As COVID-19 infection rates continued to rise in West Virginia and Ohio County early this month, keeping all varieties of schools on remote learning, Linsly students, faculty and teachers came together to undergo school-wide coronavirus testing in order to potentially reopen.
On Wednesday, December 2nd, Linsly’s online classes were cancelled to give everyone the opportunity to drive by campus and be tested. Students could also be tested at other locations. On campus, the Ohio County Health Department prepared two stations for people to drive through, submit their information, and have a swab taken that would determine if they were unwell. Linsly prefects stood by, bundled up in winter clothing, as the Lower School students drove through in the morning and the Upper School in the afternoon.
On a personal note, it was my first time being tested for COVID-19. As I came through with my sister, it was difficult to remain calm as the testing process has stigma and rumors centered around it. I grew antsy as my forms were collected and recorded and as they tested my sister. Finally, it was my turn. Although certainly not a pleasant experience, testing was not nearly as bad as I had feared; the official moved quickly and efficiently and it was all over before long. While we left campus, I felt much better as we were helping determine more comprehensive public health records and possibly return to in-person education.
Sadly, Linsly’s efforts to return to the physical classroom depended on not only having a low rate of campus infection, but also a lowering infection rate into the orange level in Ohio County. For the school week of December 7th, Ohio County’s overall level remained on red on the school board’s map, as many more cases were recorded from other residents of the county.
However, we shouldn’t be too disheartened as a decrease in infection rates could mean a return to campus any week. Toward that end, as Christmas approaches, it is important that we take actions like testing, social distancing and mask-wearing to not only ensure the health of our classmates, friends and families, but to increase our chances of returning to in-person learning.
