By Adam Rear
With lockdown restrictions becoming ever tighter and the number of COVID-19 cases increasing every week, the prospect of going into isolation is becoming more of a possibility for students due to the nature of social mixing in university halls of residence.
According to the GOV.UK website, the government guidance if a person in your household tests positive for COVID-19 is that you must stay at home for 14 days.
The 14-day period starts from the day the first person in your house developed symptoms or, if they do not have symptoms, from the day their test was taken.
Also according to the guidance, if you do not have symptoms of COVID-19 yourself you do not need a test. You are urged to only arrange a test if you develop COVID-19 symptoms.
Third year Law student Chloe Moon went through 14 days of self-isolation after her housemate tested positive.
“It wasn’t as bad as I feared, mainly because I had good company and people who were willing to help. However after isolating for two weeks, I understand how some people could fear going into isolation alone or even how people had bad experiences with it,” she said.
“There were a lot of adjustments to make to our lifestyles. A simple one was getting a supermarket delivery rather than popping to the shops.
“I feel like it was very hard to separate work from pleasure as we were contained within this six room house. So we had to regroup and think what was convenient and best for all.”
With universities and residential halls welcoming back thousands of students, the likelihood of isolation is becoming a harsh reality for many.
That is especially the case in Leicester where the Government’s latest lockdown regulations see the city placed into the Tier 2 high alert category.
For Chloe and her housemates, they worked together to make sure everyone coped with self-isolation.
“We had to discuss that it was okay for us to get up and leave if we needed some space and that we shouldn’t always take each other’s actions personally,” she continued.
“The three of us formed such a strong bond and supported each other. We had more movie marathons and binge watched more TV episodes than I’d like to admit, but it definitely helped as it’s things students don’t always have time for such as our 24 hour Harry Potter movie bonanza.”
