COVID Testing for UK Students

 Before their return to campus, all students at the University of Kentucky were required to be tested by a company hired by the university. The test administered was done at multiple locations across campus for a span of ten days. The process of registering for the test was simple, as an email or text message was sent to each student. I registered for the drive through test. 

When I arrived to the Kroger Field parking lot, I was directed to the check in, where a worker took my LinkBlue ID and checked me in, along with distributing my student health package. The package included 2 masks, a mask holder, hand sanitizer, antiviral wipes, and a thermometer. Once checked in, a police officer directed me to the lane I would be tested in. Overall, the test went smoothly and was far less painful than the other COVID tests I have received. 

A few days later, I was emailed my results. Fortunately, I was negative.

The video included below outlines the whole process of testing that students received. Testing is still available to any student who needs it, but it is now a walk up process with no registration needed.

The Most Important Part of My Morning

Each morning, I wake up between 8-8:30am. Without fail, I wake up to see a text message from the University of Kentucky waiting for me. It is our daily health log, which we are expected to fill out each morning. Before I even eat breakfast or even leave my room, I take my temperature and fill out the health log. 

The questions on the health log are more concerned with gathering information about students. The questions asked are 'are you ill or caring for someone who is ill' and 'have you been in contact with anyone who has tested positive in the last two weeks'. When I first heard that students would have to fill out a health log, I was expecting that students would be asked to log any symptoms they had and any events they attended where their health could have been compromised. Instead, the survey asks if the student has COVID.

If a student does not complete five or more of these health logs, they could face punishment from the university. While I do not think the health log is utterly important for me as I live off campus and only go on campus when I have my one required class and sometimes go to the library, I must complete it every morning to avoid punishment.

Studying at Willy T

 Throughout my time at the University of Kentucky, I have learned that I study best at the library. Most of my week nights my freshman and sophomore year were spent on the fourth floor of Willy T. I would stay with my best friend and we would do our work until 1 or 2 in the morning. This semester looks different because of COVID restrictions. The library is now only open from 8am-8pm on weekdays and 12pm-5pm on the weekends. In the past, the library was open 24/5 and I made sure to take advantage of that. With the library not being open during the hours I function best, I have had a hard time staying on top of my schoolwork as I am very distracted in my house and around my roommates.

This semester, I have been to the library a couple of times in the afternoon because I have let my work load pile up so greatly. While I have yet to have an extremely productive study session like I have had in the past, I was glad to get myself into a quiet and focused environment with minimal distractions. It is definitely not the same as before through. I always studied with my best friend, but due to COVID, no more than one person is allowed in the booths on the fourth floor, which is our favorite study spot. I was sad to see the signs indicating this restriction, but also understand that it is in the best interest of the health of me and other students. Additionally, there is only one chair per booth, instead of the normal four.

Also at the library, face masks are required the entire time. I had some friends previously tell me that that you could take your mask off once you sat down, but I found out that this was not true when I sat down and saw the following flyer. The masks do not bother me and I am glad that keeping a mask on is an expectation of all students, regardless of their location. 

Where to Turn for the News

 Finding updates on the pandemic can be overwhelming. What may seem like a public health issue has turned into a highly politicized issue across the country. News outlets like FOX News and CNN are highly polarized and present the issue as a political problem. Social media can help to reveal some things that the news won't cover, like people's personal stories and experiences with COVID, but does often not provide updates and harbors many polarized political comments. 

As a Kentuckian, I prefer to get my news and updates on the coronavirus from Governor Beshear's news briefings. I began watching him in March when I was forced to move home from my dorm. I liked how he remained calm and stayed focused on the issue the entire time. He kept Kentuckians updated on the total cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, as well as thoroughly emphasizing every precautionary measure he would be enacting in the state. He brought outside resources to cover topics that weren't his strong suit and frequently featured Dr. Stack to explain the medical side to a more in depth measure. Beshear never brought politics into his nightly updates and was instead focused on the health and safety of the citizens of Kentucky. Since March, he has been the main source of my coronavirus knowledge. I have paid attention to the CDC and their guidelines, but often did not watch the presidential press briefings as they often possessed false information from the president and included disrespectful comments towards news reporters.

I am grateful for Andy Beshear and his frequent coronavirus updates where his priority is clearly to keep Kentuckians safe and informed. While I do not understand his reasoning behind every single guideline he has released, I am very satisfied with the manner in which he has presented his information.

Will the University Close Soon?

 As my mom came home in tears from moving my freshman brother into his dorm, I gave her a hug and jokingly said, "Don't worry, he'll get sent home in three weeks." This was a month ago, and he is still living in his dorm. It may not be the college experience he was looking forward to, but he is still on campus.

I feel as if many students approached the semester with the same mindset as I did: we would move onto campus, be there for a week or two, and pack up and leave as cases soared. Social media depicted this exact situation at other universities around the country, including UNC Chapel Hill and Notre Dame. However, a month into school, I am starting to believe more and more that a university shut down won't be occurring, or at least not as soon as expected. Whenever I go onto campus to go to the library, I see people social distancing, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizer. Many classes have also reduced the capacity of students that can attend at one time, which further promotes social distancing. Living off campus, I don't see everything occurring and all of the steps being put into place, but when I do go on campus to study or go to class, I am pleasantly surprised to see the enacted policies and students following them.

As a student who is not on campus every day, it is easy to feel out of the loop on the pandemic updates. Fortunately, Eli Capiluto has sent out a link that allows all students and staff to keep up with the live cases, students in quarantine, and the recovered cases. I have found this very helpful in being aware of the university's current standing with COVID. The day I am writing this blog post, there are 432 active cases of COVID-19 at the University of Kentucky. Though this number may seem big, it is far smaller than I expected. I have been checking the active case count for the last few days, and it has seemed to remain fairly consistent. This has fed into my confidence that students will be allowed to stay on campus for longer than most of us anticipated.

The link to see the live COVID stats for the university is https://www.uky.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-data-dashboard?j=259221&sfmc_sub=147809236&l=21_HTML&u=8047059&mid=10966798&jb=20. 

My Experience Thus Far with COVID-19

My name is Addison Jennings. I am currently a senior at the University of Kentucky. I have lived in Lexington for my whole life, which definitely played a role in my college decision. In my first few years of college, I loved the convenience of being able to drive only 15 minutes to go home and see my family. During March of my junior year, I developed an even deeper gratitude for the convenience of going to college in my hometown; when I had to move out with only a one week notice due to COVID-19, my parents were able to help me move out safely and quickly. I was very grateful for this as I knew several people from out of town and out of state that did not have this luxury. 

Moving home so suddenly was a big adjustment for me to make. I had spent most of my nights that semester at the library working on schoolwork and studying for the MCAT. However, when students were forced to move out, all campus buildings closed, including the library. My nights of isolation on the secluded fourth floor of Willy T quickly turned into months of isolation at home with my parents (and loud little brothers). I was beyond thankful to be at home with my family, but struggled to find the motivation and focus I needed to stay on top of my MCAT study schedule. The busyness of my household was a big distraction as my dad began to work from the basement and my high school brothers had minimal schoolwork and filled the upper floors of the house with noise from their video games.

As a student looking to become a physician, COVID-19 made me further realize how important doctors were. I admired the dedication that medical personnel put into the health and safety of their patients as they risked their lives every day to take care of them. I couldn't help but think how one day I hoped to be in their shoes, serving my community and protecting people who are vulnerable in their health.

Fortunately, my family was not severely impacted by COVID-19. My dad made a smooth transition to working at home and none of my family members became ill. For the first couple of months, the only time we left the house was to go to the grocery store or to walk around our neighborhood. Once government restrictions loosened, we were able to actively participate in our neighborhood swim team. I was thankful to be able to coach the team after worrying that it was going to be cancelled. My role as a coach looked different than it had in past summers as we had to take extra precautions to keep all of the swimmers and families safe. We took temperatures at the entry to the pool, limited practice attendance to ensure social distancing, and kept an attendance log in case contact tracing was needed. Towards the middle of the season, one of our swimmers tested positive. This was a big scare to the team and especially my family, as my brothers often swam in the same lane as the swimmer who was sick and were in close contact with him. Luckily, my entire family tested negative and no other families on the swim team were affected.

Returning to school has been something I anxiously awaited all summer. I had been looking forward to moving into my apartment with my close friends since last October when we signed our lease. However, with the threat of a pandemic, I was nervous for all the germs we would be bringing into the apartment since we all had different responsibilities and groups of other people we needed to be around. The protocols that the University has established has helped me to ease my mind. Daily wellness checks, campus-wide testing, and the emphasis on personal safety has contributed to a slightly increased peace of mind. I look forward to spending my senior year with my great roommates and completing schoolwork from the safety of bedroom.