I’m sure you have a lot of questions about COVID-19, especially about how to deal with it while on campus. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions answered by Director and Medical Director of Student Health Julie Casani.

What happens if I get sick? How would I get tested?

For any student, the best thing to do is to come see us in Student Health Services. In order to get an appointment this fall, you must call first. There will be no online or walk-in appointments to be sure that we can deliver safe health care to anyone who needs to be seen. We have also started telehealth, the distribution of health-related services via technology, so if the reason you need to be seen can be better handled by telemedicine, then you will be given an appointment with the provider that way.

Once you have been evaluated and it is determined you need to be tested, we can collect the sample at Student Health and send it to the laboratory. The turnaround time for results is typically the same as anywhere else and can vary from two to five days. If a test is performed, you will be told to isolate or quarantine until the result comes back. The cost of the test is paid for by your insurance with no extra charges to you. 

We ask everyone who is sick and suspected of having COVID-19 to self-report so we can follow you and identify and track close contacts. Self-reporting can be done on the Protect the Pack or the Student Health Services websites. 

What happens if my roommate is tested and placed in isolation or quarantine?

When your roommate is tested, they should be in isolation or quarantine until they get their results. If your roommate is ill, they must remain in isolation. If you have been with them, you also need to be in quarantine. If your roommate is not ill and is being tested because they were in close contact with someone who is ill or tested positive, they should be in quarantine but you do not need to be. If you live in on-campus housing, we ask that you return home to isolate or quarantine. For students who cannot return home, we have a small number of housing units to isolate and quarantine students. 

What happens if someone in my class tests positive for COVID-19? 

The student who is sick should self-report so we can find people who have been in close contact with them and protect everyone. Only close contacts of the individual will need to be in quarantine. During the contact tracing program, we really need people to tell us the truth about where they have been and who they have been in contact with. Positive results are confidential, and we do not tell anyone other than people who need to be informed.

I heard that people my age don’t get very sick, so why quarantine? Shouldn’t we all try to get it to be immune? Once I have it, I can’t get it again, can I?

Young adults can and do get sick from COVID-19.There have been a number of deaths in people ages 19 to 30 so even if you are not very ill or displaying symptoms, you can still spread it to others.  

The data around immunity is growing and is still changing, so it is not known yet whether having been infected with COVID-19 imparts immunity for any period of time or for your lifetime. This strain of coronavirus hasn’t been in circulation long enough yet to know about the length of immunity or the possibility of reinfection. 

Why can’t we all just get tested for antibodies and prove we are immune?

We do know that people develop antibodies when they are ill, but they can also still be spreading the virus while building up antibodies. Testing methods are improving but currently many of the tests are non-specific and test for other coronaviruses, so a positive result may not indicate the antibody to COVID-19 and may test for different antibodies, not the neutralizing antibodies that cause immunity. Basically, most of the tests currently available are not accurate enough to issue an “immunity passport.” We are following this closely because the tests are improving, and when a test is available, we will look at it.

I got tested last week and it is negative. This means I’m “safe,” right?

If you got tested and you were not incubating coronavirus even while asymptomatic, and you had no other exposures since then, then the negative test that was done last week accurately reflects that you are not infected or transmitting the virus. 

However, to be really certain that someone is not infected or transmitting virus, that person would have to be tested frequently and practice serious physical distancing, wash their hands and stay away from anyone who may be infected. With community transmission at a high level, this frequency of testing would have to be very high as well—weekly, if not more frequently, to guarantee that a person is “safe.”

This is hard for all of us because it means there is so much uncertainty and no absolute way of knowing. The best way to get control over this difficult situation is to take control of the things we can change as individuals: maintain physical distancing, wash your hands frequently, wear face coverings. 

Talk to your friends and families because we are all going through this together. If you need us, there are resources available both in Student Health and the Counseling Center.

Resources: Protect the Pack website, CDC website. 

Next time: the vaccine, and why do some people get sick and others don’t …