Covid in the Dorms

 

        I am a peer mentor in the Interprofessional Healthcare Residential College Living Learning Program on campus at UK. There is a total of fourteen of us this year and we have all became very close. One of the worst parts about last semester to me was that I was completely separated from all of my friends because we all lived in different states. I believe all of the other peer mentors can agree that being away from friends and campus made academics that much harder. Especially with the pandemic, we were all willing to take the risk of getting the coronavirus just to be back on campus.

    But recently, a few of us are figuring out that that might not have been the best decision. We are only two weeks into the school year and one of the peer mentors has already tested positive. When the university initially tested us upon arrival, we all tested negative for the virus. But more recently, all students in greek life had to be re-tested. This is when a peer mentor found out that he had the coronavirus and had to be quarantined. They were put in the Ingles Residence Hall which is one of the older dorms on campus and far less nice as the one we all live in. They are not allowed to leave their room and only receive their meals from campus dining services. They are completely isolated from campus and the outside world, which is extremely scary for me. Because they tested positive, their roommate also had to quarantine. Because we are all so closed and have been around each other a lot, some of us are worried that we too might have the virus. So far, none of us have shown symptoms, but only time will tell.