. So, today I tried to get tested.
2. I called the CDC hotline and spent more than an hour on hold. When I reached a representative, they told me to call my doctor. I called my doctor. They told me that, since I'm asymptomatic, I'm not eligible for a coronavirus test.
3. But that's precisely the problem: You can carry coronavirus and still be asymptomatic! Particularly for folks like myself who are young with strong immune systems. If we only test people who exhibiting symptoms, we ignore a significant means through which diseases spread.
4. And I'm incredibly fortunate. I'm able to do much of my work remotely, and work for an organization in @middlechurch and a boss in @RevJacquiLewis who rightfully prioritized the health of the community we serve and told me to stay home.
5. If I was working a job where I might be fired if I didn't come in—like millions of Americans—I might have no choice but to show up and hope I wasn't infectious. And there would be no way for me to find out. This. Is. How. A. Pandemic. Spreads.
6. China has tested 320,000 people. South Korea has tested 200,000--with a population 1/7th the size of ours. The US has tested 1,700 people. Yesterday, the CDC completed eight tests. EIGHT TESTS!!
7. The federal governments disastrous response, and inability to provide free and rapid public testing, is putting lives at risk. Full stop. The President's incompetence is as big a threat as the virus itself.
8. Two weeks ago, the Vice President promised millions of tests would soon be available. Where are they? We don't even have a complete picture of the crisis we're facing, let alone a plan to confront it.
9. So, I've decided to self-quarantine. Because I can. But that’s a decision wrapped in incredible privilege.
10. Until we guarantee sick leave, we force people to choose between the risk of infecting others and paying their rent or providing food for their families.
11. Until we guarantee healthcare, we make preventing viral spread a luxury.
12. And until we implement free public testing for anyone who seeks it, we are forcing people to gamble with the possibility of infecting their community.
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