By Madeline Lanning, Opinion Editor
After almost two months with no mishaps and returning students following the guidelines set forth by Susquehanna’s health and safety teams, the inevitable happened.
On Sept. 23, the first positive case of COVID-19 was reported on campus, followed by two more positive confirmations on Sept, 25. Susquehanna had been preparing for this to happen and took the necessary steps to keep the community safe.
The students are being quarantined off-campus, and any and all residents or people who came in close contact with the student were also told to stay in their dorms and quarantine until further notice.
Then something extraordinary happened, while trying to sort this out with my own family and make them aware of the situation, another one arose. This one being that myself and my suitemates had possibly been exposed to the virus.
Our first course of action was to not keep this a secret, we all care very much about our education and the safety of others so we made the necessary phone calls and got things sorted. Within the course of maybe a 15-hour period we were tested and moved to the off-campus quarantine site, the Holiday Inn Hotel.
Susquehanna has rented out an entire space for students needing to be quarantined off-campus and have been extremely helpful in making it feel “at home.” Though we didn’t have everything we needed, the school sent multiple emails and was willing to get us whatever we needed to help make the transition easier.
Personally, I would have preferred to quarantine in my suite or just been sent home, but understandably we had to abide by the university guidelines. That being said, we were brought three meals a day, portioned off with a daily protein, vegetable and an additional side. They also provided us with waters and juices to have in between meals.
Before leaving campus we were given a COVID “go bag” of sorts containing a thermometer, Lysol wipes, disposable masks, hand sanitizer and tissues. I cannot say I enjoyed being secluded in a hotel room from my friends, but it is the best thing the school can do. Not to mention I was able to pass the time by taking my temperature multiple times a day.
Students are not released back to campus unless they test and come back negative or have quarantined for the full 14 days. So if you were stuck there with me, I hope you’re all doing well and that we all got the result we were looking for.