One of the many unfortunate things about the pandemic has been having to stay home and quarantine. Fortunately we got a breath of fresh air and were able to return to school and see our friends and family again! Lately, around the holidays, COVID anxiety is still out there, and today we wanted to shed some light on students, who had someone close to them or even themselves got COVID and were promptly quarantined.
Most of the students interviewed asked to have their names withheld, so a summary of the experience is being reported. These stories mostly start with a positive COVID test, followed by some additional tests to people exposed, and finally a letter to stay home. Whether this order is followed is up to the people being quarantined. The time in quarantine is mostly mundane, staying at home, avoiding social contact etc. Other experiences included having more than one positive COVID test, a call or email home, and a week off.
Once you come back to school you are greeted by peers who missed you, but you also may have fallen behind on classwork. Some teachers are aware of the situation and may be more lenient on due dates and many teachers have extended extra time to catch up. However, one good thing about online school is the ability to complete certain things asynchronously, allowing people to be already caught up on certain things when they return to school. Many people have said that coming back can be a good experience, if not a little disorienting. Despite the situation being nerve racking, we are always happy to have our classmates back safe and healthy. We hope to get past this quarantine business and back to a sense of normalcy.
Over the course of the school year, The Curious Times reporters will be asking their fellow peers questions about topics that will be written about in our paper. If at any time you decline to answer, please respectfully pass.