Students in isolation

Students from China asked to “self-isolate” upon return to USD

Mayella Vasquez / Asst. Feature Editor / The USD Vista
Jenny Han / Contributor / The USD Vista

While students were away for Intersession, news of the coronavirus made headlines internationally. Although the virus originated across the world in Wuhan, China, there are now 13 cases in the U.S., with at least one confirmed case in San Diego. 

As students have traveled back to campus and most have settled in to their regular schedules, those who visited mainland China during the break have been instructed by the university to stay in their dorms. 

There  are  currently at least two students and one professor in self-isolation at USD. The university did not confirm the number of self-isolating individuals. Among these community members is a sophomore, who The USD Vista has decided not to name for their medical privacy, who began self-isolation a week after returning from their home in mainland China. The student has spent the last week in their dorm in the Alcalá Vista Apartments, and will remain there until the self-isolation period ends this week. 

The newest strain of the coronavirus, COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and continues to spread globally. According to The Washington Post, there have been over 42,000 cases and 1,000 deaths. The disease is generally more life-threatening to the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing medical conditions. The disease has a 2% fatality rate, an incubation period of around two weeks, and a transition rate of about three to four people infected from one case. 

At USD, the instructions to self-isolate came from the Student Health Center during Intersession, where students who had spent time in mainland China over the break were encouraged to reach out for further instruction on self-isolating. 

“I sent an email telling them my situation and they called me back,” the anonymous student said. “The Student Health Center was quite nice when they called me. They gave me the information and service patiently.”

Pamela Sikes, director of the Student Health Center, outlined the university’s decision to have certain students self-isolate.  

“These (instructions) are taken from federal and local recommendations,” Sikes said. “As a rapidly evolving situation, the recommendations have been changing as we learn more and will likely continue to change. The initial recommendations pertained to those with travel from Wuhan, and then it expanded to Hubei, and then it expanded to mainland China.” 

While the student understands the reasoning behind the instructions to self-isolate, and noted that their experience with the Student Health Center went smoothly, they are concerned about keeping up with their classes and about harmful judgment and stereotypes that have been leveled at Chinese people since the beginning of the outbreak.

“I understand this policy and the situation, I’m just a little worried about class material and being seen as a disease by American students,” the student said. 

Globally, the fear of the coronavirus has spread false stereotypes, especially on social media, about Chinese culture. There have also been some instances of tension toward those of Chinese descent. For example, a viral post on Instagram falsely claims that “bat soup” is a Chinese dish and also makes claims that Chinese customs are at fault for the virus. The platform TikTok has also been used by some users in attempts to express their sentiments of racism through a humorous light.  

Additionally, on other platforms people who appear to be from East Asia, who in many instances are not, have expressed that people have physically recoiled from them. In Seoul,  South Korea stores are posting “No Chinese allowed” signs. But while there are sentiments of xenophobia, there have been some attempts to counter these stereotypes. 

In regard to schoolwork, the student has worked to keep up with their classes online and reached out to professors for guidance. Professors themselves have reported emails from the school that both identify isolated students and ask instructors to work with them to create a reasonable study plan during the 14-day period. Philosophy professor Tanya Hall was one of the professors who has received this email. 

“It’s complicated,” Hall said. “I feel as if the self-quarantine is a burden on the students and I just want to help them as much as I can.” 

Hall also acknowledged that there were gray areas in the policy  concerning who should be quarantined. 

“Let’s say that hypothetically that a student who came from China shook hands with classmates,” Hall said. “Does that mean that the classmates also need to be quarantined too? Where exactly the line is drawn is difficult to say.”

The student also expressed concerns regarding the effectiveness of isolation, noting that while they recognized why the isolation was necessary, the implementation of it had flaws.

“I had already attended class for a week before this,” they said. “If I had the virus, even if it’s not exposed yet, it was already spread to others.”

Additionally, the student  is still living with non-isolated students during the 14-day period, adding another level of concern.

Sikes clarified that there are benefits to this isolation, even if it is delayed. However, she noted the difficulty that roommates pose to self-isolation. 

“Even a delay in self-isolation could have spread prevention benefits,” Sikes said. “We know that those who do become infected with 2019-n-CoV can do so 2-14 days after exposure. Practicing self-isolation with roommates or household members is a bit more challenging.”

The student has not experienced any symptoms, and is expected to return to classes after this week. 

“Although this is a low risk situation to our community, we are taking high precautions,” Sikes said. “We are appreciative of our community members who traveled from China and were so considerate of the health of our community and followed the self-isolation information. More importantly, we are very glad that there are no cases of 2019-n-CoV exposure or cases at USD.”

If students experience symptoms of the coronavirus, they are encouraged to call the Student Health Center.