‘I just can’t do this’: UI student who tested positive for COVID-19 states school reaction
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Annie Gaughan, 18, was delighted about moving into her dorm space. On opposite sides of a blue shaggy carpet, two lofted beds were draped with overhanging sheets. Under Gaughan’s, a grey futon was overflowing with pillows. Circling around her bed, she ‘d hung a string of white Christmas lights. There were frames, light pastel colors and photos of her parents and their Schnoodle dog, Lucy.Gaughan remained in
the UI honors program, indicating she got to move into Daum Hall on Saturday, days before other freshmen. She satisfied her roomie and her roommate’s family. And they took turns rotating lemon and eucalyptus scents in their necessary oils diffuser.She was 3 hours from her home in Park Ridge, Illinois. However stated she was thrilled to lastly be moving in.At about 7 p.m., Gaughan strolled with a group of other women from the dormitory to grab supper. The pandemic wasn’t brand-new. Gaughan used her mask dutifully, eliminating it just for bites of cheese pizza at the Airliner.That night, back at Daum , they listened to music. Played video games. Viewed videos. 7 approximately sat around the dormitory,
getting to know individuals might be their friends for the next four years– or a lifetime.While anxious, she felt fine.Annie Gaughan’s space in Daum Hall as seen, Aug. 20, 2020. Unique to the Press-Citizen A positive COVID-19 outcome at the University of
Iowa The first sign was a headache.
still unpacking. The UI released packages to students to get ready for the pandemic. Tooling around in package, they found a thermometer. Her headache hadn’t ceased, so Gaughan chose to take her temperature level: The thermometer read 101.1 degrees.She figured it was simply nerves. She had actually simply relocated. She was satisfying a lot of brand-new individuals. Still, over the phone, her mom told her to make a telehealth appointment.Some hours later, a doctor called. They talked about where she ‘d been in the previous days and the only possibly concerning moment was a journey to the ER five days earlier, back in Illinois. She knew there were COVID-19 clients in the lobby, but everybody was using masks and they were behind plexiglass barriers, anyway.The doctor stated he didn’t believe she ‘d contracted the novel coronavirus that causes the illness that’s eliminated more than 170,000 throughout the U.S. and more than 1,000 here in Iowa.(” He stated,’You don’t have signs. And I would not typically put out a referral, however you seem distressed.’ “)He scheduled Gaughan a test and, at 3 p.m. Sunday, a person took a swab of Gaughan’s nasal cavity and sent her out, stating she ‘d get her lead to 12 to 24 hours.At about 7 p.m., she was strolling around campus with her roommate when she looked down at her phone. An email explained that her outcomes had been transmitted to the Iowa Department
of Public Health” per policy”– she had actually evaluated positive for COVID-19. Not understanding what to do, she stated she felt her heart race. The set chose to return to Daum.Ann Gaughan is
a University of Iowa trainee who checked positive for COVID-19. Special to the Press-Citizen While the university has an online self-reporting kind for individuals who evaluate favorable for COVID or believe they’ve touched with somebody else who’s checked positive, Gaughan said she didn’t know to fill it out. She said her RA didn’t seem to know what the next steps were, either. The RA stated they would make some telephone call. Gaughan and her roomie went to their room.”We simply sat there awaiting
“she said.She stated the RA told her roomie they shouldn’t be making calls home about the outcomes, that they must wait on the school to determine what to do.After hours of radio silence, an administrator with UI Housing and Dining informed her to pack all of the important things she would require for the next 2 week. ► More, Wednesday:’ You, Bruce, are the herald of death ‘: UI graduate trainee employees require online classes ► More, Thursday: 2 days in a row, Iowa City protesters urge the University of Iowa scrap prepare for in-person classes this fall At 11:02 p.m., Gaughan got an e-mail from the “Real Estate and Dining COVID Action Team”informing her she had actually been reassigned to Currier Hall.
Have a look at included providing up the key to her room in Daum, a long packing list and a walking to her brand-new space.”Please remember,”the e-mail stated,”you need to beable to carry everything that you bring to short-term stay real estate.” Gaughan went to work tearing through drawers for clothesshe had actually put away simply a day before: toiletries, medications, books and treats. She didn’t understand how she ‘d carry all of it.”That’s a lot. You clearly can’t carry all of that, however I didn’t have any boxes or bags. “Despite the fact that the RA told her roommate she wasn’t allowed to assist her pack, she slipped Gaughan a baggage cart, a small compassion at a time when her journey to campus seemed like it was drawing out
of control.” I was told to gather my things and walk by myself from Daum to Currier with a heavy cart of my things … all while being in
an odd place late during the night,”Gaughan composed in a series of messages published originally to Instagram.”It was my 2nd night in Iowa.”► KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST: Follow the Press-Citizen on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram A quarantine dormitory that left a lot to be desired Pushing her cart to Currier, she discovered
herself having a hard time to point the wheels up and down ramps.Moving through Currier, the place looked great. But she quickly reached an area that looked older than the rest. Gaughan stated it appeared like it hadn’t been refurbished with the rest of the building.While the UI declares to have invested months sanitizing academic buildings and dormitory, Gaughan said that care seemed to have been missing from the room she was provided. ► The most recent, Friday: Another 2 COVID-19 deaths in Johnson County,
amounting to 16 in last 5 weeks
; 5 more statewide As quickly as her cart came to rest outside her brand-new space, NO12, she observed the odor. Which was great. She ‘d brought an air freshener. Next was the sink, which had a rusty ring around the drain with cracks marking the porcelain. Where her previous space was full of brilliant colors, it was 11:30 p.m. in the evening. Here, fluorescent bulbs glared off the stagnant white walls and sun-bleached drapes. She stated the mattress in the space was gritty with dust.Annie Gaughan took this picture her new sink in Currier Hall, as seen Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020.
Unique to the Press-Citizen She was tired, too. However the contactless check-in had left her sensation put out. She called the Currier Hall’s organizer, who said hers was the first favorable case they ‘d handled.”I told him that the spaces were horrible, and he stated they weren’t actually preparing for anybody getting COVID on the first day– said they ‘d been really
hectic with routine school operations just getting individuals here, “Gaughan said.She said the coordinator told her this was her only choice for quarantining on school: She might remain in Currier or have her parents pertain to get her. With home three hours away, her choice was clear.” I started to feel my heart rate pick up more. I felt lightheaded, so I tried to ground myself. I was, like, attempting everything I knew to relax. My hands and legs went numb and tingly. I sat down in a chair in the space they gave me. I believed,’If I don’t sit down on the flooring, I will move and fall out, ‘” Gaughan recalled.Her mom, who had been on the phone with her, called an ambulance.”By that point, I was so out of it
, “Gaughan said.Law enforcement and EMS reacted to Currier at 12:29 a.m. By the time they got here, some deep breathing had helped her regain enough composure to feel comfortable sending out the paramedics away.”I was exhausted,” she said. She got some blankets and strolled over to the space next door, which looked “less dirty” than the one she had actually been assigned, and went to sleep. ► KEEP UP WITH The Most Recent: Download our app
for your phone or tablet. iPhone|Android Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at Press-Citizen. com/Subscribe. Cold rice, bottles of water, and a choice
to go it alone Gaughan spent the night on the floor and woke to ants in her blankets. At about 11:30 a.m. Monday, staff brought a meal of cold rice and meat, a bag of chips, a bag of cookies and a cup of apple sauce. With it came her day-to-day ration of three plastic bottles of water. This was Gaughan’s 3rd day in Iowa City, and she was currently all set to leave.While she wished to go home, her moms and dads, she stated, are in
a CDC-recognized high-risk classification.
She booked a hotel room in Naperville, Illinois.She was unable to get a zip automobile, so she opted to buy a bus ticket, instead.”I seemed like, at that point, I didn’t have the support I needed to stay,”Gaughan said.”I decided’I just can’t do
this.'” ► More: Records show just 2%of UI workers applied for COVID-related accommodation She carried some things to the bus stop and, 4 1/2 hours later, looked into the hotel room she’s called house because. At this moment, she’s invested$700 in between the bus ticket and the previous couple of days inher hotel room. However, she said, she wasn’t about
to provide the UI another night.”They are telling trainees and parents they are gotten ready for covid, but they lied.
They are not,”Gaughan composed.”I was informed’we weren’t ‘expecting anybody
to have actually covid on the very first day ‘so none of the seclusion rooms had actually been established or cleaned, yet I was still forced to remain there.”I really hope that the university shifts to online at this moment because they are not gotten ready for students who evaluate favorable for covid. At this rate, we will not be open for more than a few weeks.” The University of Iowa reacts Gaughan’s account went viral on social media today. It started as a long thread posted to Instagram but migrated throughout platforms, ultimately catching the eye of university officials.On Thursday, Von Stange, assistant vice president for Student Life and senior director of University Real estate and Dining, apologized, stating in part,” the experience described does not satisfy the expectations of the university, Housing and Dining and, most notably, you, the trainees. For that, I am deeply sorry.” Zachary Oren Smith blogs about federal government, development and development for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com, at 319 -339 -7354 or on Twitter via @Zacharyos. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at Press-Citizen. com/Subscribe. Released 8:53 PM EDT Aug 21, 2020