Virtual reality Students overcome quarantine obstacles story Sophia Craig
negative. However, he still needed to stay home and self-isolate for 14 days out of caution and LISD policy. Initially, McCann looked forward to sleeping in and completing work at his own pace while at home. As the days progressed, he settled
The first time sophomore Asa McCann was told he had been exposed to COVID, it felt surreal. He stood in the tennis hallway at the beginning of fourth period, waiting for practice to start. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until one of the athletes opened Snapchat to view his friends’ stories. That’s when it became clear that one If you come out negative of his teammates was quarantining because then I feel like it’s a little of possible exposure to COVID. bit aggravating... but if you When he got come out positive then I home that day his fear was confirmed. think it’s a very good way to He got a call from his coach, who let him prevent spread. know that he would have to quarantine. McCann and - Asa McCann, 10 his family drove to the clinic to get tested. He was nervous and wanted fast results, so he opted for the rapid antigen test, one of two main types. Both the antigen and PCR tests are primarily done by a nasal swab. According to the CDC, antigen tests are into a pattern. A usual day consisted of faster and less expensive, but the PCR a couple of hours completing homework tests are highly accurate and have fewer and even more hours watching TV. false readings. Some days he watched two or even “It wasn’t as bad as everyone was three movies. Without any teachers making it out to be in my opinion,” to guide him towards school work, he McCann said. “They didn’t shove found it difficult to choose academics anything up to my brain or anything over fun activities and as a member of like that.” the tennis team, he struggled finding the After 20 minutes of waiting, he was motivation to practice. relieved when the doctor came into the “If you’re doing something a lot and room to let him know that the test was you just put a halt on it for two weeks
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design Amber Luther
you won’t be the same when you come back,” McCann said. “My personal play was affected.” Without being face-to-face with his teachers and classmates, McCann had more difficulty communicating when he needed help. Since teachers have in-person students, it was difficult to get fast responses the way that he would in person. “Math was the big one for me,” McCann said. “I was having to go onto YouTube and having to search up how to do everything.” When he started high school, McCann realized the importance of academics and started taking school more seriously. “Last year I had the best academic year of my life,” McCann said. “So I really want to keep that going.” After the mandatory quarantine was over, McCann looked forward to coming back to school. He said he was excited about the small things that a lot of students take for granted, such as eating lunch and walking to classes with his friends. ••• As the pandemic continues and cases continue to rise, students are frequently being pulled out of class and isolated after coming into contact with an infected person. However, not all quarantined students contract the virus at school. Senior Josh Clark was quarantined for two weeks after his mom tested positive for COVID.
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