Photo courtesy of Connecticut College
The thought has crossed the mind of every on-campus student at Connecticut College, even the ones who follow every rule to a tee: “what happens if my test comes back positive?” Though the administration has been relatively upfront about their general process of dealing with COVID-positive students, there is still a certain degree of mystery surrounding what quarantine on campus is really like. I conducted a Zoom interview with Sarah Hall, class of 2024, the first student to test positive for COVID on campus this year, in hopes of getting some insight into the process.
Why don’t we start with you finding out the results of your test?
I woke up on Saturday after arriving on Thursday and my roommate was like “Oh I got my test result, it was negative”, and I was like “Hm” and then I pick up my phone and there’s a call and I’m like “Oh no. This is not good.” So I called back and it was the doctor and he basically was like “Yeah, you’ve got COVID” and he starts listing off the isolation stuff and he says that one of my options is to go home except I’m from Portland, Oregon so getting on a plane is not exactly the best option so they tell me that a nurse will be waiting for me to take me to isolation so I started packing. It was a little hectic, I guess.
They pull up with a van right?
Yeah and you put your stuff in the back-back and then you get into the back seat and there’s a glass thing in-between you and the driver.
Were you packing light or were trying to grab everything you could?
Since I was the first one they didn’t really have all their stuff together. Now there’s a list they send you which I did not get. They just said “pack for ten days” so I just threw stuff into a small suitcase and I forgot a towel and some other things I needed. I kind of packed light which I regret but it’s not that big of a deal.
So what was it like living at the Ridges alone?
It was definitely a bit creepy at times being there by myself. Security didn’t start doing rounds until after my first day. It was nice to be in a place that was so big with its own kitchen. That was at least one plus, but yeah I was just in the basement by myself.
What was the food delivery situation like?
So basically at two o’clock every day they would text or call you and ask what you wanted. You would get to choose a hot dinner. You couldn’t get a hot breakfast or lunch, just a sandwich, salad or cereal. The food wasn’t always excellent. It would get delivered around 5 o’clock. But honestly I had pretty moderate symptoms so I lost my sense of taste and smell pretty fast so it didn’t really matter if the food was good because I didn’t really want to eat anyway.
How long did your symptoms last?
The first day I got the call, I didn’t really have any symptoms and then the next day they started and it lasted for probably four to five days. I got pretty congested and felt pretty sick. I still can’t smell very well. My taste has come back but my smell kind of comes and goes. It’s really kind of dull. Also my energy has been kind of low but just in terms of feeling really sick and congested, that was probably four to five days.
And, you were at the Ridge for two full weeks?
It wasn’t actually two full weeks which was nice. Basically it’s ten days from when you test positive. For me, I went there on Saturday but then I only had to be there ten days from Thursday so I was there for about a week and then I got my roommate sick so she came with three days left and she was put in the same Ridge. The last three days were nice because I had company.
What was it like leaving the Ridge and going back to your room?
It was definitely weird. Being a first-year, I had basically been on-campus for a day and a half and then went to the Ridges so everyone had kind of figured out where everything was and had started meeting people and I was just known as the COVID girl. It was definitely a bit of an adjustment but it was at least nice that I didn’t have to worry about getting sick anymore.
What’s it been like seeing some people on campus throw caution to the wind?
Honestly, it is a bit frustrating sometimes. I tell my friends that if we get sent home after I got COVID the first week, I’d be a little annoyed. Personally, I wasn’t too worried about getting it over the summer but the after effects of coming back to athletics while dealing with all the COVID symptoms has been a lot harder than I thought. I understand people wanting to be able to hang with their friends, but at the same time it can be frustrating because they don’t always understand how serious it can be.
So do you have any thoughts on how you might have gotten it?
I’m pretty sure I got it from traveling. I had to go on two planes to get here. I was worried that I had somehow gotten my entire floor sick when I found out.
Is there anything else you want to talk about that I haven’t asked you about yet?
The hardest part for me has been afterwards. I just came from practice and it’s a really hard time breathing. That’s been the hardest thing. Since Conn has such a large student athlete population, I wish more people understood how it wipes you out. I’m on steroids to help with my lung inflammation and also have an inhaler cause I get winded just from doing some jogs around the field. That wasn’t really something I used to think about. We always hear about the younger people not really being affected by this. Even though I was sick, that wasn’t really the worst part. It’s definitely been that it’s still lingering now in my everyday life.
Alright last question, are you allowed to order food in quarantine?
My roommate and I ordered Panera one night. I don’t know if that’s allowed, but hopefully it is because I just said it. The dining hall didn’t have soup or anything and both of our throats were hurting so we ordered Panera. I think that’s allowed.
Did you give the delivery guy a heads up that you had COVID?
Oh yeah, we told them to leave it on the sidewalk and then we came and got it. We let them know not to come near us.
Though Sarah was the first student on campus to test positive for COVID, she was not the last. At the time of this article’s completion, there are ten active student cases on campus. Please remember to follow the social distancing guidelines set by the administration. •
