Quarantine experiences at Hood are revealed

By Braden Weinel

Hood College men’s basketball team and those in contact with the players have been quarantined due to two positive COVID-19 tests among the team on Tuesday, Sept 8.

During quarantine, residents were not allowed to leave their room. If not already in a suite, residents were moved to a dorm room with their own bathroom. All meals had to be ordered online and delivered to each room three times a day.

Students in quarantine were not permitted to attend class in person, but instead had to attend class via Zoom.

Aside from the basketball team, the other students quarantined were also affected by the weeklong isolation. Sophomore soccer player Paul Hagen rooms with three basketball players and due to contact with his roommates, he, too, had to remain in quarantine.

Hagen and his three roommates, Andrew Warehime, Brian Barrett, and Ryan Hollwedel tried to make the most of their quarantine experience even though they described it as boring, frustrating and uneventful.

“The days went by much slower, but it forced us to do homework and focus on school,” Hollwedel said on Monday.

After they finished their schoolwork, the four roommates used the excess time to bond. They played video games, watched movies and even played hide and seek around their dorm room.

“It wasn’t as bad as it seemed because we had each other,” Warehime said.

All students that were quarantined completed a second COVID-19 test on Sept 10. The results for the tests came back on Sept 14.

Only one other member of the basketball team tested positive.

Those who tested negative were told by Hood faculty that they were allowed to leave their room and end quarantine on Monday afternoon. Students then returned to class on Tuesday.

In addition to  students placed in quarantined, all residential students were re-tested on Tuesday.

After quarantine was lifted, new regulations for the basketball team were released. Lifting and shooting is now on the players’ own time and only one person is allowed at each basket in the gym.

Despite the draining stay for the residents in quarantine, Hagen, Barrett, Warehime, and Hollwedel remained optimistic.

“It’s important to keep a positive mind in quarantine,” Barrett said.