Trinity Clark
Editor-In-Chief
As of October 5th, 2020, Principal Dunham reported that Ironwood has not seen a single confirmed case of COVID-19. This is great news! However, some students have come forward with symptoms of COVID-19 and this has left many wondering how they should proceed if they start to feel ill.
First and foremost, if you wake up and notice that you are not feeling well, take a second and try to find the cause. Look for any of the symptoms that can come from COVID-19 such as coughing, sore throat, muscle pains, fever, nausea or a rash, and if you find that you do have one or more, please stay home. No matter how much of an inconvenience it is, right now the guidelines that allow every back on campus are quite strict and an individual could cause an outbreak that would force us back online again. But what happens if you notice these symptoms after you get to school? Where do you go from there?
While it is unfortunate during these times, people do get sick and it is not a crime to start feeling unwell. It is important to realize this because after presenting with symptoms, you are going to need to let someone know. Try your best to keep your hands to yourself and stay distanced from others. Then, alert your teacher of what is going on and immediately head over to Ironwood’s nurse’s office. The nurse’s office has been moved since last year and is now located in the 700 building right next to the engineering room. Be sure to use the outside entrance by the faculty parking lot- it will be the last grey door on the left side of the building.
Before the start of in-person classes all students and parents should have received a letter from Ironwood detailing the procedures that the school will take should a student come forward with symptoms. For symptoms like a headache, the nurse will no longer give out any Tylenol since it can mask the symptoms of COVID-19 without curing them. Instead they will give you water and tell you to rest (this is not the only possibility, however, it all depends on what the nurse feels is the best course of action). If you still feel unwell, you will be sent home within the hour. All guardians should understand that they need to have some way of picking their student up quickly if this situation happens.
After being sent home, you would need to quarantine for at least 10 days. However, you cannot return until you no longer present any symptoms with the absence of medication, so you may have to stay home longer than this. During the time that you are home, you will be transitioned back to doing your classes online. You would not be marked as absent as long as you signed into your classes online. According to Principal Dunham, the school would also be sure to do extra cleaning in any of the classrooms you were present in. The school can even bring in a Clorox 360 machine should the need arise.
The only way to shorten the amount of time you are to do quarantine is to go receive COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test and have it come back as negative. A blood test will not serve as a replacement for either of these. Taking the test is a good way to let those around you know how they should proceed, so please do not wait to take it. Once you feel better/are approved to go back to school, the nurse may ask to do a screening with you before sending you to your in-person classes.
While this situation is a serious one, please realize that Ironwood’s staff want you to stay safe and are doing what they can to mitigate the chances of this happening to you. Additionally, please do not become too anxious as there are many ways to prevent a situation like this from happening and if it does there will be people to help and care for you.
Some important numbers:
Attendance Hotline: 623-486-6405 / 623-486-640
Nurse Claudia Wooley Office: 623-486-6408
UPDATE: Recent events have shown that there are students and staff with COVID-19 that have been on campus. More information on this coming soon.
Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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