Three days into her self-isolation, Emily Meyers is truly starting to worry.

Meyers, 29, is a Louisville speech therapist who visits her toddler clients for early intervention therapy at their homes.

She's in 15 to 20 homes each week for hourlong sessions.

On Tuesday morning, one of her client families told her a man in the home had fallen ill and was tested for COVID-19 on Monday. Meyers was in the home last week.

She hasn't worked since.

"Until they get their test results, I need to be under quarantine," she said. "I can’t, in good faith, continue going to homes."

Her employer, too, asked her to stay home, which Meyers said she was happy to do. But many worries are swirling in her mind.

As she's paid by the session, her income this week has dried up. Still, her bills, student loan payments and grocery costs will continue to come.

What if she becomes ill and needs to quarantine for two weeks? The small company she works for doesn't offer paid sick days.

And even if the test is negative, she's unsure what impact the new coronavirus and the spread of social distancing will have on her job.

Even if she can return to work, she wonders if she should.

It's a question faced by employees who work closely with others, as public health officials encourage working from home and staying 6 feet away from others.

"I need to work to survive, but at the same time, I’m worried that I’m putting myself and others at risk by working," Meyers said.

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Staying afloat

Both Meyers and her husband, a woodworker, don't have paid sick leave.

They're not alone.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the East South Central region, which includes Kentucky, has the lowest levels of paid sick leave in the country.

In Kentucky's region, 62% of private sector workers have paid sick leave, compared with most other regions, which are in the 70% to 90% range.

There is no federal law mandating paid sick leave. Ten states have enacted policies, but Kentucky is not among them, according to the left-leaning think tank Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, which notes that state legislators passed a law in 2017 that bans local governments from imposing sick leave requirements.

In light of COVID-19's spread, legislation has been introduced this session in Kentucky that would require employers to give employees paid sick leave.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also called on local employers last week to offer paid sick leave if they don't already.

Meyers and her husband also don't have health insurance, putting them among the nearly 6% of Kentuckians who are uninsured, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2018 data.

Meyers said she and her employer have discussed the possibility of workers' compensation, but she's still awaiting guidance and the outcome of her client's test.

"I don’t know how that process works or even if would qualify for that," she said.

Kentucky coronavirus live updates:Follow along for the latest news

Beshear announced that Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance, the largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in the state, will provide wage replacement benefits for quarantined medical personnel and first responders who have had direct contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19.

This builds on existing Kentucky law, which already extends workers’ compensation benefits to employees who contract a communicable disease because of the high-risk nature of their jobs.

The Kentucky Labor Cabinet did not immediately provide responses Friday afternoon to an inquiry about workers' compensation and the novel coronavirus.

The U.S. House of Representatives was poised to vote Friday on a relief bill — the Families First Coronavirus Response Act — that would enact emergency paid leave benefits and extend emergency grants to states to bolster unemployment insurance benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday announced new guidance that grant states flexibility to amend their laws about unemployment insurance benefits, allowing states to help employees whose employers have temporarily shut down or employees who are quarantined.

Beshear, during a Friday evening press conference, said his administration hopes to have news next week about unemployment benefits for those affected by COVID-19.

"We are working on this right now," he said. "Some other states have taken some steps. We want to take some steps to make sure that people can get their unemployment more quickly.”

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For now, Meyers awaits an uncertain future.

She has some savings that should last her and her husband a few weeks. But after that, if she's not working, she knows she'll have to make some difficult choices.

"I don’t really expect any mercy with the bills that I owe," she said. "We’re lucky that we have some savings, but I know that a lot of working class families don’t."

Aside from the financial worries, she said the isolation is taking a toll.

Netflix's catalog and acrylic painting help her pass the day. And she's thankful she recently picked up crochet.

But the isolation has been difficult, and it's only been three days.

"I think people might look at this like I’m getting a vacation. It doesn’t feel that way," she said. "It’s been very hard not to be paranoid and not give into negative and anxious thoughts. ... I worry about what’s after this."

Matthew Glowicki’s Reader's Watchdog column helps readers get answers and holds public officials, businesses and individuals to account. Contact him at watchdog@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4989 or on Twitter @mattglo. Support Reader's Watchdog by subscribinag today: courier-journal.com/mattg.