With summer firmly in the rearview mirror, and temperatures decreasing slowly but surely, the spread of sickness has begun. In the final weeks of August and beginning of September, Covid-19 hit the Campo student body and faculty hard, wiping out sports teams and calling in substitute-teacher reinforcements.
Students at Campolindo High School noticed a drop in attendance from their peers. According to Junior Nora Lawrence, “There were so many empty seats, half of the class was missing.” As a member of the cross country team, Lawrence also commented on the drop in attendance at practice due to the outbreak. Luckily, the team was able to recover in time for their practice meet.
Despite never experiencing any symptoms herself, Lawrence noticed that many of the people she hung out with were taken down by covid in the days after her contact with them. While the exact number of cases related to Nora Lawrence is unknown, she estimated, saying “[around] ten people” who she spent time with got covid. Despite Covid not being nearly as severe as it once was, some students have been spotted breaking out masks to protect themselves from the virus.
Players on the freshman football team had also suffered from Covid, affecting their performance during their first game against Granada High School. Freshman Jaxson Wallace Terry, a player on the freshman football team, noticed a change in his teammates’ performance even before the team’s first game. “A lot of the team wasn’t showing up to practices, and I could tell they were all really tired and low on energy.”
Terry also noted. “Since a lot of the players didn’t attend practice the week of the first game, our performance while playing wasn’t the best.” The team’s Covid cases were quick, only lasting about a week.
Now, moving past the outbreak, it’s crucial for students to protect themselves going forward. Simple actions like washing one’s hands and avoiding being careless when sneezing or coughing make a big difference in preventing the spread of illness. Diseases thrive in clustered environments, and schools are hubs of sickness during the colder months. That being so, Campo will soon be home to numerous seasonal viruses, so students should think twice before sharing their water bottle with others.
