My Experience in COVID Isolation

Alex Navarro
(junior, physics, mathematics, and religion)

How did you come into contact with COVID-19 last semester? What happened?

I am a part of the media team at Pioneer Memorial Church. One week, I shared a station with someone and we ran different parts of the service. So one of us would be doing music and the other graphics or something like that. Later that week we found out that the person I shared a station with was sick. When they got tested they ended up receiving a positive test for COVID-19. So at that point, because I had been exposed, I entered quarantine in my dorm room. Then the next week I got a test myself because I wanted to be sure that I did not have it. And then I ended up coming back with a positive test as well. And after that I went into isolation in the Advent Prayer Center for a week and a half. So by the time I went into isolation in the Prayer Center, it had already been two weeks since I was exposed. This happened towards the end of last semester. I was in isolation during finals and a couple of days after finals as well. So after I finished my quarantine, I was in isolation until the Sunday after finals.

Did you take another COVID-19 test after isolation?

No, I didn't. I was very confident that I wasn't carrying it anymore since usually after exposure it lasts something like two to three weeks.

Did you experience any symptoms?

Thankfully, I was asymptomatic. Well, okay, I was nearly asymptomatic. I did lose my smell for about three days. I lost my smell and then it just came back so I was very fortunate.

Did you feel any different after being exposed compared to how you usually feel, or did you only lose your taste towards the end?

I think I was a little bit more tired that week. Although I'm unsure whether that was because of COVID-19 or just because it was the week before finals.

Did you get tested on campus or off campus?

I got tested on campus. I was really fortunate because it was actually the last week of on campus tests. So I was able to get tested just at that last little bit, which I'm really glad about because otherwise, if I hadn't gotten tested, I probably wouldn't have noticed I lost my sense of smell. I mean, I don't exactly go around just grabbing things and smelling them. I may have inadvertently not noticed at all  and gone home and possibly spread it, so I'm really glad that I was able to get the test on campus.

How were you able to schedule your on-campus COVID-19 test?

I had communication with the contact tracing team and I was able to ask them for a test.
When I first found out that I was exposed, I was contacted by the contact tracing team and told that I was going to be going into quarantine in the dorms. I didn't have to move out to the Prayer Center because I hadn't tested positive and I wasn't showing any symptoms. So, I of course started asking a lot of questions just to understand my specific situation and they were very helpful. They answered all my questions and were more than happy to help and accommodate my situation, and honestly I'm really glad that they were able to clarify everything and help me find the opportunity to get tested. They contacted me, then I asked about being tested, and then they helped me get set up for the tests.

How did the school accommodate you once you tested positive? What procedures were put in place to make sure that you were safe and that others were safe as well?

So once I tested positive, I was moved into the Prayer Center. I was told “Hey, you have a couple of hours and then as soon as you're ready, we can grab your stuff and move over.” And so I just took a couple hours to pack my things and then they helped me move over. Throughout this entire thing they were helpful. One of the most irritating things was I couldn't do my own laundry. So there were several times where I would leave a bag of clothes outside and they would take care of it for me. I also had food delivered every day. So, I definitely did not go hungry. I would say I was well cared for. The Prayer Center rooms are really nice. I had two rooms and then a bathroom in the middle. So I had a bedroom and a living room. I'm not sure whether it would be a living room but it was like a side room. I had a couch, a desk in both rooms, and it was really nice. Much nicer than the dorms. There are far worse places to be quarantined for a week and a half.

How did you cope in isolation? What was your daily routine like and how were you able to get through?

Part of it was finals week so I had things to do. I didn't really have any projects so I was mostly just studying for tests, and because of the sudden end to in-person classes at the end of the semester there were several tests that were changed to take-home tests. So I spent quite a bit of time studying for those. I did have a project that I was working on so I did that. That’s what I did for at least the first half of isolation, then at the end, once classes were actually finished, I had brought some books with me to the Prayer Center so I was reading those. And then also I did call my family several times, just to talk to them. It was Thanksgiving time so everybody was on break and they were all available to talk so that was really nice. It helped to strengthen me and keep me moving forward.There were several times where I had my laptop with me so I played some online games with my brothers, who were back home in Illinois. The Prayer Center has this courtyard where you can call and reserve a time where you can  just go out by yourself and have the space to yourself for like half an hour.

What emotions did you feel going into isolation? How did you feel even during isolation?

When I first tested positive and entered into full isolation, really the main emotion was surprise. But for the entire time I didn't feel irritated. I didn't feel any irritation because I knew that I was going to quarantine to help protect people. And given the reason why I caught COVID-19, I didn't feel regret, as far as participating in the media team, because that's just one thing that I would have felt if I had caught COVID-19 just going to church for my own sake. But because I caught it when I was specifically serving on the media team so that other people didn't have to go to church and could attend remotely, I didn't feel any regret. The way that I see it is I am increasing the risk for a single person to get COVID-19 with the hope that many people would stay home. I have to say sometimes it is kind of disheartening to see how many people are still going to church in person. But I wish that people would take COVID-19 more seriously. And don't go to personal activities as much as before. Of course, it's fine to go occasionally but when you do go be extremely careful, avoiding activities where there's a lot of people--and being at PMC, there are a lot of people. So, I just wish that people would be more careful so that those who are putting themselves in risky situations to provide services for them are not putting themselves at risk in vain. I did feel lonely every once in a while but I did have a lot of people who I could talk to if I needed to and who were willing to do a Zoom call. So I definitely had plenty of support but I didn't really want to bother people the entire time.

What accommodations and procedures were set in place to make sure you could transition safely out of isolation and return to campus for this semester?

Starting with coming back on campus this semester there wasn't really anything different. I don't think my experience coming back was any different because I'd already been home for a month and a half. I had been stuck at home like everybody else. So coming back on campus was not much of a transition. But regarding coming out of quarantine, once I was done, because I had been almost certainly negative for so long I was told “Hey, you're free to leave.” And I just packed up my things and was allowed to go. I'm not really sure what more there really is to add because leaving quarantine was pretty exciting but fairly uneventful. It was exactly what would be expected, just packing up your things and then moving out of the Prayer Center.