Your Corona Chronicle for Thursday, February 11, 2021

Your Corona Chronicle

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Welcome to Valentine’s Day 2021, where orange is the new red, and life is like a box of chocolates… only each one is filled with sugar-free black licorice cream. Needless to say, it’s not the most romantic of V-days. But caring about one another has never been more important.

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, and SpongeBob is a Liar

No matter what memes say, the University is not moving any positive or symptomatic students into a vacant room that shares a common space with other students. We certainly understand the concern by those who believe this to be true, but the simple fact is that it’s not. To date, 17 students have been asked to temporarily relocate to empty rooms; none of them have COVID-19.

…And Speaking of the Truth

Honesty with contact tracers and symptom reporting is everything right now. Of course no one goes skipping into quarantine with a big smile, but hiding symptoms and risking those around you only makes this worse. As testing becomes more frequent, honesty in reporting will help us avoid red.

Clarity is a Love Language

To make sure everyone is on the same page, here is what is meant by isolation and quarantine:

• Isolation: When a student has tested positive or is exhibiting symptoms. This is when you go to the hotel.
• Quarantine/Quarantine-in-place: When a student has possibly been exposed, but is not exhibiting symptoms. To mitigate risk, these students quarantine while waiting to see if they develop symptoms or test positive. At this point, distance is necessary, but the need for formal isolation has yet to be determined. Due to the surge, we have moved quarantine to occur in a student’s residence.

Cupid is a Super-Spreader

This year, nothing says “I love you” like keeping your distance and staying out of COVID’s range. Skip the party. Wear your mask. Sanitize often. Stay on campus whenever possible. Everyone knows what to do, but at this point in what seems like a decades-long pandemic, doing it consistently is quite hard. Keep fighting.

So, Closing the Gym and Library is Showing Love?

As disappointing as it is, the answer is yes. Spaces that offer the potential for students to gather in close proximity for long periods of time or engage in accelerated breathing can significantly increase the range of infection. With the number of cases where it is today, more drastic measures are necessary to reduce positive cases and return the campus to less restrictive operating levels. This isn’t permanent.

Your Date with a Doctor and a President

Tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., Dr. Chris Ohl and Student Government President Miles Middleton (’21) will host a virtual forum where they will discuss many of the questions and topics on students’ minds. Here’s the link to join. We really hope you can make it.

And always remember… Never trust a flying baby with a bow and arrow.

Have a question? Visit Our Way Forward, send us a question via this form or call our Call Center at 336-758-7500, Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST.