Student Health Services drops the ball on COVID-19 tests
Photo courtesy of Hofstra University
With COVID-19 cases on the rise again, there are new precautions and guidelines to properly prevent the spread. At this point, if you are in contact with someone with the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that, even “if you do not have symptoms,” you should wait “at least five full days after your exposure” to test. If positive, you should quarantine for at least five days after your symptoms begin. With the cold season approaching and students missing classes or clubs, taking extra steps not only helps you stay safe but also helps others stay safe. However, while Hofstra’s Student Health Services pushes protocols verbally, they are not following them or taking measures to prevent the spread.
Last week, I decided to get tested for COVID-19 five days after close contact with two people who tested positive. I went to Hofstra Student Health Services believing that I would be quickly tested.
When I arrived, I was immediately told to go home because I did not have a fever or cough. I felt the man I spoke with was rude and was trying to push me out the door. He told me there was no reason to test me despite CDC guidelines. The CDC states that if individuals have COVID-19, they are most contagious during the first five days of having symptoms – meaning that if I had waited until I had symptoms such as a cough or fever, I would be at the most infectious point in the incubation period.
He then demanded I pull up the article I read to prove it to him. After reading the article to him, he continued to interrupt me and asked if I wanted to speak to the nurse practitioner before eventually going to speak with her alone. After a few minutes, he told me she would give me the test, but to my disappointment, this was not the only red flag I encountered.
I was told that students must sign themselves into their appointments using their insurance cards. I was unsure what numbers I needed from the insurance card and had to wait for assistance. In addition, in an environment where potentially contagious students are coming in to be tested, I was shocked to find they did not disinfect the computer and mouse between me and the patient after me. After talking with other students, I found the problem was not only at the front desk.
One student I spoke with stated that after they tested positive, they were told to quarantine for five days, then it was up to the professor to decide if an absence was excused. They told me that despite still feeling sick on the fifth day, a professor tried to force them to come to rehearsal where they would be sitting directly next to other students without a mask while playing an instrument. The student expressed their concern and discomfort with the idea and felt that if they still had symptoms, they should still be quarantined.
Another student expressed frustration with the Student Health Services website itself and was struggling to schedule an appointment at all. This student was not dealing with COVID-19, but after being unable to schedule online or calling over the phone, they were told there would be a five-day wait before they could be seen. This left the student unsure if they should stay home or continue to go to classes. Another student was also turned away after scheduling a COVID-19 test due to a lack of fever.
Hofstra used to appear concerned about the health of students and faculty. Junior and senior students told me there used to be emails sent randomly to students to be tested for COVID-19 to prevent a spread from asymptomatic students.
While this method had its flaws, Hofstra now is reluctant to even test students despite close contact with multiple sick people. People are sick and spreading their sickness to others. Those who don’t get tested or are asymptomatic spread it blindly. Those who get sick and stay home, but are told not to test until they are at their most contagious state, spread it unwillingly. Then, those who have no symptoms but want to test for precaution are pushed out the door if they don’t stand up for themselves.
Hofstra Student Health Services needs to do better, and until they do, students and faculty will only continue the spread.
