Though nurses say quarantines are needed, students have mixed feelings on being in quarantine.

Nurses have expressed that quarantining is necessary to have normalcy.

“At this point it is necessary to quarantine. We are currently on the rise of COVID-19 cases, and the only way we can slow the transmission is for the individuals to be in quarantine,” school nurse Paula Dibert said.

Students have expressed that they didn’t like quarantine.

“It was kind of a bummed out feeling and I also felt annoyed, frustrated and sad,” sophomore Daniel Batrus said.

Other people thought being in quarantine was better than being in school.

“It felt great to be in quarantine. I got to sleep in a little over two hours more, I got to sit on my comfy couch all day, I didn’t have to walk to my classes, I didn’t have to worry about a very slow ride to school or about my bus leaving early and I didn’t have to walk through crowded halls while people vary their speeds from a normal walking pace to less than a mile per hour in a split second,” sophomore Coby Dawson said.

Many have described the transition into quarantined virtual school as easy.

“I think that the transition was pretty seamless for me. When I got quarantined during the middle of the day, I hopped in my parent’s car, rode home, plugged my Chromebook into the wall and got started on class. After that, the days I had fully virtual were a lot easier, as I was able to sleep in an extra two hours and sign into class when it was time,” Dawson said.

People have expressed that there are struggles involved with doing virtual school during quarantining.

“One of my biggest struggles in the virtual setting is paying attention because there are so many distractions compared to school,” Batrus said.

Students also found ways to overcome their struggles with the setting.

“I overcame my struggles in the virtual setting by trying my best to limit all distractions. I did this by going in a quieter space to do my work and trying not to get on my phone during class,” Batrus said.

Other people said they had more trouble returning to school after quarantine than the virtual setting.

“I don’t think I struggled much during my quarantine. To be quite honest, I think I learned a lot better at home, since I didn’t need to go from class to class, find a place to sit for lunch, or anything else like that,” Dawson said. “In fact, my quarantine really relieved a lot of the stress I experience from school. However, it was a struggle for me getting out of the virtual setting, as I had to wake myself up a lot earlier to get ready to go to school again, which would be a struggle caused by the virtual setting, depending on how you look at it.”

Students have found ways to overcome struggles with returning to school rather than moving into quarantine.

“I overcame this struggle by pushing through my feelings of tiredness until I got to the end of the day. The first day back is always the worst, because you’re used to sleeping in until 7:20 a.m., and then you have to wake up at 5 a.m. again. It’s not fun, but it’s necessary,” Dawson said .

School nurses have said that if schools and activities are going to continue, quarantining is needed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“If you want the schools to stay open and you want activities and have some normalcy, you have to quarantine if you are in direct contact,” Dibert said. “If you are ill you have to quarantine. People are thinking it’s seasonal allergies, and it’s COVID-19. It is really important if you are ill or are quarantined to take the precautionary measures.”

While in quarantine, nurses said that quarantining should also extend home.

“When you’re in quarantine you should be staying in your own room. If the individual comes out of the bedroom they need to be masked,” Dibert said. “If you are able to quarantine on another floor, or have a private bathroom, then you just stay in that area. Food should be brought to you and at that point you just do the best you can to keep yourself busy.”