After a month of staying at UK, I finally tested positive for Covid-19. When I tested positive for the coronavirus, I was not able to go home due to Chicago's restricted travel ban. My parents would not be able to quarantine due to their jobs, which meant that I had to stay at University Inn, a designated Covid positive isolation dorm. My stay there was honestly the worst part about having the virus. The virus itself wasn't bad; the fever and chills ended after a day, the cough and shortness of breathe lasted about a week, lost my taste and smell for 2 weeks, and generally felt tired for a little over a week. Having Covid felt like having a bad head cold. Staying in the isolation dorm was lonely, depressing, and constricting. Understandably, I was not allowed to have any contact with anyone. I know that this was to prevent the spread of the virus, but it gets extremely lonely when you don't see another human for 10 straight days. The dorm itself was slightly depressing; there was a single sheet and pillow on the bed, an extra bed that was empty, and only one lamp that worked. My window was locked shut to prevent me from opening it. I was not allowed to sit outside to get fresh air and vitamin D. There was no choice on what food you got, or when it got there. Your only other option was to use DoorDash when the food wasn't appetizing. Once I was feeling better, I got extremely restless and irritated that I was confined to the same 4 walls every day. By the end of my isolation, I was going crazy and needed to get out as soon as possible. I will never forget the feeling and excitement I got when the Lexington-Fayette Health Department finally released me from isolation. Who knew a little letter in an email can make you feel so alive.
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