essay about home quarantine experience

My Quarantine Experience Essay & Paragraphs For Students

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an era of quarantine and social distancing, profoundly impacting our daily lives. This essay will delve into my personal experience during quarantine, highlighting the challenges, adaptations, and insights gleaned from this unique period.

Table of Contents

Essay On My Quarantine Experience

To comprehend my quarantine experience fully, it is important to understand what quarantine entails. It is a preventive measure aimed at curbing the spread of infectious diseases by isolating individuals who have been exposed to the infection. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine involved staying at home, minimizing physical contact with others and practicing strict hygiene protocols.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Initial Reactions: The Onset of Quarantine

The initial days of quarantine were marked by a mix of anxiety, uncertainty, and confusion as familiar routines were disrupted. This section will explore my initial reactions to the sudden shift in lifestyle, the challenges faced, and the coping mechanisms adopted.

Adapting to a New Normal: Life During Quarantine

Quarantine necessitated a significant adaptation to a “new normal”. From working from home to virtual social interactions, life underwent a dramatic transformation. This part will discuss the various adjustments made during quarantine, focusing on work, education, social interactions, and daily routines.

Discovering New Interests: The Silver Lining

Despite the challenges, quarantine also offered an opportunity to explore new interests and hobbies. With additional free time, I found myself engaging in activities like reading, cooking, online courses, and fitness routines at home. This section will delve into these newfound interests and their impact on my overall well-being.

Emotional Impact: Navigating Mental Health During Quarantine

Quarantine also had a significant impact on mental health. The isolation, coupled with the constant influx of pandemic-related news, led to feelings of stress and anxiety. This part will discuss the emotional impact of quarantine, the strategies employed to maintain mental health, and the significance of seeking help when required.

Lessons Learned: Insights from the Quarantine Experience

Quarantine, while challenging, also offered valuable insights into resilience, adaptability, and the importance of community. It highlighted the need for empathy, understanding, and collective responsibility during times of crisis. This section will reflect on these lessons and their implications for the future.

Conclusion: Reflecting on My Quarantine Experience

My quarantine experience was a journey of adaptation, self-discovery, and resilience. While it posed numerous challenges, it also offered an opportunity to slow down, introspect, and focus on personal growth. As I reflect on this period, I realize that despite the hardships, the experience has equipped me with a better understanding of myself, a greater appreciation for connection, and a renewed sense of resilience to navigate future challenges.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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COVID-19 Lockdown: My Experience

When the lockdown started, I was ecstatic. My final year of school had finished early, exams were cancelled, the sun was shining. I was happy, and confident I would be OK. After all, how hard could staying at home possibly be? After a while, the reality of the situation started to sink in.

The novelty of being at home wore off and I started to struggle. I suffered from regular panic attacks, frozen on the floor in my room, unable to move or speak. I had nightmares most nights, and struggled to sleep. It was as if I was stuck, trapped in my house and in my own head. I didn't know how to cope.

However, over time, I found ways to deal with the pressure. I realised that lockdown gave me more time to the things I loved, hobbies that had been previously swamped by schoolwork. I started baking, drawing and writing again, and felt free for the first time in months. I had forgotten how good it felt to be creative. I started spending more time with my family. I hadn't realised how much I had missed them.

Almost a month later, I feel so much better. I understand how difficult this must be, but it's important to remember that none of us is alone. No matter how scared, or trapped, or alone you feel, things can only get better.  Take time to revisit the things you love, and remember that all of this will eventually pass. All we can do right now is stay at home, look after ourselves and our loved ones, and look forward to a better future.

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The Benefits of Being Inside: My Experience of Quarantine

Therapist josh hogan shares his experience of quarantine after developing coronavirus symptoms, his period of self-isolation had ups and downs as he was both forced to, and made the effort to, look inwards, if you would like to talk to a therapist, start your search here.

I have seen a quote doing the rounds on social media that seems apposite during present events: “If you can’t go outside, go inside.” I cannot find the original author of the quote - perhaps it belongs to an ancient sage, or perhaps it was a random tweet that went viral in the last few weeks. Either way, for me it sums up a helpful way through the health crisis that we are facing.

Coping during lockdown

As I write, a third of the world’s population is on ‘lockdown’, meaning severely restricted movement outside of the home. In the UK, if you display any of the known symptoms of Covid-19 you are required to stay indoors for seven days, while members of your household are to stay in for fourteen. Everyone should be limiting their trips outside to the bare essentials. Workers not considered ‘essential’ to the national effort are asked not to go to work; social gatherings of more than two people are subject to a blanket ban. Everyone is affected by this, everyone’s way of life has changed dramatically in the last two weeks. Most of us will need to get used to spending a lot of time indoors, which is where that quote becomes relevant, as we close our doors and get better acquainted with our own interior lives.

For me, ‘going inside’ means sitting with myself and focusing on what is going on internally. Of course it might mean completely different things to different people. Having been forced to spend a significant amount of time indoors, I find myself increasingly drawn to the idea of exploring my internal reactions to what’s going on.

The coronavirus crisis is being called a once-in-a-century event, and it’s easy to concur with that description. The only similar event in living memory for us Brits will be the blackouts of the Second World War. Perhaps the most alarming thing about this experience is how out of the blue it was, as well as how quickly it escalated.

In January when I first heard about this mysterious virus that was claiming hundreds of lives in China, like most of us I couldn’t imagine the same thing ever happening here. Yet as I write today I sit at home in quarantine, having developed the symptoms of that very virus last week. It’s just been announced that the Prime Minister and the heir to the throne have the virus too. It seems no one will escape the fallout.

I wasn’t expecting self-isolation to be fun, and it hasn’t been. For a few days last week I was very unwell, suffering from the worst case of flu I’d ever had. This week I’ve experienced a slow but steady recovery. I gather from official government advice that I should have stopped being contagious a few days ago, and so I am once more able to venture to the shops to meet my basic needs. But I wouldn’t say I am 100% back to normal health. I am lucky to be relatively young and fit, so I’ve had nothing more than a bad case of the flu, where many others will endure far worse. My thoughts during this time have frequently turned to the countless people who won’t survive this awful illness, and to the brave healthcare workers who will look after them.

It has been a shock to the system, on both a personal and a national level. I rarely ever get ill, and I don’t like it when I do. Remaining indoors for seven days gets exhausting – having infinite choice when it comes to streamable films and TV shows is more of a curse than a blessing.

Finding some peace

Quite apart from the ongoing economic fallout, I’ve been stunned to observe the impact on the once busy streets of my home city, which for the first time in my life could be described as ‘quiet’. The significant fall in traffic is already being said to correlate with much cleaner air in our skies. Luckily my infrequent trips to the shop this week have been peaceful, my fellow shoppers always standing a polite two metres apart, smiling and nodding as I get in line behind them. The good will that we’re expressing towards our healthcare workers and towards each other is one of the heartening aspects of all of this.

Having to spend so much time inside has taught me that I need to find better solutions to boredom. Online TV bingeing has been my go to antidote to lethargy, and after a solid week of it I can confirm that it makes the problem worse.

At the start of all this, naturally I pledged to be good and accomplish all the things I wouldn’t normally have time to do, such as daily meditating. As the lockdown continues I find these tasks to be more and more vital to my wellbeing. While I can’t go outside I really have no option other than to ‘go inside’, where I stand a chance of assuaging my innate anxiety. At first, having all this time to meditate makes me oddly resistant to it, which tells me that I must persevere. When I focus on my breathing and on what’s going on in my body at the present moment, I can’t get caught up in worrying about the future and what’s going to happen with this virus. Unlike Netflix and the 24 hour news channels, practising mindfulness doesn’t leave me feeling frustrated or triggered or fatigued. It is a source of replenishment that sees me through to the next day.

Josh Hogan is a verified welldoing.org therapist who works in London and online

Further reading

Welldoing.org's 8 coronavirus mental health tips, unexpected endings: support for young people after school closures, using exercise and cbt techniques to combat lockdown anxiety, 6 youtube videos for mindfulness meditation, self-care tips from an introvert: how to make the most of isolation, find welldoing therapists near you, related articles, recent posts.

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Coronavirus: My Experience During the Pandemic

Anastasiya Kandratsenka George Washington High School, Class of 2021

At this point in time there shouldn't be a single person who doesn't know about the coronavirus, or as they call it, COVID-19. The coronavirus is a virus that originated in China, reached the U.S. and eventually spread all over the world by January of 2020. The common symptoms of the virus include shortness of breath, chills, sore throat, headache, loss of taste and smell, runny nose, vomiting and nausea. As it has been established, it might take up to 14 days for the symptoms to show. On top of that, the virus is also highly contagious putting all age groups at risk. The elderly and individuals with chronic diseases such as pneumonia or heart disease are in the top risk as the virus attacks the immune system. 

The virus first appeared on the news and media platforms in the month of January of this year. The United States and many other countries all over the globe saw no reason to panic as it seemed that the virus presented no possible threat. Throughout the next upcoming months, the virus began to spread very quickly, alerting health officials not only in the U.S., but all over the world. As people started digging into the origin of the virus, it became clear that it originated in China. Based on everything scientists have looked at, the virus came from a bat that later infected other animals, making it way to humans. As it goes for the United States, the numbers started rising quickly, resulting in the cancellation of sports events, concerts, large gatherings and then later on schools. 

As it goes personally for me, my school was shut down on March 13th. The original plan was to put us on a two weeks leave, returning on March 30th but, as the virus spread rapidly and things began escalating out of control very quickly, President Trump announced a state of emergency and the whole country was put on quarantine until April 30th. At that point, schools were officially shut down for the rest of the school year. Distanced learning was introduced, online classes were established, a new norm was put in place. As for the School District of Philadelphia distanced learning and online classes began on May 4th. From that point on I would have classes four times a week, from 8AM till 3PM. Virtual learning was something that I never had to experience and encounter before. It was all new and different for me, just as it was for millions of students all over the United States. We were forced to transfer from physically attending school, interacting with our peers and teachers, participating in fun school events and just being in a classroom setting, to just looking at each other through a computer screen in a number of days. That is something that we all could have never seen coming, it was all so sudden and new. 

My experience with distanced learning was not very great. I get distracted very easily and   find it hard to concentrate, especially when it comes to school. In a classroom I was able to give my full attention to what was being taught, I was all there. However, when we had the online classes, I could not focus and listen to what my teachers were trying to get across. I got distracted very easily, missing out on important information that was being presented. My entire family which consists of five members, were all home during the quarantine. I have two little siblings who are very loud and demanding, so I’m sure it can be imagined how hard it was for me to concentrate on school and do what was asked of me when I had these two running around the house. On top of school, I also had to find a job and work 35 hours a week to support my family during the pandemic. My mother lost her job for the time being and my father was only able to work from home. As we have a big family, the income of my father was not enough. I made it my duty to help out and support our family as much as I could: I got a job at a local supermarket and worked there as a cashier for over two months. 

While I worked at the supermarket, I was exposed to dozens of people every day and with all the protection that was implemented to protect the customers and the workers, I was lucky enough to not get the virus. As I say that, my grandparents who do not even live in the U.S. were not so lucky. They got the virus and spent over a month isolated, in a hospital bed, with no one by their side. Our only way of communicating was through the phone and if lucky, we got to talk once a week. Speaking for my family, that was the worst and scariest part of the whole situation. Luckily for us, they were both able to recover completely. 

As the pandemic is somewhat under control, the spread of the virus has slowed down. We’re now living in the new norm. We no longer view things the same, the way we did before. Large gatherings and activities that require large groups to come together are now unimaginable! Distanced learning is what we know, not to mention the importance of social distancing and having to wear masks anywhere and everywhere we go. This is the new norm now and who knows when and if ever we’ll be able go back to what we knew before. This whole experience has made me realize that we, as humans, tend to take things for granted and don’t value what we have until it is taken away from us. 

Articles in this Volume

[tid]: dedication, [tid]: new tools for a new house: transformations for justice and peace in and beyond covid-19, [tid]: black lives matter, intersectionality, and lgbtq rights now, [tid]: the voice of asian american youth: what goes untold, [tid]: beyond words: reimagining education through art and activism, [tid]: voice(s) of a black man, [tid]: embodied learning and community resilience, [tid]: re-imagining professional learning in a time of social isolation: storytelling as a tool for healing and professional growth, [tid]: reckoning: what does it mean to look forward and back together as critical educators, [tid]: leader to leaders: an indigenous school leader’s advice through storytelling about grief and covid-19, [tid]: finding hope, healing and liberation beyond covid-19 within a context of captivity and carcerality, [tid]: flux leadership: leading for justice and peace in & beyond covid-19, [tid]: flux leadership: insights from the (virtual) field, [tid]: hard pivot: compulsory crisis leadership emerges from a space of doubt, [tid]: and how are the children, [tid]: real talk: teaching and leading while bipoc, [tid]: systems of emotional support for educators in crisis, [tid]: listening leadership: the student voices project, [tid]: global engagement, perspective-sharing, & future-seeing in & beyond a global crisis, [tid]: teaching and leadership during covid-19: lessons from lived experiences, [tid]: crisis leadership in independent schools - styles & literacies, [tid]: rituals, routines and relationships: high school athletes and coaches in flux, [tid]: superintendent back-to-school welcome 2020, [tid]: mitigating summer learning loss in philadelphia during covid-19: humble attempts from the field, [tid]: untitled, [tid]: the revolution will not be on linkedin: student activism and neoliberalism, [tid]: why radical self-care cannot wait: strategies for black women leaders now, [tid]: from emergency response to critical transformation: online learning in a time of flux, [tid]: illness methodology for and beyond the covid era, [tid]: surviving black girl magic, the work, and the dissertation, [tid]: cancelled: the old student experience, [tid]: lessons from liberia: integrating theatre for development and youth development in uncertain times, [tid]: designing a more accessible future: learning from covid-19, [tid]: the construct of standards-based education, [tid]: teachers leading teachers to prepare for back to school during covid, [tid]: using empathy to cross the sea of humanity, [tid]: (un)doing college, community, and relationships in the time of coronavirus, [tid]: have we learned nothing, [tid]: choosing growth amidst chaos, [tid]: living freire in pandemic….participatory action research and democratizing knowledge at knowledgedemocracy.org, [tid]: philly students speak: voices of learning in pandemics, [tid]: the power of will: a letter to my descendant, [tid]: photo essays with students, [tid]: unity during a global pandemic: how the fight for racial justice made us unite against two diseases, [tid]: educational changes caused by the pandemic and other related social issues, [tid]: online learning during difficult times, [tid]: fighting crisis: a student perspective, [tid]: the destruction of soil rooted with culture, [tid]: a demand for change, [tid]: education through experience in and beyond the pandemics, [tid]: the pandemic diaries, [tid]: all for one and 4 for $4, [tid]: tiktok activism, [tid]: why digital learning may be the best option for next year, [tid]: my 2020 teen experience, [tid]: living between two pandemics, [tid]: journaling during isolation: the gold standard of coronavirus, [tid]: sailing through uncertainty, [tid]: what i wish my teachers knew, [tid]: youthing in pandemic while black, [tid]: the pain inflicted by indifference, [tid]: education during the pandemic, [tid]: the good, the bad, and the year 2020, [tid]: racism fueled pandemic, [tid]: coronavirus: my experience during the pandemic, [tid]: the desensitization of a doomed generation, [tid]: a philadelphia war-zone, [tid]: the attack of the covid monster, [tid]: back-to-school: covid-19 edition, [tid]: the unexpected war, [tid]: learning outside of the classroom, [tid]: why we should learn about college financial aid in school: a student perspective, [tid]: flying the plane as we go: building the future through a haze, [tid]: my covid experience in the age of technology, [tid]: we, i, and they, [tid]: learning your a, b, cs during a pandemic, [tid]: quarantine: a musical, [tid]: what it’s like being a high school student in 2020, [tid]: everything happens for a reason, [tid]: blacks live matter – a sobering and empowering reality among my peers, [tid]: the mental health of a junior during covid-19 outbreaks, [tid]: a year of change, [tid]: covid-19 and school, [tid]: the virtues and vices of virtual learning, [tid]: college decisions and the year 2020: a virtual rollercoaster, [tid]: quarantine thoughts, [tid]: quarantine through generation z, [tid]: attending online school during a pandemic.

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Read these 12 moving essays about life during coronavirus

Artists, novelists, critics, and essayists are writing the first draft of history.

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The world is grappling with an invisible, deadly enemy, trying to understand how to live with the threat posed by a virus . For some writers, the only way forward is to put pen to paper, trying to conceptualize and document what it feels like to continue living as countries are under lockdown and regular life seems to have ground to a halt.

So as the coronavirus pandemic has stretched around the world, it’s sparked a crop of diary entries and essays that describe how life has changed. Novelists, critics, artists, and journalists have put words to the feelings many are experiencing. The result is a first draft of how we’ll someday remember this time, filled with uncertainty and pain and fear as well as small moments of hope and humanity.

At the New York Review of Books, Ali Bhutto writes that in Karachi, Pakistan, the government-imposed curfew due to the virus is “eerily reminiscent of past military clampdowns”:

Beneath the quiet calm lies a sense that society has been unhinged and that the usual rules no longer apply. Small groups of pedestrians look on from the shadows, like an audience watching a spectacle slowly unfolding. People pause on street corners and in the shade of trees, under the watchful gaze of the paramilitary forces and the police.

His essay concludes with the sobering note that “in the minds of many, Covid-19 is just another life-threatening hazard in a city that stumbles from one crisis to another.”

Writing from Chattanooga, novelist Jamie Quatro documents the mixed ways her neighbors have been responding to the threat, and the frustration of conflicting direction, or no direction at all, from local, state, and federal leaders:

Whiplash, trying to keep up with who’s ordering what. We’re already experiencing enough chaos without this back-and-forth. Why didn’t the federal government issue a nationwide shelter-in-place at the get-go, the way other countries did? What happens when one state’s shelter-in-place ends, while others continue? Do states still under quarantine close their borders? We are still one nation, not fifty individual countries. Right?

Award-winning photojournalist Alessio Mamo, quarantined with his partner Marta in Sicily after she tested positive for the virus, accompanies his photographs in the Guardian of their confinement with a reflection on being confined :

The doctors asked me to take a second test, but again I tested negative. Perhaps I’m immune? The days dragged on in my apartment, in black and white, like my photos. Sometimes we tried to smile, imagining that I was asymptomatic, because I was the virus. Our smiles seemed to bring good news. My mother left hospital, but I won’t be able to see her for weeks. Marta started breathing well again, and so did I. I would have liked to photograph my country in the midst of this emergency, the battles that the doctors wage on the frontline, the hospitals pushed to their limits, Italy on its knees fighting an invisible enemy. That enemy, a day in March, knocked on my door instead.

In the New York Times Magazine, deputy editor Jessica Lustig writes with devastating clarity about her family’s life in Brooklyn while her husband battled the virus, weeks before most people began taking the threat seriously:

At the door of the clinic, we stand looking out at two older women chatting outside the doorway, oblivious. Do I wave them away? Call out that they should get far away, go home, wash their hands, stay inside? Instead we just stand there, awkwardly, until they move on. Only then do we step outside to begin the long three-block walk home. I point out the early magnolia, the forsythia. T says he is cold. The untrimmed hairs on his neck, under his beard, are white. The few people walking past us on the sidewalk don’t know that we are visitors from the future. A vision, a premonition, a walking visitation. This will be them: Either T, in the mask, or — if they’re lucky — me, tending to him.

Essayist Leslie Jamison writes in the New York Review of Books about being shut away alone in her New York City apartment with her 2-year-old daughter since she became sick:

The virus. Its sinewy, intimate name. What does it feel like in my body today? Shivering under blankets. A hot itch behind the eyes. Three sweatshirts in the middle of the day. My daughter trying to pull another blanket over my body with her tiny arms. An ache in the muscles that somehow makes it hard to lie still. This loss of taste has become a kind of sensory quarantine. It’s as if the quarantine keeps inching closer and closer to my insides. First I lost the touch of other bodies; then I lost the air; now I’ve lost the taste of bananas. Nothing about any of these losses is particularly unique. I’ve made a schedule so I won’t go insane with the toddler. Five days ago, I wrote Walk/Adventure! on it, next to a cut-out illustration of a tiger—as if we’d see tigers on our walks. It was good to keep possibility alive.

At Literary Hub, novelist Heidi Pitlor writes about the elastic nature of time during her family’s quarantine in Massachusetts:

During a shutdown, the things that mark our days—commuting to work, sending our kids to school, having a drink with friends—vanish and time takes on a flat, seamless quality. Without some self-imposed structure, it’s easy to feel a little untethered. A friend recently posted on Facebook: “For those who have lost track, today is Blursday the fortyteenth of Maprilay.” ... Giving shape to time is especially important now, when the future is so shapeless. We do not know whether the virus will continue to rage for weeks or months or, lord help us, on and off for years. We do not know when we will feel safe again. And so many of us, minus those who are gifted at compartmentalization or denial, remain largely captive to fear. We may stay this way if we do not create at least the illusion of movement in our lives, our long days spent with ourselves or partners or families.

Novelist Lauren Groff writes at the New York Review of Books about trying to escape the prison of her fears while sequestered at home in Gainesville, Florida:

Some people have imaginations sparked only by what they can see; I blame this blinkered empiricism for the parks overwhelmed with people, the bars, until a few nights ago, thickly thronged. My imagination is the opposite. I fear everything invisible to me. From the enclosure of my house, I am afraid of the suffering that isn’t present before me, the people running out of money and food or drowning in the fluid in their lungs, the deaths of health-care workers now growing ill while performing their duties. I fear the federal government, which the right wing has so—intentionally—weakened that not only is it insufficient to help its people, it is actively standing in help’s way. I fear we won’t sufficiently punish the right. I fear leaving the house and spreading the disease. I fear what this time of fear is doing to my children, their imaginations, and their souls.

At ArtForum , Berlin-based critic and writer Kristian Vistrup Madsen reflects on martinis, melancholia, and Finnish artist Jaakko Pallasvuo’s 2018 graphic novel Retreat , in which three young people exile themselves in the woods:

In melancholia, the shape of what is ending, and its temporality, is sprawling and incomprehensible. The ambivalence makes it hard to bear. The world of Retreat is rendered in lush pink and purple watercolors, which dissolve into wild and messy abstractions. In apocalypse, the divisions established in genesis bleed back out. My own Corona-retreat is similarly soft, color-field like, each day a blurred succession of quarantinis, YouTube–yoga, and televized press conferences. As restrictions mount, so does abstraction. For now, I’m still rooting for love to save the world.

At the Paris Review , Matt Levin writes about reading Virginia Woolf’s novel The Waves during quarantine:

A retreat, a quarantine, a sickness—they simultaneously distort and clarify, curtail and expand. It is an ideal state in which to read literature with a reputation for difficulty and inaccessibility, those hermetic books shorn of the handholds of conventional plot or characterization or description. A novel like Virginia Woolf’s The Waves is perfect for the state of interiority induced by quarantine—a story of three men and three women, meeting after the death of a mutual friend, told entirely in the overlapping internal monologues of the six, interspersed only with sections of pure, achingly beautiful descriptions of the natural world, a day’s procession and recession of light and waves. The novel is, in my mind’s eye, a perfectly spherical object. It is translucent and shimmering and infinitely fragile, prone to shatter at the slightest disturbance. It is not a book that can be read in snatches on the subway—it demands total absorption. Though it revels in a stark emotional nakedness, the book remains aloof, remote in its own deep self-absorption.

In an essay for the Financial Times, novelist Arundhati Roy writes with anger about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anemic response to the threat, but also offers a glimmer of hope for the future:

Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.

From Boston, Nora Caplan-Bricker writes in The Point about the strange contraction of space under quarantine, in which a friend in Beirut is as close as the one around the corner in the same city:

It’s a nice illusion—nice to feel like we’re in it together, even if my real world has shrunk to one person, my husband, who sits with his laptop in the other room. It’s nice in the same way as reading those essays that reframe social distancing as solidarity. “We must begin to see the negative space as clearly as the positive, to know what we don’t do is also brilliant and full of love,” the poet Anne Boyer wrote on March 10th, the day that Massachusetts declared a state of emergency. If you squint, you could almost make sense of this quarantine as an effort to flatten, along with the curve, the distinctions we make between our bonds with others. Right now, I care for my neighbor in the same way I demonstrate love for my mother: in all instances, I stay away. And in moments this month, I have loved strangers with an intensity that is new to me. On March 14th, the Saturday night after the end of life as we knew it, I went out with my dog and found the street silent: no lines for restaurants, no children on bicycles, no couples strolling with little cups of ice cream. It had taken the combined will of thousands of people to deliver such a sudden and complete emptiness. I felt so grateful, and so bereft.

And on his own website, musician and artist David Byrne writes about rediscovering the value of working for collective good , saying that “what is happening now is an opportunity to learn how to change our behavior”:

In emergencies, citizens can suddenly cooperate and collaborate. Change can happen. We’re going to need to work together as the effects of climate change ramp up. In order for capitalism to survive in any form, we will have to be a little more socialist. Here is an opportunity for us to see things differently — to see that we really are all connected — and adjust our behavior accordingly. Are we willing to do this? Is this moment an opportunity to see how truly interdependent we all are? To live in a world that is different and better than the one we live in now? We might be too far down the road to test every asymptomatic person, but a change in our mindsets, in how we view our neighbors, could lay the groundwork for the collective action we’ll need to deal with other global crises. The time to see how connected we all are is now.

The portrait these writers paint of a world under quarantine is multifaceted. Our worlds have contracted to the confines of our homes, and yet in some ways we’re more connected than ever to one another. We feel fear and boredom, anger and gratitude, frustration and strange peace. Uncertainty drives us to find metaphors and images that will let us wrap our minds around what is happening.

Yet there’s no single “what” that is happening. Everyone is contending with the pandemic and its effects from different places and in different ways. Reading others’ experiences — even the most frightening ones — can help alleviate the loneliness and dread, a little, and remind us that what we’re going through is both unique and shared by all.

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‘the full covid-19 experience’.

A science and medical reporter offers an intimate look at the pandemic’s personal impact

Alvin Powell and his mother, Alynne Martelle, who passed away from COVID-19 in April 2020.

Photos courtesy of Alvin Powell

Portraits of Loss

Alvin powell.

A collection of stories and essays that illustrate the indelible mark left on our community by a pandemic that touched all our lives.

I remember thinking, “I guess I’m having the full COVID-19 experience,” though I knew immediately it wasn’t true. Having the full experience would mean switching places with the frail woman before me. It would mean my eyes were the ones that were closed, my breath silent and shallow.

But I also knew she wouldn’t want it that way. My mother, Alynne Martelle, was protective like that.

It was April 2020, and I was sitting in a Connecticut nursing home across the bed from my sister Kelly San Martin. I wasn’t thinking about how outlandishly I was dressed, but each glance across the bed provided a reminder. We were both wearing thin, disposable yellow gowns and too-big rubber gloves, with surgical masks covering our noses and mouths. We were each hoping the protection would be enough, but at that point in the pandemic’s first spring surge, nothing seemed certain.

Earlier that day — a Friday — I had been working from home and heard from my sister that my mom, 80 and diagnosed with COVID-19, had taken a turn for the worse. I called the nursing home where she’d lived for nearly five years, and the nurse said to come right away. So I told my editors at the Gazette what was going on, got in the car, and headed down the Pike.

I had a couple of hours to think during the drive. As a science writer for the Gazette, I routinely monitor disease outbreaks around the world — SARS, H1N1, seasonal flu — and discuss them with experts at the University. My hope is to lend perspective for readers on news that can seem too distant to be threatening — yet to which they might want to pay attention— or things that seem threateningly close, but in fact are rare enough that the screaming headlines may not be warranted.

“I suspect that a nursing home isn’t part of anyone’s plan for their final years, and it certainly wasn’t for my mother.“ Alvin Powell

There were two times during my coverage of the pandemic that I felt an almost physical sensation — that pit-of-the-stomach feeling of shock or fear. The first was when Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist and head of the Harvard Chan School’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, said early on that, unlike its recent predecessors SARS and MERS, which got people very sick, this virus also caused a lot of mild or asymptomatic cases. As that news sank in, I realized how difficult the future might become: How can you stop something before you know it’s there?

The second time I had that feeling was just a few weeks later. Through February 2020, the number of cases in the U.S. and globally had continued to grow, and it became clear that a major public health emergency was underway. Harvard’s experts, among many others, were offering a way forward, and I was writing regularly about the pandemic, about the new-to-me concept of “social distancing” and the importance of using masks to reduce spread — even as faculty members at our hospitals were also warning of shortages of personal protective equipment, or PPE — another term now embedded in our daily language. That was when President Donald Trump used the word “hoax” in discussing the pandemic. When I read that I thought, “This could get a lot worse.”

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By the third week in April, it had. Then, of course, the winter’s much larger surge was still just a vague threat and 100,000 deaths nationally from COVID-19 would soon warrant front-page treatment in The New York Times. Nursing homes — which concentrated society’s frail and elderly — had been hit hard early, as protective measures were being worked out and individual habits — life-saving ones — were still being ingrained.

I suspect that a nursing home isn’t part of anyone’s plan for their final years, and it certainly wasn’t for my mother. She was born in Hartford, poor and proudly Irish. She was artistic, eccentric, and joked later in life that if she hyphenated all her last names, she’d be Alynne Cummings-Powell-Martelle-Martelle-Herzberger-Harripersaud. Though she was tough on her husbands, she was easy on her kids. Despite the roiling of her married life, our home in the Hartford suburbs was mostly stable. That was largely due to the stick-to-it-iveness of my stepfather Sal — the two Martelles in there — and the fact that her four kids never doubted that she loved them.

She traveled even more than she married, preferring out-of-the-way places and bringing home images of the people who lived there. Among her destinations, she spent a summer in Calcutta volunteering at one of Mother Teresa’s orphanages and, on her return, she struck up a correspondence with the future saint.

Alynne Martell (center) surrounded by her children, Laura Lynne Powell (clockwise from left), Kelly San Martin, Alvin Powell, and Joseph Martelle. They are pictured at Hawks Nest Beach in Old Lyme, Conn., where they’ve gone for a week each summer for more than 45 years. Powell and his mother on a family kayak trip on the Black Hall River in Old Lyme.

Mom’s later years were difficult. Her mental decline had her moving from independent to assisted living and then to round-the-clock care. In the last year, her physical health and mobility had declined as well. When my mother spiked a fever in April, my siblings and I assumed it was COVID. It took the doctors some time to work through the possibilities, but they eventually got there, too. They and the nurses reminded us that it was not universally fatal, but nonetheless asked whether she had a living will. She did, and wanted no extraordinary measures taken.

Though many hospitals and nursing homes weren’t allowing visitors, the home where my mother stayed would let us in. Several family members had converged on the parking lot there, and we had a robust discussion of how safe it would be to go inside. My mother’s room was on the first floor, and some family members peered through its sliding glass door. My sister and I decided it was worth the risk to sit with Mom during her final hours, as she would have if indeed our places had been reversed.

On that Friday when Kelly and I entered the lobby, the facility appeared to be taking necessary precautions. In addition to providing PPE, they questioned us about our health and took our temperatures before letting us farther into the building. The main thing I was uneasy about was the use of surgical masks rather than N95 respirators. The N95s, I thought, would provide a level of protection commensurate with sitting in a place where we knew the virus was circulating.

On the second day, two friends teamed up to get us the N95s one had stockpiled during the 2009 H1N1 epidemic. We met in the parking lot for the handover — accomplished with profuse thanks and at a safe distance. The masks eased my mind. The key to weathering the pandemic came not from hiding away, but from a clear-eyed assessment of risks and having a plan to manage them. I had also learned during months of covering the pandemic that even measures inadequate on their own could be powerful when layered over one another. So, though it now seems like overkill, after doffing all the protective gear on the way out, we also changed into clean clothes in the chilly April parking lot, our modesty shielded by open car doors. We stowed the dirty clothes in plastic bags in the trunk and made liberal use of the giant bottle of hand sanitizer Kelly had brought.

“My mom had a metal sculpture of herself made by artist Karen Rossi. Her four kids are hanging off her feet in mobile-style,” writes Alvin Powell.

The result was that my sister and I were able to sit with my mom for several hours over the weekend. She was mostly asleep or unconscious but roused herself, seeming to rise from a place deep inside, to rasp out that she loved us. Then she retreated inward again.

Mom died the following Monday, and I went into home quarantine for two weeks, breaking it once to head back down the Pike to make arrangements with a completely overwhelmed funeral home. She had wanted to be cremated, but the crematorium was also backed up, so they refrigerated her body for several days until they could get to her. Afterward, my brother, Joe Martelle, picked up her remains and brought her home to await her burial.

But we delayed too. We put off her funeral until the family could gather for the bash she wanted as a farewell — she’d picked out the music and assigned tasks to different family members — Joe and I were to build the wooden box for interment. “August,” I initially thought. Then “October.” I was sure about October. My sister in Sacramento, Laura Lynne Powell, had suggested early on we might have to wait for the April anniversary of her death, which at the time seemed ridiculously distant since the pandemic surely would be controlled by then. Now, of course, April’s here and it is still too early for a big gathering.

In the year since my mother died, I’ve been back at work and have continued to learn as much as I can in order to convey our shifting — yet advancing — knowledge to readers. I’ve been repeatedly reminded how far I still am from “the full COVID experience” because the virus seems insatiable and just keeps on taking.

I don’t for a minute think my family is unique in its impacts, but many of those around me have experienced some ugly aspect of it. My son was laid off; my daughter’s 18th birthday, high school graduation, and freshman year in college have been canceled, delayed, or distorted beyond recognition. Two daughters and four grandchildren have been diagnosed with COVID and recovered. In February, four family friends in my Massachusetts town saw the contagion flare through their households, while my own family in Connecticut watched with concern as a loved one became severely ill, later rejoicing at her recovery after treatment with remdesivir.

The pandemic picture seems to have become even muddier lately, devolving into a foot race between vaccines and variants. Through much of March, vaccines seemed sure to win, but warnings from public health officials have become dire of late, warning of too-soon reopenings and the potential for a fourth surge. My stepfather Sal has gotten his second vaccine dose though, so hopefully he, at least, is out of harm’s way. I’m also hearing of friends and family whose first dose appointments are looming. That gives me hope and serves as a reminder that there is one part of “the full COVID experience” I’m looking forward to: its end.

Alvin Powell is the Harvard Gazette’s senior science writer.

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• Open access
• Published: 27 January 2021

The effects of social isolation on well-being and life satisfaction during pandemic

• Ruta Clair   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9828-9911 1 ,
• Maya Gordon 1 ,
• Matthew Kroon 1 &
• Carolyn Reilly 1  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  8 , Article number:  28 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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• Health humanities

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic placed many locations under ‘stay at home” orders and adults simultaneously underwent a form of social isolation that is unprecedented in the modern world. Perceived social isolation can have a significant effect on health and well-being. Further, one can live with others and still experience perceived social isolation. However, there is limited research on psychological well-being during a pandemic. In addition, much of the research is limited to older adult samples. This study examined the effects of perceived social isolation in adults across the age span. Specifically, this study documented the prevalence of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the various factors that contribute to individuals of all ages feeling more or less isolated while they are required to maintain physical distancing for an extended period of time. Survey data was collected from 309 adults who ranged in age from 18 to 84. The measure consisted of a 42 item survey from the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Measures of Social Isolation (Zavaleta et al., 2017 ), and items specifically about the pandemic and demographics. Items included both Likert scale items and open-ended questions. A “snowball” data collection process was used to build the sample. While the entire sample reported at least some perceived social isolation, young adults reported the highest levels of isolation, χ 2 (2) = 27.36, p  < 0.001. Perceived social isolation was associated with poor life satisfaction across all domains, as well as work-related stress, and lower trust of institutions. Higher levels of substance use as a coping strategy was also related to higher perceived social isolation. Respondents reporting higher levels of subjective personal risk for COVID-19 also reported higher perceived social isolation. The experience of perceived social isolation has significant negative consequences related to psychological well-being.

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Introduction.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, prompting most governors in the United States to issue stay-at-home orders in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19. This was after several months of similar quarantine orders in countries throughout Asia and Europe. As a result, a unique situation arose, in which most of the world’s population was confined to their homes, with only medical staff and other essential workers being allowed to leave their homes on a regular basis. Several studies of previous quarantine episodes have shown that psychological stress reactions may emerge from the experience of physical and social isolation (Brooks et al., 2020 ). In addition to the stress that might arise with social isolation or being restricted to your home, there is also the stress of worrying about contracting COVID-19 and losing loved ones to the disease (Brooks et al., 2020 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ). For many families, this stress is compounded by the challenge of working from home while also caring for children whose schools had been closed in an effort to slow the spread of the disease. While the effects of social isolation has been reported in the literature, little is known about the effects of social isolation during a global pandemic (Galea et al., 2020 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ; Usher et al., 2020 ).

Social isolation is a multi-dimensional construct that can be defined as the inadequate quantity and/or quality of interactions with other people, including those interactions that occur at the individual, group, and/or community level (Nicholson, 2012 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ; Umberson and Karas Montez, 2010 ; Zavaleta et al., 2017 ). Some measures of social isolation focus on external isolation which refers to the frequency of contact or interactions with other people. Other measures focus on internal or perceived social isolation which refers to the person’s perceptions of loneliness, trust, and satisfaction with their relationships. This distinction is important because a person can have the subjective experience of being isolated even when they have frequent contact with other people and conversely they may not feel isolated even when their contact with others is limited (Hughes et al., 2004 ).

When considering the effects of social isolation, it is important to note that the majority of the existing research has focused on the elderly population (Nyqvist et al., 2016 ). This is likely because older adulthood is a time when external isolation is more likely due to various circumstances such as retirement, and limited physical mobility (Umberson and Karas Montez, 2010 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic the need for physical distancing due to virus mitigation efforts has exacerbated the isolation of many older adults (Berg-Weger and Morley, 2020 ; Smith et al., 2020 ) and has exposed younger adults to a similar experience (Brooks et al., 2020 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ). Notably, a few studies have found that young adults report higher levels of loneliness (perceived social isolation) even though their social networks are larger (Child and Lawton, 2019 ; Nyqvist et al., 2016 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ); thus indicating that age may be an important factor to consider in determining how long-term distancing due to COVID-19 will influence people’s perceptions of being socially isolated.

The general pattern in this research is that increased social isolation is associated with decreased life satisfaction, higher levels of depression, and lower levels of psychological well-being (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2014 ; Coutin and Knapp, 2017 ; Dahlberg and McKee, 2018 ; Harasemiw et al., 2018 ; Lee and Cagle, 2018 ; Usher et al., 2020 ). Individuals who experience high levels of social isolation may engage in self-protective thinking that can lead to a negative outlook impacting the way individuals interact with others (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2014 ). Further, restricting social networks and experiencing elevated levels of social isolation act as mediators that result in elevated negative mood and lower satisfaction with life factors (Harasemiw et al., 2018 ; Zheng et al., 2020 ). The relationship between well-being and feelings of control and satisfaction with one’s environment are related to psychological health (Zheng et al., 2020 ). Dissatisfaction with one’s home, resource scarcity such as food and self-care products, and job instability contribute to social isolation and poor well-being (Zavaleta et al., 2017 ).

Although there are fewer studies with young and middle aged adults, there is some evidence of a similar pattern of greater isolation being associated with negative psychological outcomes for this population (Bergin and Pakenham, 2015 ; Elphinstone, 2018 ; Liu et al., 2019 ; Nicholson, 2012 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ; Usher et al., 2020 ). There is also considerable evidence that social isolation can have a detrimental impact on physical health (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010 ; Steptoe et al., 2013 ). In a meta-analysis of 148 studies examining connections between social relationships and risk of mortality, Holt-Lunstad et al. ( 2010 ) concluded that the influence of social relationships on the risk for death is comparable to the risk caused by other factors like smoking and alcohol use, and greater than the risk associated with obesity and lack of exercise. Likewise, other researchers have highlighted the detrimental impact of social isolation and loneliness on various illnesses, including cardiovascular, inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and cognitive disorders (Bhatti and Haq, 2017 ; Xia and Li, 2018 ). Understanding behavioral factors related to positive and negative copings is essential in providing health guidance to adult populations.

Feelings of belonging and social connection are related to life satisfaction in older adults (Hawton et al., 2011 ; Mellor et al., 2008 ; Nicholson, 2012 ; Victor et al., 2000 ; Xia and Li, 2018 ). While physical distancing initiatives were implemented to save lives by reducing the spread of COVID-19, these results suggest that social isolation can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health that may linger beyond the mitigation orders (Berg-Weger and Morley, 2020 ; Brooks et al., 2020 ; Cava et al., 2005 ; Smith et al., 2020 ; Usher et al., 2020 ). It is therefore important that we document the prevalence of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the various factors that contribute to individuals of all ages feeling more or less isolated, while they are required to maintain physical distancing for an extended period of time. It was hypothesized that perceived social isolation would not be limited to an older adult population. Further, it was hypothesized that perceived social isolation would be related to individual’s coping with the pandemic. Finally, it was hypothesized that the experience of social isolation would act as a mediator to life satisfaction and basic trust in institutions for individuals across the adult lifespan. The current study was designed to examine the following research questions:

Are there age differences in participants’ perceived social isolation?

Do factors like time spent under required distancing and worry about personal risk for illness have an association with perceived social isolation?

Is perceived social isolation due to quarantine and pandemic mitigation efforts related to life satisfaction?

Is there an association between perceived social isolation and trust of institutions?

Is there a difference in basic stressors and coping during the pandemic for individuals experiencing varying levels of perceived social isolation?

Participants

Participants were adults age 18 years and above. Individuals younger than 18 years were not eligible to participate in the study. There were no limitations on occupation, education, or time under mandatory “stay at home” orders. The researchers sought a sample of adults that was diverse by age, occupation, and ethnicity. The researchers sought a broad sample that would allow researchers to conduct a descriptive quantitative survey study examining factors related to perceived social isolation during the first months of the COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

Participants were asked to complete a 42-item electronic survey that consisted of both Likert-type items and open-ended questions. There were 20 Likert scale items, 3 items on a 3-point scale (1 = Hardly ever to 3 = Often) and 17 items on a 5-point scale (1 = Not at all satisfied to 4 = very satisfied, 0 = I don’t know), 11 multiple choice items, one of which had an available short response answer, and 11 short answer items.

Items were selected from Measures of Social Isolation (Zavaleta et al., 2017 ) that included 27 items to measure feelings of social isolation through the proxy variables of stress, trust, and life satisfaction. Trust was measured for government, business, and media. Life satisfaction examined overall feelings of satisfaction as well as satisfaction with resources such as food, housing, work, and relationships. Three items related to social isolation were chosen from the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Hughes et al. ( 2004 ) reported that these three items showed good psychometric validity and reliability for the construct of Loneliness.

There were a further 12 items from the authors specifically about circumstances regarding COVID-19 at the time of the survey. Participants answered questions about the length of time spent distancing from others, level of compliance with local regulations, primary news sources, whether physical distancing was voluntary or mandatory, how many people are in their household, work availability, methods of communication, feelings of personal risk of contracting COVID-19, possible changes in behavior, coping methods, stressors, and whether there are children over the age of 18 staying in the home.

This study was submitted to the Cabrini University Institutional Review Board and approval was obtained in March 2020. Researchers recruited a sample of people that varied by age, gender, and ethnicity by identifying potential participants across academic and non-academic settings using professional contact lists. A “snowball” approach to data gathering was used. The researchers sent the survey to a broad group of adults and requested that the participants send the survey to others they felt would be interested in taking part in research. Recipients received an email that contained a description of the purpose of the study and how the data would be used. Included at the end of the email was a link to the online survey that first presented the study’s consent form. Participants acknowledged informed consent and agreed to participate by opening and completing the survey.

At the end of the survey, participants were given the opportunity to supply an email to participate in a longitudinal study which consists of completing surveys at later dates. In addition, the sample was asked to forward the survey to their contacts who might be interested. Overall, the study took ~10 min to complete.

Demographics

Participants were 309 adults who ranged in age from 18 to 84 ( M  = 38.54, s  = 18.27). Data was collected beginning in 2020 from late March until early April. At the time of data collection distancing mandates were in place for 64.7% and voluntary for 34.6% of the sample, while 0.6% lived in places which had not yet outlined any pandemic mitigation policies. The average length of time distancing was slightly more than 2 weeks ( M  = 14.91 days, s  = 4.5) with 30 days as the longest reported time.

The sample identified mostly as female (80.3%), with males (17.8%) and those who preferred not to answer (1.9%) representing smaller numbers. The majority of the sample identified as Caucasian (71.5%). Other ethnic identities reported by participants included Hispanic/Latinx, African-American/Black, Asian/East Asian, Jewish/Jewish White-Passing, Multiracial/Multiethnic, and Country of Origin (Table 1 ). Individuals resided in the United States and Europe.

The majority of the sample lived in households with others (Fig. 1 ). More than one-third (36.7%) lived with one other person, 19.7% lived with two others, and 21% lived with three other people. People living alone comprised 12.1% of the sample. When asked about the presence of children under 18 years of age in the home, 20.5% answered yes.

Figure shows how many additional individuals live in the participant’s household in March 2020.

The highest level of education attained ranged from completion of lower secondary school (0.3%) to doctoral level (6.8%). Two thirds of the sample consisted of individuals with a Bachelor’s degree or above (Table 2 ).

Participants were asked to provide their occupation. The largest group identified themselves as professionals (26.5%), while 38.6% reported their field of work (Table 3 ). Students comprised 23.1% of the sample, while 11.1% reported that they were retired. Some of the occupations reported by the sample included nurses and physicians, lawyers, psychologists, teachers, mental health professionals, retail sales, government work, homemakers, artists across types of media, financial analysts, hairdresser, and veterinary support personnel. One person indicated that they were unemployed prior to the pandemic.

Social isolation and demographics

Spearman’s rank-order correlations were used to examine relationships between the three Likert scale items from the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale that measure social isolation. Feeling isolated from others was significantly correlated with lacking companionship ( r s = 0.45, p  < 0.001) and feeling left out ( r s = 0.43, p  < 0.001). The items related to lacking companionship and feeling left out were also significantly correlated ( r s = 0.39, p  < 0.001).

Kruskal–Wallis tests were conducted to determine if the variables of time in required distancing and age were each related to the three levels of social isolation (hardly, sometimes, often). There were no significant findings between perceived social isolation and length of time in required distancing, χ 2 (2) = 0.024, p  = 0.98.

A significant relationship was found between perceived social isolation and age, χ 2 (2) = 27.36, p  < 0.001). Subsequently, pairwise comparisons were performed using Dunn’s procedure with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Adjusted p values are presented. Post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences in age between those with high levels of social isolation (Mdn = 25) and some social isolation (Mdn = 31) ( p  = <0.001) and low isolation (Mdn = 46) ( p  = 0.002). Higher levels of social isolation were associated with younger age.

Age was then grouped (18–29, 30–49, 50–69, 70+) and a significant relationship was found between social isolation and age, χ 2 (3) = 13.78, p  = 0.003). Post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences in perceived social isolation across age groups. The youngest adults (age 18–29) reported significantly higher social isolation (Mdn = 2.4) than the two oldest groups (50–69 year olds: Mdn = 1.6, p  = 004); age 70 and above: Mdn = 1.57), p  = 0.01). The difference between the youngest adults and the next youngest (30–49) was not significant ( p  = 0.09).

When asked if participants feel personally at risk for contracting SARS-CoV-2 61.2% reported that they feel at risk. A Mann–Whitney U test was conducted to compare social isolation experienced by those who reported feeling at risk and those who did not feel at risk. Individuals who feel at risk for infection reported more social isolation (Mdn = 2.0) than those that do not feel at risk (Mdn = 1.75), U  = 9377, z  = −2.43, p  = 0.015.

Social isolation and life satisfaction

The relationship between level of social isolation and overall life satisfaction were examined using Kruskal–Wallis tests as the measure consisted of Likert-type items (Table 4 ).

Overall life satisfaction was significantly lower for those who reported greater social isolation ( χ 2 (2) = 50.56, p  < 0.001). Post hoc analysis revealed statistically significant differences in life satisfaction scores between those with high levels of social isolation (Mdn = 2.82) and some social isolation (Mdn = 3.04) ( p  ≤ 0.001) and between high and low isolation (Mdn = 3.47) ( p  ≤ 0.001), but not between high levels of social isolation and some social isolation ( p  = 0.09).

The pandemic added concern about access to resources such as food and 68% of the sample reported stress related to availability of resources. A significant relationship was found between social isolation and satisfaction with access to food, χ 2 (2) = 21.92, p  < 0.001). Individuals reporting high levels of social isolation were the least satisfied with their food situation. Statistical difference were evident between high social isolation (Mdn = 3.28) and some social isolation (Mdn = 3.46) ( p  = 0.003) and between high and low isolation (Mdn = 3.69) ( p  < 0.001). Reporting higher levels of social isolation is associated with lower satisfaction with food.

As a result of stay at home orders, many participants were spending more time in their residences than prior to the pandemic. A significant relationship was found between social isolation and housing satisfaction, χ 2 (2) = 10.33, p  = 0.006). Post hoc analysis revealed statistically a significant difference in housing satisfaction between those with high levels of social isolation (Mdn = 3.49) and low social isolation (Mdn = 3.75) ( p  = 0.006). Higher levels of social isolation is associated with lower levels of satisfaction with housing.

Work life changed for many participants and 22% of participants reported job loss as a result of the pandemic. A significant relationship was found between social isolation and work satisfaction, χ 2 (2) = 21.40, p  < 0.001). Post hoc analysis revealed individuals reporting high social isolation reported much lower satisfaction with work (Mdn = 2.53) than did those reporting low social isolation (Mdn = 3.27) ( p  < 0.001) and moderate social isolation (Mdn = 3.03) ( p  = 0.003).

Social isolation and trust of institutions

The relationship between social isolation and connection to community was measured using a Kruskal–Wallis test. A significant relationship was found between feelings of social isolation and connection to community ( χ 2 (2) = 13.97, p  = 0.001. Post hoc analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in connection to community such that the group reporting higher social isolation (Mdn = 2.27, p  = 0.001) reports less connection to their community than the group reporting low social isolation (Mdn = 2.93).

A significant relationship was found between social isolation and trust of central government institutions, χ 2 (2) = 10.46, p  = 0.005). Post hoc analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in trust of central government between individuals reporting low social isolation (Mdn = 2.91) and those reporting high social isolation (Mdn = 2.32) ( p  = 0.008) and moderate social isolation (Mdn = 2.48) ( p  = 0.03). There was less trust of central government for the group reporting high social isolation. However, distrust of central government did not extend to local government institutions. There was no significant difference in trust of local government for low, moderate, and high social isolation groups, χ 2 (2) = 5.92, p  = 0.052.

Trust levels of business was significantly different between groups that differed in feelings of social isolation, χ 2 (2) = 9.58, p  = 0.008). Post hoc analysis revealed more trust of business institutions for the low social isolation group (Mdn = 3.10) compared to the group reporting high social isolation (Mdn = 2.62) ( p  = 0.007).

Sixty-seven participants reported loss of a job as a result of COVID-19. A Mann–Whitney U test was conducted to compare social isolation experienced by those who had lost their job to those who had not. Individuals who experienced job loss reported more social isolation (Mdn = 2.26) than those that did not lose their job (Mdn = 1.80), U  = 5819.5, z  = −3.66 , p  < 0.001.

Stress related to caring for an elderly family member was identified by 12% of the sample. A Mann–Whitney U test was conducted to compare social isolation experienced by those who reported that caring for an elderly family member is a stressor to those who had not. There was no significant finding, U  = 4483, z  = −1.28, p  = 0.20. Similarly, there was no significant effect for caring for a child, U  = 3568.5, z  = −0.48, p  = 0.63.

Coping strategies

Participants were asked to check off whether they were using virtual communication, exercise, going outdoors, and/or substances in order to cope with the challenges of distancing during pandemic. A Mann–Whitney U test was conducted to compare social isolation experienced by those who used substances as a coping strategy and those that did not. Individuals who reported substance use reported more social isolation (Mdn = 2.12) than those that did not (Mdn = 1.80), U  = 6724, z  = −2.01, p  = 0.04.

There was no significant difference on Mann–Whitney U test for social isolation between those individuals who went outdoors to cope with pandemic versus those that did not, U  = 5416, z  = −0.72, p  = 0.47. Similarly, there was no difference in social isolation between those individuals who used exercise as a coping tool and those that did not. Finally, there was no difference in social isolation between those that used virtual communication tools and those that did not, U  = 7839.5, z  = −0.56, p  = 0.58. The only coping strategy which was significantly associated with social isolation was substance use.

While research has explored the subjective experience of social isolation, the novel experience of mass physical distancing as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic suggests that social isolation is a significant factor in the public health crisis. The experience of social isolation has been examined in older populations but less often in middle-age and younger adults (Brooks et al., 2020 ; Smith and Lim, 2020 ). Perceived social isolation is related to numerous negative outcomes related to both physical and mental health (Bhatti and Haq, 2017 ; Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010 , Victor et al., 2000 ; Xia and Li, 2018 ). Our findings indicate that younger adults in their 20s reported more social isolation than did those individuals aged 50 and older during physical distancing. This supports the findings of Nyqvist et al. ( 2016 ) that found teenagers and young adults in Finland reported greater loneliness than did older adults.

The experience of social isolation is related to a reduction in life satisfaction. Previous research has shown that feelings of social connection are related to general life satisfaction in older adults (Hawton et al., 2011 , Hughes et al., 2004 , Mellor et al., 2008 ; Victor et al., 2000 , Xia and Li, 2018 ). These findings indicate that perceived social isolation can be a significant mediator in life satisfaction and well-being across the adult lifespan during a global health crisis. Individuals reporting higher levels of social isolation experience less satisfaction with the conditions in their home.

During mandated “stay-at-home” conditions, the experience of work changed for many people. For many adults work is an essential aspect of identity and life satisfaction. The experience of individuals reporting elevated social isolation was also related to lower satisfaction with work. This study included a wide span of occupations involving both individuals required to work from home and essential workers continuing to work outside the home. Further, ~22% of the sample ( n  = 67) reported job loss as a stressor related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and reported elevated social isolation. As institutions and businesses consider whether remote work is an economically viable alternative to face-to-face offices once physical distancing mandates are ended, the needs of workers for social interaction should be considered.

Further, individuals reporting higher social isolation also indicated less connection to their community and lower satisfaction with environmental factors such as housing and food. Findings indicate that higher perceived social isolation is associated with broad dissatisfaction across social and life domains and perceptions of personal risk from COVID-19. This supports research that identified a relationship between social isolation and health-related quality of life outcomes (Hawton et al., 2011 , Victor et al., 2000 ). Perceptions of elevated social isolation are related to lower life satisfaction in functional and social domains.

Perceived social isolation is likewise related to trust of some institutions. While there was no effect for local government, individuals with higher perceived social isolation reported less trust of central government and of business. There is an association between higher levels of perceived social isolation and less connection to the community, lower life satisfaction, and less trust of large-scale institutions such as central government and businesses. As a result, the individuals who need the most support may be the most suspicious of the effectiveness of those institutions.

Coping strategies related to exercise, time spent outdoors, and virtual communication were not related to social isolation. However, individuals who reported using substances as a coping strategy reported significantly higher social isolation than did the group who did not indicate substance use as a coping strategy. Perceived social isolation was associated with negative coping rather than positive coping. This study shows that clinicians and health care providers should ask about coping strategies in order to provide effective supports for individuals.

There are several limitations that may limit the generalizability of the findings. The study is heavily female and this may have an effect on findings. In addition, the majority of the sample has a post-secondary degree and, as such, this study may not accurately reflect the broad experience of individuals during pandemic. Further, it cannot be ruled out that individuals reporting high levels of perceived social isolation may have experienced some social isolation prior to the pandemic.

Conclusions

In conclusion, this study suggests that perceived social isolation is a significant element of health-related quality of life during pandemic. Perceived social isolation is not just an issue for older adults. Indeed, young adults appear to be suffering greatly from the distancing required to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The experience of social isolation is associated with poor life satisfaction across domains, work-related stress, lower trust of institutions such as central government and business, perceived personal risk for COVID-19, and higher levels of use of substances as a coping strategy. Measuring the degree of perceived social isolation is an important addition to wellness assessments. Stress and social isolation can impact health and immune function and so reducing perceived social isolation is essential during a time when individuals require strong immune function to fight off a novel virus. Further, it is anticipated that these widespread effects may linger as the uncertainty of the virus continues. As a result, we plan to follow participants for at least a year to examine the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the well-being of adults.

Data availability

The dataset generated during and analyzed during the current study is not publicly available due to ethical restrictions and privacy agreements between the authors and participants.

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Home > History Community Special Collections > Remembering COVID-19 Community Archive > Community Reflections > 21

Community Reflections

My life experience during the covid-19 pandemic.

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Class assignment, Western Civilization (Dr. Marino).

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current events conversation

What Students Are Saying About Living Through a Pandemic

Teenage comments in response to our recent writing prompts, and an invitation to join the ongoing conversation.

By The Learning Network

The rapidly-developing coronavirus crisis is dominating global headlines and altering life as we know it. Many schools worldwide have closed. In the United States alone, 55 million students are rapidly adjusting to learning and socializing remotely, spending more time with family, and sacrificing comfort and convenience for the greater good.

For this week’s roundup of student comments on our writing prompts , it was only fitting to ask teenagers to react to various dimensions of this unprecedented situation: how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting their daily lives, how we can all help one another during the crisis and what thoughts or stories the term “social distancing” conjures for them.

Every week, we shout out new schools who have commented on our writing prompts. This week, perhaps because of many districts’ move to remote online learning, we had nearly 90 new classes join us from around the world. Welcome to the conversation to students from:

Academy of St. Elizabeth; Abilene, Tex.; Alabama; Anna High School, Tex.; Arlington, Va.; Austria-Hungary; Baltimore, Md.; Bellingham, Wash.; Ben Lippen School; Bloomington, Ind.; Branham High School, San Jose, Calif.; Boston; Buffalo High School, Wyo.; Camdenton, Mo.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Collierville, Tenn.; Dawson High School, Tex.; Denmark; Desert Vista High School; Doylestown, Penn.; Dublin, Calif.; Dunkirk, N.Y. ; Eleanor Murray Fallon Middle School; Elmhurst, Ill.; Fairfax, Va.; Framingham, Mass.; Frederick, Md.; Hartford, Conn.; Jefferson, N.J.; Kantonschule Uster, Switzerland; Laconia, N.H.; Las Vegas; Lashon Academy; Lebanon, N.H.; Ledyard High School; Leuzinger High School; Livonia, Mich.; Manistee Middle School; Miami, Fla.; Melrose High School; Milton Hershey School, Hershey, Penn.; Milwaukee; Montreal; Naguabo, Puerto Rico; Nebraska; Nessacus Regional Middle School; New Rochelle, N.Y.; Newport, Ky.; Newton, Mass.; North Stanly High School; Oakland, Calif.; Papillion Middle School; Polaris Expeditionary Learning School; Pomona, Calif.; Portsmouth, N.H.; Pueblo, Colo.; Reading, Mass.; Redmond Wash.; Richland, Wash.; Richmond Hill Ontario; Ridgeley, W.Va.; Rockford, Mich.; Rovereto, Italy; Salem, Mass.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Seattle, Wash.; Sequoyah School Pasadena; Shackelford Junior High, Arlington, Tex.; South El Monte High School; Sugar Grove, Ill.; St. Louis, Mo.; Timberview High School; Topsfield, Mass.; Valley Stream North High School; Vienna, Va.; Waupun, Wis.; Wauwatosa, Wis.; Wenatchee, Wash.; Westborough Mass.; White Oak Middle School, Ohio; and Winter Park High School.

We’re so glad to have you here! Now, on to this week’s comments.

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.

How Is the Coronavirus Outbreak Affecting Your Life?

The coronavirus has changed how we work, play and learn : Schools are closing, sports leagues have been canceled, and many people have been asked to work from home.

We asked students how their lives have changed since the onset of this pandemic. They told us about all the things they miss, what it’s like to learn online, and how they’re dealing with the uncertainty. But, they also pointed out the things that have brought them joy and peace amid the chaos.

Life as we know it, upended

Yesterday my school district announced that our school would be closed until May 5. Upon receiving the email, I immediately contacted my friends to share our responses. To most of my friends and me, this news was no surprise. Already finishing week one of quarantine, I find myself in a state of pessimism in regards to life in the midst of a pandemic. My days have blurred into Google Classroom assignments, hobby seeking, aimless searching on Netflix, and on exceptionally boring days, existential contemplation.

The dichotomy of chance freedom from school and yet the discombobulated feelings of helplessness and loneliness plague my time home alone. My parents are yet working and as an only child, I try my best to stay sane with blasting music and shows. Other times I call my friends to pass the time doing school assignments. Even then, schoolwork seems increasingly pointless.

With most of my classes being APs, the recent CollegeBoard update for the 2020 AP exams was a blow to my educational motivation. I am naturally a driven, passionate learner with intense intellectual curiosity. But in the midst of this chaos, I can’t help feeling like all the assignments from my classes are just busywork. I manage to stay afloat, keeping in mind that everyone is doing their best. Despite no ostensible end in sight, I hope this quarantine brings out the best in me, in society, and in nature.

— Brenda Kim, Valencia High School

The struggles (and joys) of distance learning

Although we do have online school now, it is not the same. Working from home is worse as I don’t care to admit, my work habits from home are not the best. I am easily able to procrastinate at home and having class in bed is not the best idea. Plus, I can no longer get the one on one help teachers provide if needed.

— larisa, california

The coronavirus affected me because now having to do school virtually is kinda hard because I don’t have much of a good wi-fi, and its nerve-racking to know about what we’re gonna do about the tests we have to take in order to pass because I do care about graduating, and going to next grade in order to keep going to finally graduate school and get my diploma I just hope this virus doesn’t affect anything else besides school.

— julien phillips, texas

I personally have to do 2-3 hours of work a day instead of the usual 8 hours (including homework), and it feels more tiring somehow. I’m in the comfort of my home all the time, but have to do this for a few hours, and it feels much more monotonous than 8 hours in a classroom, and that’s what everybody has been doing for a lot of their life.

But in that sense, it also feels a lot calmer not being around people constantly, having anxiety and autism. The people in classrooms are insane. It didn’t affect my life negatively by much, but it really makes me think. If the school system were like this in the near future, I think it would be much more sustainable, in many ways.

— Alexen, Lawrence, Massachusetts

I never understood how much social interaction I experienced at school until the end of the first week of my self quarantine. I had been trapped in my house with my family for about 5 days at that point, when my AP Language and Composition class had a Zoom conference. I had done them for other classes so I wasn’t exactly excited for the opportunity. It was just another zoom lecture.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a lecture, it was a conversation. It was a discussion about our last current events assignment that I didn’t know I desperately needed. The conversation was explosive. Differing opinions flew left and right, people brought their cats to join in the fun, family members popped in and out of the frames, and the controlled chaos felt incredible. I relished in the opportunity to argue and challenge their opinions. I didn’t even realize how isolated I was feeling until I was able to talk to them in a creative and intellectual setting once again.

— Yaffa Segal, New Rochelle High School

Finding new ways to socialize

Finding new ways to stay social has been essential, and recently, my friends and I all drove our cars to a large parking lot, parked more than 6 feet apart from each other, sat in our trunks, talked and enjoyed each other’s company for over an hour and a half. This was crucial in keeping our sanity. We missed each other and being in the presence of people other than our family; however, we were sure to maintain our distance and continue social distancing. We did not touch anything new and we stayed more than 6 feet apart from each other speaking about the adjustments we have been making and the ways we have been coping with all of the changes we are experiencing.

— Carly Rieger, New Rochelle High School

…[T]his “corona-cation” has given me a lot of time to reflect, and while I haven’t seen my friends in person for a week and half, I feel closer to them than ever. We’ve FaceTimed almost every day and we play some of our favorite group games; Psych and PhotoRoulette are two apps I highly recommend to have fun from the comfort of everyone’s homes.

Because my mom has a weak immune system, I’ve been quarantined since the moment my school closed, so social distancing has been a little more than 6 feet for me. However, my friends did make me a care package filled with my favorite candy and a puzzle which my family completed in a week.

— Jessica Griffin, Glenbard West HS Glen Ellyn, IL

Mourning canceled events

To say that this virus has completely changed my day to day living would just be an understatement. I went from having things to do from 7:20am to 8:45pm every week day to absolutely nothing. The whole month of March was going to be booked as well. I had activities such as the Wilmington Marathon that I work at and the Masters Swim meet that I was going to volunteer for. Then I had a club swim meet but everything got canceled. Everything that I was looking forward to just came to a halt and nothing is going to be postponed, just canceled.

— Ellen Phillips, Hoggard

As a High School senior, this quarantine has seemed to just chop off the fun part of our senior year. We had made it so far, and were so close to getting to experience all of the exciting events and traditions set aside for seniors. This includes our graduation, prom (which is a seniors only event at my school), senior picnic, theme weeks, and much more.

— Cesar, Los Angeles

Like many other students involved in their school theatre programs, I was severely affected by the closing of schools due the growing pandemic. My theatre company had been rehearsing our play for months and in an instant, we were no longer allowed to work on our show. The Texas UIL One-Act Play Contest was postponed because of the coronavirus, and while it is a reasonable action, it left an army of theatre students with nothing to do but vent through memes, TikTok, and other forms of social media. These coping mechanisms helped me, as well as my fellow company members, process the reality that after all the hard work we put in, we may never get to perform for an audience.

— Ryan C, Dawson High School

Living with mental, emotional and financial strain

The coronavirus is having a pretty significant impact on me. Physically, it’s reducing my daily physical activity to the point where the most exercise I get is walking around my house and dancing around my room to songs that make me feel like I’m not in the middle of a pandemic. Emotionally, it has also been very straining. My mom is a substitute teacher and she is out of work for the rest of the school year with no pay. I myself am missing my closest friends a lot right now, and feel lonely often.

— Sela Jasim, Branham High School

I struggle a lot with mental health. I have had depression and ptsd, as well as anxiety for years. Seeing people outside of my family is what keeps me sane, especially those closest to me. Having to FaceTime my therapist is weird and scary. Things are so different now, and I’m slowly losing motivation. My thoughts recently have been “don’t think about it” when I think of how long this could possibly last. I am scared for my grandparents, who live across the country. I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with them and I’m losing my chance. Everything is weird. I can’t find a better way to describe it without being negative. This is a really strange time and I don’t like it. I’m trying my hardest to stay positive but that has never been one of my strong suits.

— Caileigh Robinson, Bellingham, Washington

My mom is a nurse so she has to face the virus, in fact today she is at work, her unit is also the unit that will be taking care of coronavirus patients. My whole family is very afraid that she will get very sick.

— Maddie H., Maryland

Appreciating the good

Although we are going through a horrific time filled with all kinds of uncertainty, we are given the opportunity to spend more time with our loved family and learn more about ourselves to a broader extent while also strengthening our mental mindset. I can’t stress the amount of frustration I have to return to class and my everyday routine however, I’ve learned to become stronger mentality while also becoming creative on how I live my life without being surrounded by tons of people everyday.

— anthony naranjo, Los Angeles

Although I could list all the negatives that come with Covid-19, being a junior in high school, this quarantine has been a really nice calm break from a life that seemed to never stop. A break from 35 hour school weeks along with 15 hours worth of work, being able to sit down and do hobbies I missed is something I am really appreciating.

— Ella Fredrikson, Glenbard West, Glen Ellyn, IL

An upside to these past weeks of quarantine is being able to see my usually busy family more, especially my father. I’ve had more talks and laughs with my family the last few days than I’ve had in the past couple of months, which helped lighten such a stressful time in my opinion.

— Marlin Flores, Classical High School

Several months before the outbreak my mom randomly asked me what would I study if I could choose anything, not for a grade, not for any credit. Now, because of corona, I am learning Greek with my father! He can’t travel for work now and doesn’t attend meetings as frequently, so he is at home too.

— Lily, Seoul, Korea

How Can We Help One Another During the Coronavirus Outbreak?

In a series of recent Times articles , authors wrote about the need for solidarity and generosity in this time of fear and anxiety and the need for Americans to make sacrifices to ensure their safety and that of others in their community.

So we asked students what they and their friends, family and community could do to help and look out for one another during the coronavirus outbreak. Here is what they said:

Help your neighbors, especially the sick and elderly.

There are so many things we can do to help each other during this pandemic. Use gloves when you go shopping or are in public, masks if you think that it would be best for you, those who have more wiggle room financially can help out others who don’t have that same wiggle room financially and who are now struggling, buy groceries for those who can’t afford it or are at risk if they were to go out in public. Donate if you can, and help the elderly or those who desperately need it, and for goodness sake wash your hands and (for all that need to hear the reminder) SOCIAL DISTANCING IS A FRIEND. Social distancing is proven to help drastically, so please, social distance.

— Dakodah, Camdenton, MO

As a person, we have the ability to help our friends, families, elders, people with illnesses in our community and people with high risks of getting the virus. We can accomplish this by simply observing who may need help with shopping, for groceries or clothes, with yard work, or any kind of outside work that is done where there are rooms full of people, such as going to the bank. As a younger person and a person with a low risk of getting the virus, I have the capability to walk to places and go in and out of buildings with a smaller chance of getting the virus as compared to one of my elder neighbors. My friends and I can go around the neighborhood and see who needs help during this hard time, whether I have to give them money or food to help them out.

— Adrianna P, New York

Many elderly people in my vicinity suffer from chronic conditions and illnesses and there are others who often live alone. Going to the grocery store or the pharmacy can also be hassle for many. Due to the recent pandemic, people are stocking up necessities however, some people are not being practical and overstock, not leaving anything for others. Fights are breaking out in grocery stores and this is a dangerous situation to put the elderly in.

— Sydney, B

In our American society we tend to be very individualistic. This pandemic has truly proved that point as people do not care for other but themselves. During this time we should consider not only ourselves but the people in need, which are the elderly and young children. Instead of hoarding all the food share some with a neighbor or an old person that doesn’t quite have the ability to run around store to store grabbing what they can. Make sure when you feel ill or if a family member feels ill to stay contained in your home. If this is not an option you could always take your ideas to social media, posting ways to stay clean and making sure we support the people who need it.

— Marley Gutierrez, Pomona, CA

Stay connected.

We could help one another just by the simple ways of: texting your friends every now and then and keep them in check and give them positive reinforcements; call your far away family and report to them on how you are doing and make sure that they are doing OK as well; help elders that are not safe to go out by running errands for them.

— Xammy Yang, California

It’s really important for everyone to stay in contact with others. Be open to talking to people you don’t necessarily talk to all the time just so you can fulfill your own social requirements. It’s also important to listen to others and take into account their feelings. We are all in a time of stress and anxiety about the unknown and we have to just go with the flow and wait it out. I’m stressed about possibly missing milestones in my life, like prom and graduation, but there are others suffering. We all just need to be prepared, stay healthy, and reach out to others.

— Elysia P., Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, IL

Stay apart.

The most important thing one can do during this time of uncertainty is to protect oneself, that is how one can protect others. By practicing social distancing, the risk of spreading germs or disease is reduced. From within one’s home, much can be done. Keeping in touch with close friends and family, donating money and food to those in need and not hoarding or stockpiling too much are all things one could do to support one’s community. Every little thing counts.

— Francheska M-Q, Valley Stream North

Honestly, as boring as it sounds, staying home is the best way we can help against the coronavirus. The second best in my opinion would be spreading the word and encouraging others to wash their hands often and to not go in large groups. Our number one priority should be protecting the elderly and people more vulnerable to getting the disease, or more likely for it to be fatal. If I were to get the virus, my chances of death would be very low, but I would be most worried about accidentally passing on the virus to an elderly person who might not be so lucky. Staying home, clean, and avoiding large groups is the safest and best way for us to help in efforts against the coronavirus.

— Christian Cammack, Hoggard High School In Wilmington, NC

Stay informed.

During this time of crisis, seeking accurate information should remain people’s main focus. Reading articles from trusted sources such as the CDC and New York Times rather than sensationalized media that spreads false rumors for attention will improve reactions to this scary situation because it has the potential to reduce panic and allow people to find ways proven to slow the spread of the virus.

— Argelina J., NY

Donate to those in need.

We can help one another during the virus break by doing online donations to people who need it the most, not taking supplies that you know you don’t need, and/or offering online support for those who have relatives that have the virus and want someone to talk to. We, as a community, can keep distance and update each other on the constant updating news.

— Marisa Mohan<3, NY

… donate food to food banks or homeless shelters. Food is even more of a necessity right now, so it is crucial that everyone has what they need because some people get their food from school or from work, which isn’t available at the moment. Finally, even if we feel we’re healthy and we’re not afraid to get the Coronavirus, it is very vital to participate in social distancing because it will help society overall.

— Bridget McBride, Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, IL

Encourage positivity.

In my opinion, we should all do our best to help and encourage each other with healthy habits and staying positive. Too many people are worried about the coronavirus. What will happen because of this is more stress and anxiety. In turn, this leads to people stocking up on products and taking resources from other people who need them. As long as we all contribute and help one another, we will be able to keep things under control.

— Mieko, CA

Learn lessons for future preparedness.

I believe that this horrible trouble we are all put into is teaching our younger generations such as me, to be prepared when these unexpected events happen. We can help the elders and take care of them because if we don’t prepare next time then we will struggle to survive if the coronavirus becomes a long term thing. This situation is also bringing our communities together, or at least teaching us to. We can learn to share resources that maybe we have to much of. Just a couple days ago, my grandma had ran out of cleaning supplies and she didn’t have a working car at the time. My family and I decided to give her some of our extra supplies since we stocked up on so much. I believe that we can definitely use this time to help our minds grow and learn new things.

— Becky Alonso, CA

Things we shouldn’t do

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” -Hippocrates This quote describes my opinion of the COVID-19 crisis. Our communities must make sacrifices in order to overcome the trials we are facing. Instead of describing what we should do, I am going to shortly convey examples of what our local communities shouldn’t do. We shouldn’t panic. Panic causes the nervous system to spark and will create unsettling emotions that will produce nothing helpful for the situation at hand. We shouldn’t buy abundant amounts of resources unless instructed to. Please be considerate towards these people because they probably are struggling a lot more than you at the moment. We should be mindful of others. I am not saying we have to interact with everyone (DO NOT DO THAT), but I am saying we should be kind when we do interact.

— Adrianna Waterford, Bloomington, IN

What Story Could This Image Tell?

In our Picture Prompt, “ Social Distancing, ” we asked students to write memoirs and poems inspired by the illustration above, or tell a short story from the perspective of one of the people pictured. In prose and poetry, they expressed a range of responses to the pandemic , from fear, panic and anxiety to resilience and hope.

Creative short stories

From the perspective of the Binocular guy:

I thought social distancing would be great, no one would bother me or interrupt my work. But actually doing it makes me realize that those things, those pains in my neck that would annoy me, are the things I miss the most. I miss the smell of Phyllis’s choking perfume. I miss Michael pacing around the office. I miss the way that Pam would bite her pen when she was focusing. I miss people. Now that I’m alone in my apartment, I hunger for human interaction. I have taken to staring out the window at people walking past and imagining the conversations they have. Oh how I wish to be a part of them, but I can’t risk going outside. I thought my window would cure my loneliness, but it has only made it worse. Social distancing has hurt me more than any virus could.

— Andrew B., Abilene

It’s another day in the city. Car horns honking, people scurrying over town, and there I am. No, not that person or the other. In the upper left corner. Do you see me? Yes, you found me! The only creature not on a screen. I have never understood why they sit there and look at their own devices. I enjoy sitting on the roof and looking at others. People watching is my favorite, but the only thing that most people are watching is a tiny screen. Everyone is wrapped up in their circumstances. Sick in bed with their computer, walking down the stairs with a device. But I’ll be here, waiting for someone to notice me — just the dog on the rooftop.

— Hope Heinrichs, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Opening to short story for the homeless man:

It’s so cold out today. My blanket is the only that is keeping me partially warm. Before today, my HELP sign got me a few dimes. That way I could buy some food. But today, the streets are empty. The only people passing by either have masks covering their face or run past me with their hands full of food and supplies. I wonder what’s going on?

— Ariel S., Los Angeles

Cold: That’s all he feels as he’s reclining on a random door.

Scared: That’s what he wants to avoid feeling as he sees people coughing around him.

Alone: That’s what he is as he wanders from place to place, looking for somewhere to spend the night.

Worried: That the door’s owner might make him leave his only sanctuary.

Pity: That’s the emotion he evokes on the few that are brave enough to wander the streets.

Remorse: That’s the emotion that the passersby show when they refuse to stop to help.

Cold: That’s all he feels as he realizes that he has no one.

— Laura Arbona, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Memoirs in the time of coronavirus

Trapped. The walls are closing in. Someone coughs from outside, I immediately close the blinds and clorox the window. The television is on loud. The person on the other end of the line of dad’s phone is obviously deaf because dad is yelling into our end. In line for the computer, I have been waiting for two hours.

— Allison Coble, Hoggard High School

It all began with just one human. After days there where more and more infected people and everything started to be different. We all thought it isn’t that bad and China is the only one who suffers but we were absolutely wrong … Now there are too much cities which are in quarantine and there are about 16 thousand deaths. I’m scared. And I can#t do anything than staying at home and pray. I often watch videos and try to distract myself. When people ask me what has changed I can say: Everything. The human has changed. The human attitude has changed. Just everything. It’s not surprising for me if you can’t find toilet paper or water. The people are going crazy because of this virus. They know that they can be in danger fast if they just make one false decision. In this time we all have our anxiety. Either we are scared of being infected or we are scared that a loved one is infected.

— jana.hhg, Germany

This pic remind to me that we live in this period. Under from the outbreak of pandemic’s coronavirus, we stop to go out in order to avoid each social contact. So, we stay our home every day, all day. Most of the people stop working regularly and they work from home. The schools and other utilities are closed down and remain still open grocery stores and services for essential products. The whole world is in quarantine. Our effort to be uninfected is captured from this pic.

— Joanna, Greece

This photo shows that even in a time where socializing is not advising, humans are naturally social and are still coexisting in this time of distancing. The way the artist drew this made me feel a sense of separation but also togetherness at the same time, which is similar to the way I feel now. We’re all living our different lives with different situations and yet, we’re all somewhat connected.

— Ella Shynett, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Its Day 3 of quarantine and its starting to hit. This picture shows us how people are pretty much keeping as much distance away from people as possible. They’re still living their lives normally, just alone. But at my house it’s anything but normal. Every time I touch a light switch, my mom swoops in and wipes it down with a Clorox wipe. When I have to itch my nose, my mom screams at me. But I know deep down she’s just trying to keep me and my sister safe from the virus. She mainly wants to protect my grandma, who is very vulnerable at this time. Its gonna take some time to adjust to this type of living, not seeing friends in person for weeks, or just going to starbucks. But I know that it will all pass in no time and we can go back to living our normal lives. I actually can’t wait for school to start for once.

— Dean, Glenbard West Highschool

Stuck inside with nothing to do I’m really bored can’t think of anything at all :/. All I can do is homework woohoo Cant see my friends all I can do is call Trying to get it all done before its due With this virus I sadly can’t even go to the mall Thinking of you and you and you Can’t wait to go back to school and walk the fourth grade hall!

— Isabella V Grade 4, Jefferson Township, NJ

Poem by The Lady Running With Toilet Paper:

TP TP Why do people have to hoard it It’s the coronavirus, not diarrhea Don’t’ jack up the prices, I can’t afford it One pack, that’s it It’s all I could find To those hoarding the toilet paper You make me lose my hope in mankind

As I rush down the vacant street I pass by some stores Some open, some closed As I scramble past the doors No one seems to be coughing But I can feel it in the air A dull creeping paranoia Assembling into a scare

Up the stairs I make sure to not touch anything Don’t forget to use your elbows Don’t touch the key ring In through the door, drop the TP, wash my hands Wipe down the counter, wipe down the door Make sure to cancel any plans

Sit in solitude Turn on the TV and watch the news All I’m able to think is, “Oh god we’re screwed!”

— Ellinor Jonasson, Minnesota

Is social distancing impractical, when we live at such close proximity, drink tea with the neighbors, or buy food from the Deli,

You could choose to be stubborn, and get frustrated from being indoors, or you could be compliant, And watch the birds soar,

In the end it’s our choice where we decide to look, The dirty wall to the left, or the canvas on the right,

— Saharsh Satheesh, Collierville High School, Tennessee

Essay on Quarantine Experience

Students are often asked to write an essay on Quarantine Experience in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Quarantine Experience

Introduction.

Quarantine is a time when people stay away from others to prevent the spread of diseases. This essay will share the experiences of different people during their quarantine period, which was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staying at Home

Staying at home was the main part of the quarantine experience. People could not go out except for essential needs. Schools were closed, and students had to study online. Many people also had to work from home. This was a new experience for everyone.

Impact on Mental Health

Quarantine had a big impact on people’s mental health. Many people felt lonely and stressed because they could not meet their friends or family. Others felt anxious because of the fear of the disease. It was a tough time for everyone.

Learning New Skills

On a positive note, many people used this time to learn new skills. Some learned cooking, others took up gardening. Many students took online courses on topics they were interested in. Quarantine gave people time to explore their hobbies.

In conclusion, the quarantine experience was a mix of challenges and opportunities. It was a difficult time, but it also taught us the importance of health, family, and learning. It showed us that we can adapt to new situations and find joy even in tough times.

250 Words Essay on Quarantine Experience

What is quarantine.

Quarantine is a time when people stay away from others to stop the spread of diseases. This usually happens when a person is sick or has been near someone who is sick. It’s a way to keep everyone safe.

Life During Quarantine

Quarantine can be a strange time. It feels like everything has stopped. Schools are closed. Parks are empty. Friends and family are far away. It’s like the world is on pause.

Quarantine can be hard because it’s different from our usual life. We can’t go out and play. We can’t meet our friends. We have to stay at home all the time. But it’s not all bad. There are still many things we can do.

Activities in Quarantine

Quarantine is a good time to try new things. We can read books. We can draw and paint. We can learn to cook. We can watch movies and play games. We can even learn new things online. It’s a time to be creative and have fun at home.

Lessons from Quarantine

Quarantine teaches us many things. It teaches us to be patient. It teaches us to be kind to others. It teaches us to take care of our health. It also teaches us to value the things we have. It makes us realize that even simple things like going to school or playing in the park are very special.

In conclusion, quarantine can be a tough time, but it also gives us a chance to learn and grow. It’s a time to be safe, to be creative, and to appreciate the things we have. It’s a unique experience that teaches us important lessons about life.

500 Words Essay on Quarantine Experience

Quarantine is a term we’ve all become familiar with due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a period when people stay away from others to prevent the spread of diseases. This essay shares the unique experience of quarantine.

Life at Home

Quarantine means a lot of time at home. Most people are not used to staying indoors for such long periods. In the beginning, it felt like a long holiday. People got time to rest, catch up on hobbies, and spend time with family. But, as days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the reality set in. The same walls that once felt cozy started to feel like a prison.

Online Schooling and Work

With quarantine in place, schools and offices shut down. But learning and work didn’t stop. They moved online. Kids started attending school through video calls. Parents worked from their living rooms. It was a new experience for everyone. At first, it was fun. Wearing pajamas to school or work was a dream come true. But, the charm faded away soon. People missed their friends, classmates, and colleagues. They missed the chatter in the hallways and the lunch breaks.

Mental Health

Quarantine has also affected people’s mental health. Being away from friends and not being able to go out can make people feel lonely and sad. It’s important to talk about these feelings. It’s okay to feel low sometimes. But, if these feelings don’t go away, it’s important to seek help. Many helplines and online counseling services are available to help.

On the bright side, quarantine gave people time to learn new skills. Many learned to cook, paint, or play a musical instrument. Some even started their own small businesses from home. It was a time to explore interests outside of school or work.

Quarantine is a unique experience. It has its ups and downs. It has taught us the importance of simple things like going out for a walk or meeting a friend. It has also shown us that we can adapt to new situations. As we move forward, let’s take these lessons with us. Let’s value the little things in life and never stop learning.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Personal Experience With the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of individuals’ daily living. The vulnerability to any epidemic depends on a person’s social and economic status. Some people with underlying medical conditions have succumbed to the disease, while others with stronger immunity have survived (Cohut para.6). Governments have restricted movements and introduced stern measures against violating such health precautions as physical distancing and wearing masks. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to adopt various responses to its effects, such as homeschooling, working from home, and ordering foods and other commodities from online stores.

I have restricted my movements and opted to order foodstuffs and other essential goods online with doorstep delivery services. I like adventure, and before the pandemic, I would go to parks and other recreational centers to have fun. But this time, I am mostly confined to my room studying, doing school assignments, or reading storybooks, when I do not have an in-person session at college. I have also had to use social media more than before to connect with my family and friends. I miss participating in outdoor activities and meeting with my friends. However, it is worth it because the virus is deadly, and I have had to adapt to this new normal in my life.

With the pandemic requiring stern measures and precautions due to its transmission mode, the federal government has done well in handling the matter. One of the positives is that it has sent financial and material aid to individual state and local governments to help people cope up with the economic challenges the pandemic has posed (Solomon para. 8). Another plus for the federal government is funding the COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and distributing the vaccine. Lastly, the government has extended unemployment benefits as a rescue plan to help households with an income of less than $150,000 (Solomon para. 9). Therefore, the federal government is trying its best to handle this pandemic.

The New Jersey government has done all it can to handle this pandemic well, but there are still some areas of improvement. As of March 7, 2021, New Jersey was having the highest number of deaths related to COVID-19, but Governor Phil Murphy’s initial handling of the pandemic attracted praises from many quarters (Stanmyre para. 10). In his early days in office, Gov. Murphy portrayed a sense of competency and calm, but it seems other states adopted much of his policies better than he did, explaining the reduction in the approval ratings. In November 2020, Governor Murphy signed an Executive Order cushioning and protecting workers from contracting COVID-19 at the workplace (Stanmyre para. 12). Therefore, although there are mixed feelings, the NJ government is handling this pandemic well.

Some states have reopened immediately after the vaccination, but this poses a massive risk of spreading the virus. Soon, citizens will begin to neglect the laid down health protocols, which would increase the possibility of the increase of the COVID-19 cases. There is a need for health departments to ensure that the health precautions are followed and campaign on the need to adhere to the guidelines. Some individuals are protesting their states’ economy to be reopened, but that is a rash, ill-informed decision. The threat of the pandemic is still high, and it is not the right time to demand the reopening of the economy yet.

In conclusion, the pandemic has affected individuals, businesses, and governments in many ways. Due to how the virus spreads, physical distancing has become a new normal, with people forced to homeschool or work from home to prevent themselves from contracting the disease. The federal government has done its best to cushion its people from the pandemic’s economic effects through various financial rescue schemes and plans. New Jersey’s government has also done well, although its cases continue to soar as it is the leading state in COVID-19 prevalence. Some states have reopened, while in others, people continue to demand their state governments to open the economy, which would be a risky move.

Works Cited

Cohut, Maria. “COVID-19 at the 1-year Mark: How the Pandemic Has Affected the World.” Medical and Health Information . Web.

Solomon, Rachel. “What is the Federal Government Doing to Help People Impacted by Coronavirus?” Cancer Support Community . Web.

Stanmyre, Matthew. “N.J.’s Pandemic Response Started Strong. Why Has So Much Gone Wrong Since?” 2021. Web.

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1. IvyPanda . "Personal Experience With the COVID-19 Pandemic." September 29, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/personal-experience-with-the-covid-19-pandemic/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Personal Experience With the COVID-19 Pandemic." September 29, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/personal-experience-with-the-covid-19-pandemic/.

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My COVID-19 quarantine experience

October 25, 2020 by Carrie Johnston

It all started last week on October 16, the day before Homecoming.

I was on my way to help distribute the Homecoming issue for the Optimist, and I had plans to work on group projects and hang out with my friends a few hours later.

Like I usually do, I checked my emails to see if I had heard back from any potential sources for my articles, plus start some preliminary research on an interview I would conduct in a couple of days.

As I refreshed my inbox, I received an email with the subject of “Required to quarantine- the next steps.”

When I read that, it felt as if time froze. This email came when cases were spiking across campus, but I tried my best to follow all the guidelines placed by the CDC and the university.

So at first, I was surprised that I was receiving this email in the first place. But then another feeling came rushing in, disappointment.

Due to my exposure to COVID-19 a few days earlier, I had to quarantine during one of the busiest times of my semester. One that also has the most opportunities for me. I would not be able to conduct the interview that I was researching for, and I would not be able to cover the ACU/Stephen F. Austin football game, which I had been looking forward to for months.

As I rushed away from campus and started packing for quarantining at home, I had this feeling of frustration. I let my guard down for a very short time, which was when I was exposed, which would cost me things I had been looking forward to all semester. And that was when the sadness came rushing in.

Around that time, I received a call from my care coordinator. She called to make sure that I received the email and let me know my quarantine’s finer details, like filling out a symptom form daily. But she also called to give me emotional support.

She recognized how hard it is to drop everything and isolate yourself from people for 14 days, so she was there to help and encourage me in whatever way she could. She spoke life into me, and that was what I needed the most at that moment.

After I got off the phone with her, I went straight to the MACCC and got a COVID-19 test, which I have done many times before, then drove four hours to my house where I would be for the remainder of my quarantine.

I am not going to lie, quarantining is tough. It has been easy to lose motivation about doing my work and hard to learn through an online lecture versus being there in person.

I always wished that I was back at school with my friends. I felt that quarantining was pointless since I tested negative on my test and did not show any symptoms. But I needed to continue because I was doing my part to stop the spread at ACU.

The hardest part of the process for me has been isolating from people. To be away from my classmates, my jobs and my friends. I am a very social person, so going days without seeing people or friends is a nightmare for me. Fortunately, my friends, bosses, coworkers and professors have become a support system during this time.

They have checked in on me to make sure I am okay, and my professors have been flexible in my assignments and my online transition. My co-workers at school have helped me by covering shifts and allow me to participate in meetings virtually. My friends have called and texted me, ensuring that I do not feel alone even though I am quarantined. For all of that, I have felt so grateful.

During this quarantine time, I have had plenty of time to reflect and think about things, especially how much I miss being on campus. So I will end with this. I beg everyone to do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19. Wear your masks, social distance and be responsible for your actions. But we have to do it in the same way that we want to experience college, together.

About Carrie Johnston

Other opinion:, burnout: the real acu athletics difference, the root of acu’s love and hate, myacu was renovated over the past few months, but there is still more to be done.

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Quarantine experience of close contacts of COVID-19 patients in China: A qualitative descriptive study

Dandan chen.

a Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

b Medical Faculty, Yunnan College of Business Management, No. 296 Haitun Road, Wuhua District, Kunming, Yunnan, China

Leiwen Tang

c School of Nursing, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

Associated Data

Close contacts of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients may suffer from physical and psychological problems. Few studies have investigated the quarantine experiences of close contacts of COVID-19 patients. The objective of this study was to best capture participants' quarantine experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

A descriptive, qualitative design was used. All interviews were recorded and coded using thematic analysis.

Fifteen participants took part in this study. The following five themes emerged: (1) experience in the early stage of quarantine; (2) experience in the middle stage of quarantine; (3) experience in the late stage of quarantine; (4) self-coping persisted throughout the quarantine period; and (5) external support was evident throughout the quarantine period.

Our study highlights the need to assess the psychological state of close contacts in the early stage of quarantine and to provide psychological support for them, especially for the older and the less educated. Although close contacts had physical symptoms and psychological issues, they adopted positive coping strategies, which indicated that they were vulnerable but strong. Furthermore, external support from the Chinese government helped them cope with the quarantine effectively. Learning from the quarantine experience is expected to help the Chinese government and institutions from other parts of the world to better care for close contacts.

1. Introduction

The epidemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has captured intense attention nationwide and globally. This disease has widely and rapidly spread in China and several other countries. COVID-19 pneumonia is highly contagious, spreading mainly through contact and droplets, and the general population is susceptible. Since the middle of December 2019, person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 has occurred among close contacts. According to the official website of the National Health Commission, as of February 23, 2020, 49,824 people have been confirmed to have COVID-19 infections, and 635,531 have come into close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients in mainland China [ 1 ]. A close contact is defined as a person who has not taken effective protection and has close contact (within 1 m) with confirmed and suspected patients 2 days before symptom onset in suspected and confirmed patients or 2 days before samples of asymptomatic infection are taken [ 2 ]. There has been no doubt that close contacts are more likely to contract COVID-19.

China has made unprecedented efforts in identifying and quarantining close contacts of confirmed patients to control the infection and cut off transmission routes [ 3 ]. Quarantine refers to separating and restricting the movement of people who are exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick, thus reducing their risk of infecting others [ 4 ], whereas isolation means separating infected people from those who do not get the infection. Quarantine is considered to be the first principle of infectious disease control. The primary purpose of quarantine is to prevent transmission of an infectious agent from those potentially incubating the disease [ 5 ]. There are different types of quarantine for preventing infectious diseases. In Singapore, video monitoring of people quarantined at home was common during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak [ 6 ]. Individuals with exposure to SARS were instructed not to leave their homes or have visitors in Toronto [ 7 ]. A prospective cohort study from Korea reported that quarantine types included single-room quarantine, cohort quarantine, and self-imposed quarantine for persons exposed to patients with confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) infections [ 8 ]. In China, close contacts of COVID-19 patients were quarantined at home or in medical quarantine centers that were remodeled by small and medium-sized hotels or hostels to temporarily house close contacts of COVID-9 patients or cured COVID-19 patients and to control the spread of COVID-19. Although quarantine measures are designed to protect an individual's physical health from infectious diseases, it is necessary to consider the mental health of those subject to such restrictions.

Many studies have investigated the psychological experience of quarantined individuals during major infectious disease outbreaks. A recent review reported that quarantine for preventing infectious diseases had adverse psychological outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger and confusion, which can lead to long-term negative psychological effects [ 9 ]. Specifically, during the SARS outbreak, Cava et al. [ 10 ] adopted a descriptive, qualitative design to explore the experience of home quarantine of individuals affected by SARS in Toronto. The 21 participants described their experience during the quarantine, including feeling stigmatized, feeling rejected and blamed, or feeling bored, and the subtheme of coping ran through the quarantine process. Another study assessed the psychological effects of quarantine among 129 individuals who were self-quarantined during the SARS epidemic. This study found that symptoms of PTSD and depression were observed in 28.9% and 31.2% of participants [ 7 ]. The interview results of Cava et al. [ 6 ] reported that respondents exposed to someone with suspected SARS were quarantined at home for 10 days, they had feelings of fear or denial about their risk of being infected by SARS, and they showed high compliance with the quarantine order. Wang et al. [ 11 ] adopted a cross-sectional study design to investigate whether being quarantined to contain H1N1 flu transmission was correlated with negative psychological effects and found quarantine did not have immediate negative psychological consequences among 176 undergraduate students who were quarantined as close contacts for 7 days. The reason may be the lower morbidity and mortality rate during the H1N1 outbreak than the SARS outbreak. The COVID-19 patients and suspected patients are populations who must be quarantined. Zhou et al. [ 12 ] explored the psychological experience and coping strategies of COVID-19 patients during the quarantine period through their comments. Huang et al. [ 13 ] introduced psychological self-help methods to suspected patients, such as accepting their own negative emotions and positively changing their perceptions about facing COVID-19. Xiang et al. [ 14 ] reported that patients with confirmed or suspected cases expressed fear of the consequences of COVID-19 infection, and others in quarantine felt bored, lonely, and angry. Quarantining close contacts of COVID-19 has been the primary community control measure available. In the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Wang et al. [ 15 ] found that more than half of the general public assessed the psychological impact as moderate to severe, and approximately one-third reported moderate to severe anxiety. Therefore, people who had a history of contact with COVID-19 patients may suffer from greater stress. These people are more prone to various psychological and mental problems. However, there is no known information on the quarantine experience of close contacts in the current epidemic situation of COVID-19.

To fill the gaps in the literature, we conducted a qualitative descriptive study to explore the quarantine experiences of close contacts during the quarantine in China. Our findings may help government agencies and healthcare professionals support the physical and mental health of close contacts in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak in China and other parts of the world. They also may help to understand how to provide humanistic quarantine care in the health care delivery system.

2.1. Design

Existing quantitative methods do not sufficiently take into account the perceptions and experiences of close contacts, but a qualitative descriptive design allows for an understanding of their experience [ 16 ] and is employed when a research study aims to discover and describe a process, a phenomenon, or the perspectives and views of the participants [ 17 , 18 ]. Moreover, a qualitative descriptive study design offers comprehensive information about an event [ 16 ]. Because a qualitative approach would yield a more detailed, in-depth and comprehensive description of the quarantine experience of the participants, a descriptive qualitative method was employed to explore the quarantine experience of close contacts of COVID-19 patients. Qualitative descriptive studies employ the principles of naturalistic enquiry or investigate a phenomenon in its natural state as much as possible [ 16 , 19 ]. In terms of quality assurance, the reporting of this study was consistent with the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research [ 20 ].

2.2. Objectives

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the quarantine experiences of close contacts during the quarantine.

Our two main research questions are as follows:

• 1. How did your emotions change during the quarantine?
• 2. What strategies did you adopt or what support did you receive to cope with your emotional changes during the quarantine?

2.3. Sampling, setting and participants

During the initial stage of this study, convenience sampling was used to recruit participants. We distributed a recruitment advertisement via WeChat, which is the most frequently used social media platform in China. The close contacts of COVID-19 patients who responded to the recruitment advertisement formed a convenience sample (a total of 102 close contacts). Then a purposive sampling procedure was used to recruit participants with rich information [ 21 ] among the 102 close contacts. An email containing a statement of consent was sent to the recruited close contacts. We recruited fifteen participants from Zibo city of Shandong Province. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) individuals who have been identified as close contacts of COVID-19 patients; (2) individuals who voluntarily participated in the study; and (3) age ≥18 years old. The exclusion criteria included the following: (1) individuals who had severe diseases or (2) were unable to communicate effectively.

2.4. Data collection

Prior to the interview, we sent participants electronic informed consent forms. After they agreed, we began to interview them. The semistructured, one-on-one, in-depth interviews were conducted from February 12, 2020 to March 30, 2020. Researchers used the interview to enter the inner world of the research object and understand the implicit meaning of their psychological activity, emotional response, life experience and behavior. The interview method is more flexible, happens in real-time and has the function of meaning interpretation [ 22 ]. The present study aimed to explore the quarantine experience of the close contacts; thus, it was suitable as the interview method. The interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted approximately 60 to 90 min. The first author (CDD) interviewed the participants. The interview environments were quiet, and interruptions were minimal. The expert panel (YZH, SF, CDD, TLW and SJ) created an interview guideline ( Supplementary file 1 ). The questions were open-ended. All interviews were audio-recorded. With the permission of the participants, the interviews were digitally recorded using a handheld recorder to boost the accuracy of transcription. Within 24 h after the end of the first interview, the digital recording was transcribed verbatim. Simultaneous analysis of the interview transcript was performed with reflections on the content and modification of codes when new data arose. Then we interviewed the next participant. Data saturation was achieved at the 15th interview, because it became clear that there were no new themes transpiring from the interview, which meant that data collection ended.

2.5. Data analysis

After fifteen interviews, categories were tentatively established. When theoretical saturation was reached, sampling was stopped. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the interview transcripts [ 23 ]. Thematic analysis is the methodical inductive examination of text by detecting and assembling themes and coding, classifying, and refining categories [ 19 ]. The themes and subthemes were derived from the data rather than from existing theoretical or conceptual frameworks [ 24 ]. We read some articles on the quarantine experience of infectious disease patients and implemented bracketing by writing a reflective note to keep calm and objective and thus reduce the effects caused by any pre-existing notions when analyzing data. YZH, CDD, and SF independently read and reread the transcripts and interview notes to develop detailed notes. Broad codes were inductively developed from these transcripts and refined and synthesized to produce categories. This multicoding approach was used to reduce the risk of researcher bias [ 25 ]. A continuous analysis of the data and frequent discussions among the authors were done to refine and define the themes and subthemes. Discussions with the co-researchers (QRL, ZH, TLW, SJ, and WXY) continued until a consensus was reached on the final themes and subthemes that emerged from the data [ 23 ]. In the process of data analysis, the criteria for trustworthiness (credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability) were adhered to [ 26 ]. To ensure the credibility of all the transcripts, they were checked for accuracy by two researchers (CDD and ZH). To augment the data consistency, two independent qualitative researchers (YZH and SF) verified the findings of the interview data analysis. Information was repeated and clarified with the participants after the interview. This article described the participants' characteristics, contexts and verbatim quotes to enable the reader to make judgments about the generalizability of the results. To maintain dependability and confirmability, the transcripts were cross-checked by people who did not participate in the transcription process. Moreover, a total of 8 researchers participated in the present study. Most of them were PhD candidates in nursing in the qualitative research. All members of our research team have participated in qualitative research workshops several times, which has improved their understanding of descriptive qualitative research methods, helped to clarify the characteristics of different qualitative research methods, and taught them the skills of collating, coding and analyzing text data, helping make this research more rigorous.

2.6. Ethical consideration

The study received ethics approval from Yunnan College of Business Management (2020048). Electronic informed consent was obtained, and the oral permission was audio-taped from each enrolled participant before the interview began. The participants were informed about the confidentiality of their data. The obtained electronic data were stored on the first author's personal computer in password-protected computer files, and the paper data were stored in a locked drawer.

3.1. Participant characteristics

Demographics and quarantine-related information are presented in Table 1 . Fifteen close contacts of COVID-19 patients opted in to the study. The participants' ages ranged from 25– 59 years. A total of 46.67% were female, and 53.33% were male. Six participants were single, and seven were married. Among the fifteen volunteers, only one had religious beliefs. The education degree ranged from primary schooling to a graduate degree. Sixty percent of the participants were arranged to stay in quarantine at collective medical observation centers. A total of 73.33% were quarantined for 14 days. A total of 33.33% of participants and COVID-19 patients were neighbors, and the parents of 26.67% of participants were COVID-19 patients.

Characteristics of the study population.

3.2. Qualitative findings

The thematic analysis identified five themes related to the quarantine experience of close contacts of COVID-19 patients: (1) experience in the early stage of quarantine; (2) experience in the middle stage of quarantine; (3) experience in the late stage of quarantine; (4) self-coping persisted throughout the quarantine period; and (5) external support was evident throughout the quarantine period. Each theme was supported by some subthemes that further exemplified the study participants' quarantine experience ( Table 2 ).

Themes and subthemes.

3.2.1. Theme 1: experience in the early stage of quarantine

3.2.1.1. compliance with quarantine, 3.2.1.1.1. high compliance with quarantine.

Some participants thought that quarantine was necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If the close contacts were subsequently confirmed to have COVID-19, they would infect more people. Owing to this perception, they showed high compliance with quarantine. One person commented:

Fortunately, I was quarantined. If I was diagnosed with COVID-19, it would affect my family and friends. (Participant 3).

Some participants actively cooperated with the relevant departments. Feeling that they were doing their duty, they answered the relevant department's questions honestly. They knew if they lied or hid something, the consequences would be severe. One person said the following:

The policemen asked us about our whereabouts and who we had contacted. We had to report it truthfully because we didn't know if we had been confirmed to have COVID-19. Knowing my duty, I gave the names of the people we had been in contact with. (Participant 11).

3.2.1.1.2. Initial resistance to quarantine, but acceptance it

In the early stage of quarantine, several participants resisted being quarantined because they did not want to be confined and in close quarters. However, they still accepted the quarantine order. One participant said:

At first, I could not stand being quarantined. My heart was resisting being quarantined. Because I didn't like to be confined and in close quarters. Although I resisted being quarantined, I accepted. (Participant 7).

3.2.1.2. Feeling of fear

3.2.1.2.1. fear about being quarantined.

In our study, nine participants were taken from their homes and placed into quarantine sites. Six participants were quarantined at home. All interviewed participants felt fear in the initial stage of quarantine. They were all being quarantined for the first time, had insufficient knowledge about the quarantine and knew little about what would happen in quarantine. As one participant stated:

At midnight, many policemen wearing gowns and masks came to my home and took us to the quarantine site, which was the first time in the history of our village. I didn't know how to describe that feeling of fear. (Participant 11).

One participant said:

We were very scared about the quarantine. The main reason was that we didn't know much about the quarantine at the beginning. (Participant 9).

Another one said:

When I was quarantined, I cried. I was thunderstruck and speechless. At first, I was quite afraid and nervous. I didn't know what would happen in quarantine. (Participant 8).

On the other hand, one participant related that he was scared about being lonely and lacking company in the quarantine. This participant reflected:

I was especially afraid of being locked up alone because I was lonely and had no company. I was the only one on the Earth. (Participant 7).

Some close contacts quarantined at home also feared being quarantined, but they had lower levels of fear than close contacts quarantined in institutions. Being quarantined at home gave them a sense of belonging. A participant said:

I was so afraid of being quarantined for the first time, but other close contacts might be more afraid who were at the quarantine site. I had a sense of belonging at home that made me less afraid. (Participant 5).

3.2.1.2.2. Fear about contracting COVID-19

Over half of the participants were worried about being diagnosed with COVID-19. Aside from their close contact history with COVID-19 cases, a longer incubation period over 14 days, asymptomatic infection, and misconceptions about COVID-19 were also causes for concern. One participant said:

I had been in contact with four patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Actually, I was really worried. The rate of being diagnosed with COVID-19 was too high for me. (Participant 12).

Others said:

I was worried that I would be diagnosed because of the existence of a very long incubation period in news reports. (Participant 5).

I was definitely worried that I was an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient (Participant 8).

I didn't know much about the disease. I thought it was a terminal illness. Additionally, I had a cough. I was so worried about being diagnosed. (Participant 15).

3.2.1.3. Feeling of being stigmatized

In addition to fear, close contacts also cared about what others might think. They worried that other people would see close contacts as carriers of the COVID-19, would stay away from them and would look at them differently than before. For instance:

When I was in quarantine, I was panicking and scared. My freedom was restricted. I was afraid that people in our village would talk about me. (…) They may think that I was a carrier of COVID-19. (Participant 5).

At the beginning of the quarantine, the opinions of people in the village and the work unit had a great impact on me. At that time, because of myself (a close contact), many colleagues in the unit were also quarantined, and many people looked at me with weird eyes. (Participant 13).

3.2.1.4. Multiple physical symptoms

In the early stage of quarantine, many participants had fever, sore throat, cough sputum production, chills, high blood pressure, muscle aches or sleep difficulties. The psychological factors or different living environments between home and medical quarantine centers may have been related to the occurrence of physical symptoms.

When I took my temperature, I had a slight fever, probably due to psychological reasons or environmental changes. At that time, I was worrying too much, such as if I would be diagnosed, I would be discriminated against and so on. Besides, I was not used to living here. (Participant 6).

I had too much psychological pressure. (…) I couldn't sleep, and my blood pressure went up in (early) quarantine. (Participant 4).

3.2.2. Theme 2: experience in the middle stage of quarantine

3.2.2.1. feeling impatient.

In the middle of the quarantine, it was evident that some close contacts felt impatient. Participants stated that they were questioned about their contact history many times by the public security bureau, the centers for disease control, and other relevant government agencies, which made them impatient. They believed that it was enough for one department to ask about their contact history, and the sharing of information among different departments could avoid making close contacts answer the same question many times. This indicated a need for effective collaboration among agencies.

What influenced me most was the police station, the centers for disease control and prevention and government departments. This is the age of the Internet, resources could be shared, but the reality was different. I had to answer the same question (about contact history with COVID-19 patients from these departments) again and again. I actively cooperated with them at the beginning. I didn't feel tired because I knew they were responsible. After five days, some institutions called me to ask the same question, and I got irritable. (Participant 12).

3.2.2.2. Feeling nervous

Some participants were nervous when they underwent nucleic acid tests, and they were nervous when waiting for the results. In addition, tensions were exacerbated by the need to do it twice.

In the middle of quarantine, we did nucleic acid tests. At that time, we were nervous. Later, the test results were negative. I suddenly became relaxed. After that, I heard that it was necessary to undergo two nucleic acid tests considering the accuracy of the results. At that time, I got nervous again. (Participant 9).

3.2.3. Theme 3: experience in the late stage of quarantine

3.2.3.1. feeling of calmness.

The emotions during the quarantine period were not always full of fear, impatience or tension. It was obvious that some participants were calm and peaceful in the late stage of the quarantine. At that time, they knew more about COVID-19, more and more COVID-19 cases had been cured, their nucleic acid test results were negative, and others they contacted were in good health, which made them calm. For instance:

I always read the news, and the school provided a platform for students to learn about COVID-19, which deepened my understanding of COVID-19, and I was not afraid of this disease. In addition, I and others who contacted me didn't have any symptoms. Therefore, I was peaceful. (Participant 5).

When I did the nucleic acid test, I was nervous. (…) My test results were negative for COVID-19 infection, which made me clam. (Participant 9).

My classmate was the first COVID-19 patient in our city, and he was cured, and many COVID-19 patients were discharged from the hospital. Thus, I was relatively calm at that moment. (Participant12).

3.2.3.2. Looking forward to ending the quarantine soon

At this stage, some participants wanted to end the quarantine as soon as possible. Being quarantined made them temporarily unable to work, so they were anticipating coming back to work.

In the late stage of quarantine, I wanted to be immediately released from quarantine to work. I couldn't wait anymore (laugh). (Participant 13).

I often wondered why the quarantine wasn't over yet. I had a lot of work to do. (Participant 12).

3.2.4. Theme 4: self-coping persisted throughout the quarantine period

Participants experienced emotional changes and had some physical symptoms during the quarantine period. The importance of coping strategies in the face of this extreme situation deserves to be underlined. In our study, active and positive coping strategies were present in nearly all patients, which was conducive to helping them ease their emotions.

3.2.4.1. Distraction strategies

Indeed, many patients reported using strategies such as watching TV, listening to music and so on to distract themselves from their situation. They made a conscious effort not to think about it.

I was nervous during quarantine. I watched variety shows, movies, sleep, listen to music, which would take me away from the situation for a while. (Participant 5).

3.2.4.2. Keeping optimistic

It was noteworthy that some patients expressed that keeping optimistic was conducive to helping them overcome the difficult and critical situation. For example:

I regulated my emotions by myself. I constantly reminded myself to see the positive side, so the psychological pressure gradually eased. (Participant 4).

3.2.4.3. Boosting their own immunity

Some participants took a variety of measures to support their immune systems during quarantine, such as drinking water, eating food, and doing exercise, in order not to be infected by COVID-19, which eased their emotions.

My appetite was not good, but to improve my immunity, I always tried to eat food. I also forced myself to drink water until I couldn't drink more. (Participant 11).

When I was quarantined, I drank a lot of hot water every day. I also did a lot of exercise, such as walking slowly and doing yoga. (Participant 8).

3.2.5. Theme 5: external support was evident throughout the quarantine period

This theme included four subthemes. Whether close contacts were quarantined at home or in institutions, they all received support from family and friends. Additionally, for close contacts quarantined in institutions, they expressed that they had access to professional psychological support, the staff were very concerned about them, and the living environment at the quarantine site was good.

3.2.5.1. Support from family and friends

During the interview, all participants reported that they received social support from their family and friends, which allayed their negative moods. As a participant said:

I like to make friends, and have many friends. I like to chat with others. My friend called me to care about me and comfort me, which relieved my fear. (Participant 11).

3.2.5.2. Psychological support from health professionals

Participants older than 50 years with a primary education level had limited knowledge about COVID-19 and were psychologically vulnerable. Thus, mental support was necessary. In the quarantine area, health professionals provided psychological support for people with psychological needs.

I didn't know much about the disease. I thought it was a terminal illness. Once people got this disease, they would die. I was very frightened, and fortunately, there were professional psychologists to comfort me. (Participant 15).

3.2.5.3. Care from the staff

Some participants thought the staff members at the quarantine site were friendly and considerate, and the staff met the reasonable needs of the close contacts. Moreover, the staff in the quarantine area gave patients traditional Chinese medicine, which contributed to boosting the body's immunity.

I didn't have a cell phone. The staff at the quarantine point bought me a mobile phone to facilitate communication with my family. For the old and the uneducated, a mobile phone was very important, because it was the only way for us to communicate with the others. (Participant 15).

They provided us with the necessities of life. They tried to meet our reasonable needs. For example, if something did not work, the staff would repair it right away. If I needed something, they provided it for me. The staff in the quarantine area also gave me traditional Chinese medicine to boost my immunity, which helped reduce the risk of infection with COVID-19. (Participant 8).

3.2.5.4. Comfortable living environment

Most of the quarantine sites were converted from hotels. The respondents were satisfied with the living environment and thought it comfortable.

The environment was comfortable. They provided a double bedroom, air conditioning, water, food, fruit, milk and so on. (Participant 12).

4. Discussion

To date, this is the first qualitative study in China to explore close contacts' quarantine experience during the COVID-19 epidemic. Under the COVID-19 threat, quarantine is a public health tool to prevent the spread of this infectious disease. Based on clinical investigations, the incubation period is generally 1– 14 days, and most are 3– 7 days [ 27 ]. The close contacts were quarantined for 14 days in accordance with the incubation period of COVID-19. In view of the existence of COVID-19 patients with a longer incubation period (>14 days), some close contacts were quarantined for 21 days. In the present study, we found that the quarantine experience of the participants was different at different times of the quarantine.

In the early stage of quarantine, most of the participants strongly complied with the quarantine. Although some participants showed resistance at first, they accepted the quarantine order, which was in line with Lin et al., who reported that even though half of participants accepted the quarantine order, they showed reluctance to be quarantined during the SARS period [ 28 ]. One study found that quarantine compliance was related to the perception of disease risk, in particular to the person's assessment of their own risk and, to some degree, that of others [ 6 ]. Given that some close contacts in our study did not have a good understanding of quarantine, health professionals should explain that the quarantine policy is imperative and important for COVID-19 prevention and control. Quarantining close contacts can screen for high-risk groups and protect the uninfected, thereby reducing the prevalence of COVID-19.

Our analysis of the interviews found that the respondents experienced fear, stigma and some physical symptoms in the early days of quarantine. Xiao et al. also found that quarantined people distanced themselves from each other and were more likely to experience negative emotions in the absence of interpersonal communication [ 29 ]. Moreover, our findings are consistent with the psychologic impacts of quarantine on individuals with fever during the SARS period, such as fear [ 28 ], and are similar to Cava et al.'s results [ 6 ]. In our study, all participants expressed feelings of fear in the initial stage in quarantine. This feeling can likely be ascribed to the unknown about COVID-19 infection on the one hand and the lack of freedom and the company of others on the other hand. Xiang et al. [ 14 ] recommended that regular and accurate updates about COVID-19 be provided to allay feelings of fear. Therefore, close contacts need sufficient information related to quarantine, such as the reasons for being quarantined, its effectiveness for public infection control, the quarantine length, the procedures they may experience, the basic clinical facts about COVID-19, and updates on the COVID-19 outbreak, in the early stage of quarantine. Furthermore, during quarantine, over half of the participants expressed concerns that they would be diagnosed with COVID-19. Even the general public was worried about contracting the virus during one influenza outbreak [ 30 ]. Moreover, under the SARS threat, each participant with fever was afraid of being confirmed with SARS in the quarantine period [ 28 ]. Furthermore, given the presence of asymptomatic infected patients and the extra-long incubation period of 14 days, the worry of the participants is understandable. Specifically, those who are older, live in the countryside and are less educated thought that patients with COVID-19 could not be cured, and they were fairly worried about being diagnosed with COVID-19. This was a misconception. Therefore, it is necessary for healthcare professionals to convey basic clinical knowledge about COVID-19 to close contacts to correct their misconceptions. Additionally, one study reported that particular psychological support must be directed to the infected patients and their close contacts who belong to vulnerable populations [ 31 ]. Therefore, healthcare professionals should conduct psychological assessments and interventions for these individuals if necessary. Moreover, given the high infection rate and high death rate in the elderly [ 32 ], it was necessary to pay more attention to the health status of older close contacts during the quarantine period.

Cava et al. [ 10 ] and Lin et al. [ 28 ] reported that individuals affected by SARS felt stigmatized when quarantined, which was in line with our findings. The stigma stems from discrimination by others against close contacts. In addition, self-stigma occurs when members of devalued groups are aware of prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes, which can lead to their internalization of these beliefs [ 33 ]. Given that stigma surrounds individuals who have been quarantined, health education about the disease and the rationale for quarantine and public health information provided to the general public can be conducive to reducing stigmatization [ 39 ]. Furthermore, in the early stage of quarantine, many participants had some physical symptoms, such as cough, fever, headache, sore throat and sleep difficulties. On the one hand, their physiological changes, such as fear, worry, and tension, contributed to these; on the other hand, changes in the living environment caused physical discomfort. Physical symptoms may occur without timely psychological support, which may exacerbate fears and concerns about COVID-19. Therefore, it is a key for health professionals to provide psychological counseling for close contacts at an early stage. Healthcare providers should also pay attention to the physical condition of close contacts and perform medical treatment if necessary.

In the middle of quarantine, participants clearly expressed their impatience and tension. We found that participants' feeling of impatience was especially related to their experience of answering the same questions from different departments many times, which actually reflected that they did not want to be reminded of their status as a close contact anymore. That experience was full of unpleasant memories. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation among departments and realize information sharing to reduce the frequency of inquiries about contact history and to relieve the psychological burden of close contacts. In the late stage of quarantine, the participants' fears and tensions were greatly reduced, and they appeared calm. The change may have arisen mainly from the fact that they tested negative for COVID-19 and people who had contacted them were in good health, which ensured them that they were free of COVID-19.

Although the psychological burden of the close contacts was heavy, these respondents stayed particularly strong during the quarantine. Many participants used strategies to cope with their stressful situation, including distraction, staying optimistic, and boosting their own immunity, which was consistent with Cava et al.'s finding that participants applied coping strategies throughout the quarantine process [ 10 ]. The distraction aims to distract the person from some thoughts relating to the stressful event. Some close contacts often chose to watch TV and listen to music to distract themselves from negative emotions. In addition, some close contacts chose to see the positive side of COVID-19, which indicated that they had an optimistic attitude toward COVID-19. A previous study showed that most people believed that good things would happen rather than bad things; this trait was defined as dispositional optimism [ 34 ]. According to Seligman [ 35 ], the general measure of optimism is positive thinking. It has been proven that positive thinking can improve life satisfaction [ 36 ]. In our study, some participants eased their negative emotions by thinking about the benefits of quarantine. The benefits of quarantine mainly included preventing the spread of COVID-19, making the close contacts stronger and cherishing life more. Moreover, during the quarantine period, most participants kept up a healthy lifestyle to enhance their immune function. People with strong immunity are less likely to be infected with COVID-19. Most respondents said they were more concerned about their physical and mental health and spent more time relaxing, resting and exercising during quarantine. These positive impacts on physical health may have helped the participants cope with the negative impacts on mental health [ 37 ]. During the quarantine period, each individual was strong; they were not overwhelmed by negative emotions but actively coped with them and did not give up on their will to survive. This is a positive attitude that people in quarantine should have, which may come from the desire to survive. In summary, these coping strategies or adaptive defense mechanisms can be important to better understand the impacts of quarantine; they are a means to promote homeostasis and control in an individual subjected to stressors [ 38 ].

Apart from the self-coping strategies of close contacts, the Chinese Government has implemented a series of strategies to prevent mental health problems that might arise in close contacts who are quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. We define these strategies as external support for close contacts. In our analysis, external support included a professional psychological counseling team, comfortable living environment, and access to social support from family, friends and staff. During the quarantine period, participants experienced several intertwined emotions. Young people, especially those highly educated, expressed that they did not need professional psychological support. They could manage their emotions in a variety of ways. Based on our findings, healthcare professionals regularly should visit close contacts who are older, have a low level of education, or live in rural areas in collective medical observation centers and should provide support accordingly. Furthermore, the Chinese government guaranteed food, water, fruit, milk, and daily living necessities to the quarantined people and treated COVID-19-related symptoms as well as non-COVID-19-related symptoms. In addition, the staff members in quarantine areas were very friendly to them, and they were guaranteed to be available 24 h per day. They tried to meet the reasonable needs of the informants to reduce fear and other psychological discomforts. For example, the staff bought mobile phones for participants, which helped the close contacts communicate with others and get information and emotional support from family members and friends. In the SARS threat, one study reported that quarantined respondents were dissatisfied with the physical environment and found it difficult to tolerate [ 28 ]. During the COVID-19 epidemic, healthcare professionals in quarantine areas provided high-quality care and met specific needs related to the environment, emotional support, and physical health of quarantined persons. Social support deserves special attention: patients with a better recovery emphasized the importance of family support in helping them recover successfully. Studies in a range of countries have presented the positive effects of social support, and poor social support has been associated with an over 2-fold increase in the risk of death [ 39 , 40 ]. In our analysis, most participants received social support from family and friends. Through interviews, we also found that none of the fifteen close contacts were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Our study has several limitations. First, all the participants were from Zibo city, Shandong Province. Although data saturation was reached, the applicability of this study to other settings is limited because the opinions reflected by the context and living environment, as well as the psychological statuses, cannot be generalized to other Chinese people. Future research could explore the quarantine experience of people in different districts. In addition, the interviews were conducted by telephone, which may have led us to miss the participants' expression changes and not capture some details which could be caught in face-to-face interviews.

5. Conclusions

Quarantine is a public health measure imposed to minimize transmission. Based on our research findings, most quarantined close contacts experienced heavy emotional turmoil and had some physical symptoms during the quarantine period. In this situation, they adopted emotional regulation strategies and received external support to cope with their negative emotions. Our study highlights the need to provide a clear rationale to quarantined individuals, assess the close contacts' psychological state early in quarantine and provide psychological support for them, especially for older people and the less educated. Moreover, there is a need to strengthen cooperation among various departments and to achieve resource sharing. The self-coping strategy of close contacts and the external support from the Chinese government enabled close contacts to better cope with the quarantine. Learning from the quarantine experience is expected to help the Chinese government and other institutions across the world to better care for close contacts.

Interview guide.

Authors' contributions

YZH, CDD and SF were responsible for the design of this study. CDD, SF, and TLW collected and analyzed the data. All authors contributed equally to the interpretation of the findings and the writing of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.

Data sharing statement

The risk of breaking anonymity is too high to share this data.

Declaration of competing interest

All authors report no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants who joined this study. The authors acknowledge the ethics approval from Yunnan College of Business Management.

• Open access
• Published: 14 May 2024

Knowledge and attitude towards home quarantine instructions and associations with history of Covid-19 infection in Malaysia

• Shea Jiun Choo 1   na1 ,
• Chee Tao Chang 2 , 3   na1 ,
• Huan-Keat Chan 4 ,
• Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan 4 ,
• Muhammad Hazmi Hamdan 1 ,
• Ai Ting Cheong 1 ,
• Fatin Nadhirah Mat Noh 1 &
• Nur Syahmina Uzma Mustafa 1  

BMC Public Health volume  24 , Article number:  1311 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Introduction

Although COVID-19 has entered the endemic phase, individuals infected with COVID-19 are required to adhere to home quarantine measures. By exploring the public’s knowledge and attitude towards recommended home quarantine measures, their readiness in containing potential COVID-19 outbreak can be determined. This study aimed to assess the public knowledge and attitude towards home quarantine instructions and their association with history of COVID-19 infections.

This was a web-based cross-sectional study conducted among the public in Malaysia between August to October 2022. All Malaysian adults over 18 years of age were included. Knowledge on home quarantine instructions and COVID-19 warning signs were measured using “True,” “False,” or “I’m not sure”, while attitude towards home quarantine instructions was measured using a five-point Likert Scale. The questionnaire was initially constructed in English and then translated into the national language, Bahasa Malaysia. Face and content validation were performed. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was found to be satisfactory.

1,036 respondents were analyzed, comprised mostly of females (743, 71.6%) with a history of COVID-19 (673, 64.9%). In the knowledge domain, more than 80% of the respondents answered 9 out of 11 home quarantine instructions statements correctly. 457 (44.1%) were unaware or unsure about the minimum distance of the infected individual’s bed from the rest of the occupants in a shared bedroom. The respondents reported relatively weaker knowledge in identifying uncommon warning signs of COVID-19 deterioration, including anuria (162, 44.5%), ingestion problems (191, 52.5%), and immobility (195, 53.6%). In the attitude domain, more than 90% of respondents answered correctly in 8 out of 9 questions. Respondents with a previous history of COVID-19 infections had better knowledge than COVID-19 infection-naïve individuals towards both home quarantine instructions and COVID-19 warning signs.

Most respondents had good knowledge and attitude towards home quarantine instructions, with those previously infected with COVID-19 showing greater awareness of uncommon warning signs. However, there was a notable lack of awareness regarding physical distancing within shared rooms, appropriate disinfectant use and mobility limitation within the household. This study highlights the knowledge gaps to be improved in future educational campaigns.

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COVID-19 was declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020 [ 1 ]. The first case of COVID-19 in Malaysia was detected on January 25, 2020, and the number of confirmed cases subsequently hiked [ 2 ]. Knowing that transmission of COVID-19 disease is mainly airborne via respiratory droplets and close contact with infected symptomatic cases [ 3 ], quarantine of infected individuals has shown to be an effective strategy to break the chain of transmission [ 4 , 5 ]. In the early stage of the pandemic, individuals who tested COVID-19 positive, regardless of severity, were admitted to the ward or quarantine centres [ 6 ].

As Malaysia entered the “transition to endemic” phase since April 2022, the majority of COVID-19 positive individuals no longer needed to undergo involuntary detention. Based on the Ministry of Health Guideline on Home Monitoring and Management of Confirmed COVID-19 case at COVID-19 Assessment Centre, only adult patients clinically diagnosed with COVID-19 category 3 to 5, having uncontrolled comorbidities, immunocompromised, or found to present with warning signs of COVID-19 during evaluation were hospitalized for close monitoring [ 7 ]. Whereas, COVID-19 patients that were asymptomatic (Category 1) or minimally symptomatic (Category 2a) were mandated to undergo home surveillance order (HSO) and report their health status twice a day through an electronic home quarantine self-assessment survey on the national contact tracing surveillance application, MySejahtera [ 7 ].

As of October 2022, 95.5% of the 23,038 active cases in Malaysia were given HSO [ 8 ]. However, there is no direct surveillance and guidance by the health authority on the adherence to home quarantine instructions and monitoring of the warning signs of COVID-19 deterioration during the home quarantine period. In other words, individuals who undergo home quarantine could only rely on their own initiatives to search for information regarding home quarantine instructions and self-disciplines to adhere to them.

A systematic review revealed that overall public knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 were satisfactory across most countries during the early stage of outbreak [ 9 ]. Studies conducted in China and Australia indicated that the general public exhibited appropriate practices in adhering to preventive measures [ 10 , 11 ]. Similarly, local investigations carried out in Malaysia indicated that the public possessed adequate knowledge and displayed positive attitude toward adhering to mitigation strategies aimed at curbing COVID-19 [ 12 , 13 ]. However, there is a lack of research examining the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the public regarding home quarantine.

As COVID-19 is entering the endemic phase, it is important to educate the public regarding proper home quarantine instructions in accordance to guidelines adopted by the government to prevent future outbreak. In addition, empowering the public in recognizing warning signs of COVID-19 during the period of home quarantine will help them to recognize needs to seek for timely medical attention. This study aimed to assess the public knowledge and attitude towards home quarantine instructions and its associations with history of COVID-19 infections.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the general public in Malaysia. All Malaysian citizens over 18 years of age were eligible for this study. Those who could not read or understand English or Malay language were excluded.

The study sample size was estimated using the Raosoft sample size calculator ( http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html ). Assuming an infinite study population among the general public of Malaysia, where 50% have good knowledge regarding home quarantine instructions, with 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error, the minimum sample size required was 377.

Questionnaire

A structured online survey was developed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude towards home quarantine instructions for COVID-19 infections, based on literature and guidelines (6,8–11). The questionnaire primarily focused on: (1) demographic data; (2) knowledge about home quarantine instructions; (3) knowledge about deterioration signs of COVID-19; and (4) attitude towards home quarantine instructions (Supplementary File 1 ).

The questionnaire was initially constructed in English and then translated into Bahasa Malaysia using a forward-backward-translation approach to ensure linguistic and conceptual equivalence. Face and content validation were performed by a panel of two subject matter experts: one senior academic specialized in public health pharmacy, and one senior clinician specialized in internal medicine. Subsequently, it was pre-tested among five lay persons to examine clarity and relevance. A pilot test was conducted among 30 respondents to check the reliability of the questionnaire. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was found to be satisfactory: Knowledge towards home quarantine instructions (α = 0.618); warning signs of COVID-19 deterioration (α = 0.765); attitude towards home quarantine instructions (α = 0.768) [ 14 ].

To measure knowledge about home quarantine instructions and signs of COVID-19 deterioration, the respondents were required to answer whether the item was “True,” “False,” or “I’m not sure.” In terms of attitude, the respondents were asked on a five-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree) about their likelihood to practice the home quarantine instructions recommended. The overall knowledge and attitude were categorized using Bloom’s cut-off point, as good if the score fell between 80% and 100%, moderate if the score ranged between 60% and 79%, and poor if the score was below 60% [ 15 ].

Data collection

Data collection was performed online using Google Forms. The survey was opened for three months between August and October 2022. The link (URL) of the Google Form online questionnaire was distributed to the potential respondents via social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp). To ensure anonymity, subjects were not required to sign in to an account to complete the survey.

The respondents were initially directed to the online Participant Information Sheet (PIS). Further details of the study and consent to participate were given on the PIS webpage. Should they choose not to participate, their intentions were acknowledged, and a “thank you” note expressing the researchers’ respects for the participants’ decision. Should they agree to participate, they were asked to click on a link to proceed with the questionnaire.

Data analysis

All study variables, including the respondents’ demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitude, were descriptively analyzed and presented. For the knowledge sections, responses were dichotomized into correct and incorrect/unsure. Responses were categorized and reported as agree and disagree/neutral for the attitude domain. Chi-square tests were used to stratify the knowledge and attitude of the respondents based on their history of COVID-19 infections. The analysis was performed using SPSS version 27; a p -value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

This study was registered with National Medical Research Registry (NMRR), and ethical approval was obtained from Medical Research Ethical Committee (MREC).

Out of 1,061 responses, nine declined consents, and 15 were excluded due to missing age. Hence, only 1,037 were included in the analysis. The majority of the respondents were between age 30–49 (734,70.8%), female (743, 71.6%), married with at least a child (532, 51.3%), with a bachelor degree (550, 53.0%), with at least one co-morbidities (322, 58.2%), staying with family members (754, 72.7%), with a history of COVID-19 (673,64.9%) and home quarantine (782,75.4%) and completed booster dose (926, 89.3%). The largest source of information regarding COVID-19 was social media (755, 72.8%), followed by health experts (461, 44.5%) and instant messaging applications (450, 43.4%) (Table  1 ).

The chi-square analysis revealed significant associations between age group (older > younger, p  < 0.001) and marital status (married > single, p  = 0.005) with knowledge of home quarantine instructions. However, knowledge showed no significant associations with gender ( p  = 0.140), ethnicity ( p  = 0.385), education level ( p  = 0.482), occupation ( p  = 0.076), household income ( p  = 0.148), living status ( p  = 0.855), history of home quarantine ( p  = 0.819), or vaccination status ( p  = 0.345).

Additionally, gender (female > male, p  = 0.002) and vaccination status (vaccinated > non-vaccinated, p  < 0.001) were significantly associated with attitude towards home quarantine instructions. However, attitude showed no significant associations with ethnicity ( p  = 0.814), marital status ( p  = 0.641), education level ( p  = 0.154), occupation ( p  = 0.062), household income ( p  = 0.756), living status ( p  = 0.157), or history of home quarantine ( p  = 0.963).

Knowledge towards home quarantine instructions

80% of the respondents answered correctly in 9 out of 11 statements related to knowledge towards home quarantine instructions. 220 (21.2%) of the respondents were unaware or unsure whether a shared bathroom should be disinfected with 0.1% Chlorine solution after each use. Moreover, 457 (44.1%) of the respondents were unaware or unsure about the minimum distance of the infected individual’s bed from the rest of the occupants in a shared bedroom (Table  2 ).

We performed Chi-square tests and found that respondents who have a history of COVID-19 infection had better knowledge in terms of needs of daily health status reporting (98.4% vs. 95.6%, p  = 0.008) and room separation requirements (98.4% vs. 96.4%, p  = 0.048) compared to those who were not infected with COVID-19 before (Table  2 ).

Knowledge on warning signs of COVID-19 deterioration

More than 80% of the respondents were able to correctly identify common warning signs of COVID-19 deterioration, including chest pain (894, 86.2%), fever (832, 80.2%), lethargy (876, 84.5%), and shortness of breath (1,003, 96.7%) (Table  3 ).

Respondents with no previous history of COVID-19 infections were more likely to correctly identify loss of smell (83.0% vs. 75.5%, p  = 0.005) and taste (83.8% vs. 75.5%, p  = 0.002) as deterioration symptoms compared to those with a history of COVID-19 infections. In contrast, respondents with previous history of COVID-19 infections were more likely to correctly identify atypical symptoms such as diarrhoea (74.7% vs. 64.8%, p  < 0.001), reduced urine output (56.2% vs. 44.5%, p  < 0.001), immobility (66.3% vs. 53.6%, p  < 0.001) and ingestion problems (65.7% vs. 52.5%, p  < 0.001) as signs of COVID-19 deterioration compared to those without (Table  3 ).

Attitude towards home quarantine instructions

More than 90% of the respondents uttered their agreement towards eight out of the nine attitude statements regarding home quarantine instructions. Notably, 97.9% of the respondents agreed to practice all the basic preventative measures during home quarantine, including wearing a face mask, regular hand washing, and practicing cough etiquette. Compared to the other home quarantine instructions, relatively fewer respondents reported agreement (867, 83.6%) in limiting their movement in the house during home surveillance orders (Table  4 ). There was no significant association in attitude between those with and without COVID-19 history.

This study represents one of the earliest attempts to evaluate the general public’s knowledge and attitude regarding home quarantine measures in response to COVID-19 endemic. Overall, the majority of respondents exhibited good understanding and positive attitude towards home quarantine instructions. Furthermore, individuals with a prior history of COVID-19 infection notably displayed enhanced knowledge, particularly in areas such as health status reporting and implementing room separation measures throughout the isolation period.

Respondents who were older and married have better knowledge towards home quarantine instructions, although a local study conducted six months after COVID-19 was declared pandemic among a similar population reported better knowledge among middle-aged people [ 13 ]. Older individuals and those who were married may have had more exposure to health information and guidelines through traditional media channels or healthcare providers. Additionally, their life experiences and responsibilities, such as caring for families or managing households, may have heightened their awareness and adherence to home quarantine protocols.

Additionally, female and those who were vaccinated have better attitude towards home quarantine instructions. Interestingly, men were less knowledgeable about the symptoms of COVID-19 than women in Pakistan [ 16 ]. This gender disparity in knowledge and attitude could be attributed to societal norms which influenced men to downplay health concerns or exhibit a sense of invulnerability, leading to lower levels of knowledge and negative attitude to health protocols. The higher likelihood of positive attitude towards quarantine instructions among vaccinated individuals suggests that this group of respondents took a proactive approach to manage their health and inherently had a greater understanding of the importance of preventive measures in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

More than two-fifth of the respondents in this study were not aware about the minimum distance between beds in a shared room, revealing knowledge gaps to focus on in future public health education on COVID-19 preventive measures. In fact, a study reported that at least three to six feet away is critical in reducing transmission of COVID-19 [ 17 ]. While it is highly advisable for individuals infected with COVID-19 to be isolated, this could be impossible for settings with limited domestic space. In fact, a few clusters involving immigration detention centres, prison, factory dormitories and construction sites were identified for contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic in Malaysia. Hence, health authorities may contemplate the provision of temporary quarantine facilities as a proactive measure to mitigate the risk of outbreaks.

On the other hand, a local study revealed that more than 50% of COVID-19 cases were due to cross-infection among household members [ 18 ]. In our study, about one in five respondents were unaware of the need to limit movement in the house. In terms of attitude, we also found a relatively lower level of agreement with this instruction compared to the others. This phenomenon may stem from the belief that individuals under HSO were solely required to refrain from leaving their homes, without any restrictions on mobility within the household. This misconception warrants attention and clear correction, as it has the potential to contribute to cross-infection among household members.

In consistent with previous local and international studies [ 13 , 19 , 20 ], most respondents reported good knowledge of common warning signs of COVID-19 deterioration. Notably, less common warning signs of COVID-19 infection such as diarrhoea, reduced urine output, immobility, and ingestion individuals were better known in respondents with a history of COVID-19. At present, individuals undergoing HSO no longer have direct supervision from healthcare workers and are monitored only through the national contact tracing surveillance application (MySejahtera). This approach relies heavily on community solidarity and responsibility to self-report their infection status and daily wellness. Hence, by filling the information gap concerning COVID-19 worsening indicators, it enables the public to seek medical care in a timely manner.

This study was adequately powered to reflect knowledge and attitude regarding home quarantine instructions in the Malaysian population. Other than determining the preparedness of Malaysians in the era of COVID-19 endemic, it also addressed the knowledge gap in educating the public about home quarantine measures to prevent future outbreak. However, as we did not perform stratified sampling, we observed an underrepresentation of the elderly, men, and non-healthcare workers. Due to data collection time lapse, respondents may inaccurately report their past experiences due to recall bias. Respondent bias may also present as participants might have provided socially desirable responses.

The respondents demonstrated a good understanding of most home quarantine instructions, with those who had previously contracted COVID-19 showing better awareness of uncommon warning signs COVID-19 deterioration. Generally, participants displayed positive attitude towards home quarantine instructions. However, there was a notable lack of awareness regarding the importance of physical distancing within shared rooms and the necessity of using suitable disinfectants as well as mobility limitation within the household. These underscore the need for future educational campaigns to address the knowledge gaps identified.

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to confidentiality of respondents, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Director-General of Health Malaysia for his permission to publish this article. We would like to acknowledge Mr. Ahmad Aiman Ahmad Niza for his contribution as co-investigator.

This was a self-funded study.

Author information

Choo Shea Jiun and Chang Chee Tao contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

Pharmacy Department, Hospital Taiping, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Taiping, Malaysia

Shea Jiun Choo, Muhammad Hazmi Hamdan, Ai Ting Cheong, Fatin Nadhirah Mat Noh & Nur Syahmina Uzma Mustafa

Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Ipoh, Malaysia

Chee Tao Chang

School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia

Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Alor Setar, Malaysia

Huan-Keat Chan & Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan

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Choo Shea Jiun, Chang Chee Tao, Chan Huan Keat, Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, Muhammad Hazmi Hamdan, Cheong Ai Ting, Fatin Nadhirah Mat Noh, Nur Syahmina Uzma Mustafa contributed equally to this work including conceptualization, data curation, writing and review of manuscript. Choo Shea Jiun, Chang Chee Tao, Chan Huan Keat, Muhammad Radzi, Abu Hassan, Muhammad Hazmi Hamdan, Cheong Ai Ting, Fatin Nadhirah Mat Noh, Nur Syahmina Uzma Mustafa read and approved the final manuscript.

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This study was registered in the National Medical Research Registry (NMRR ID-22-01372-NIL) and approved by Medical Research Ethical Committee [22-00843-GOQ (IIR)] on 25th May 2022. All research procedures were conducted according to the Malaysian Guidelines Good Clinical Practice (4th edition) and other relevant guidelines for research. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants before their participation.

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Choo, S., Chang, C., Chan, HK. et al. Knowledge and attitude towards home quarantine instructions and associations with history of Covid-19 infection in Malaysia. BMC Public Health 24 , 1311 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18739-9

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• World Health Organization. (2021). Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/
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Essays reveal experiences during pandemic, unrest.

Field study students share their thoughts 

Members of Advanced Field Study, a select group of Social Ecology students who are chosen from a pool of applicants to participate in a year-long field study experience and course, had their internships and traditional college experience cut short this year. During our final quarter of the year together, during which we met weekly for two hours via Zoom, we discussed their reactions as the world fell apart around them. First came the pandemic and social distancing, then came the death of George Floyd and the response of the Black Lives Matter movement, both of which were imprinted on the lives of these students. This year was anything but dull, instead full of raw emotion and painful realizations of the fragility of the human condition and the extent to which we need one another. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for our students to chronicle their experiences — the good and the bad, the lessons learned, and ways in which they were forever changed by the events of the past four months. I invited all of my students to write an essay describing the ways in which these times had impacted their learning and their lives during or after their time at UCI. These are their voices. — Jessica Borelli , associate professor of psychological science

Becoming Socially Distant Through Technology: The Tech Contagion

The current state of affairs put the world on pause, but this pause gave me time to reflect on troubling matters. Time that so many others like me probably also desperately needed to heal without even knowing it. Sometimes it takes one’s world falling apart for the most beautiful mosaic to be built up from the broken pieces of wreckage. 

As the school year was coming to a close and summer was edging around the corner, I began reflecting on how people will spend their summer breaks if the country remains in its current state throughout the sunny season. Aside from living in the sunny beach state of California where people love their vitamin D and social festivities, I think some of the most damaging effects Covid-19 will have on us all has more to do with social distancing policies than with any inconveniences we now face due to the added precautions, despite how devastating it may feel that Disneyland is closed to all the local annual passholders or that the beaches may not be filled with sun-kissed California girls this summer. During this unprecedented time, I don’t think we should allow the rare opportunity we now have to be able to watch in real time how the effects of social distancing can impact our mental health. Before the pandemic, many of us were already engaging in a form of social distancing. Perhaps not the exact same way we are now practicing, but the technology that we have developed over recent years has led to a dramatic decline in our social contact and skills in general. 

The debate over whether we should remain quarantined during this time is not an argument I am trying to pursue. Instead, I am trying to encourage us to view this event as a unique time to study how social distancing can affect people’s mental health over a long period of time and with dramatic results due to the magnitude of the current issue. Although Covid-19 is new and unfamiliar to everyone, the isolation and separation we now face is not. For many, this type of behavior has already been a lifestyle choice for a long time. However, the current situation we all now face has allowed us to gain a more personal insight on how that experience feels due to the current circumstances. Mental illness continues to remain a prevalent problem throughout the world and for that reason could be considered a pandemic of a sort in and of itself long before the Covid-19 outbreak. 

One parallel that can be made between our current restrictions and mental illness reminds me in particular of hikikomori culture. Hikikomori is a phenomenon that originated in Japan but that has since spread internationally, now prevalent in many parts of the world, including the United States. Hikikomori is not a mental disorder but rather can appear as a symptom of a disorder. People engaging in hikikomori remain confined in their houses and often their rooms for an extended period of time, often over the course of many years. This action of voluntary confinement is an extreme form of withdrawal from society and self-isolation. Hikikomori affects a large percent of people in Japan yearly and the problem continues to become more widespread with increasing occurrences being reported around the world each year. While we know this problem has continued to increase, the exact number of people practicing hikikomori is unknown because there is a large amount of stigma surrounding the phenomenon that inhibits people from seeking help. This phenomenon cannot be written off as culturally defined because it is spreading to many parts of the world. With the technology we now have, and mental health issues on the rise and expected to increase even more so after feeling the effects of the current pandemic, I think we will definitely see a rise in the number of people engaging in this social isolation, especially with the increase in legitimate fears we now face that appear to justify the previously considered irrational fears many have associated with social gatherings. We now have the perfect sample of people to provide answers about how this form of isolation can affect people over time. 

Likewise, with the advancements we have made to technology not only is it now possible to survive without ever leaving the confines of your own home, but it also makes it possible for us to “fulfill” many of our social interaction needs. It’s very unfortunate, but in addition to the success we have gained through our advancements we have also experienced a great loss. With new technology, I am afraid that we no longer engage with others the way we once did. Although some may say the advancements are for the best, I wonder, at what cost? It is now commonplace to see a phone on the table during a business meeting or first date. Even worse is how many will feel inclined to check their phone during important or meaningful interactions they are having with people face to face. While our technology has become smarter, we have become dumber when it comes to social etiquette. As we all now constantly carry a mini computer with us everywhere we go, we have in essence replaced our best friends. We push others away subconsciously as we reach for our phones during conversations. We no longer remember phone numbers because we have them all saved in our phones. We find comfort in looking down at our phones during those moments of free time we have in public places before our meetings begin. These same moments were once the perfect time to make friends, filled with interactive banter. We now prefer to stare at other people on our phones for hours on end, and often live a sedentary lifestyle instead of going out and interacting with others ourselves. 

These are just a few among many issues the advances to technology led to long ago. We have forgotten how to practice proper tech-etiquette and we have been inadvertently practicing social distancing long before it was ever required. Now is a perfect time for us to look at the society we have become and how we incurred a different kind of pandemic long before the one we currently face. With time, as the social distancing regulations begin to lift, people may possibly begin to appreciate life and connecting with others more than they did before as a result of the unique experience we have shared in together while apart.

Maybe the world needed a time-out to remember how to appreciate what it had but forgot to experience. Life is to be lived through experience, not to be used as a pastime to observe and compare oneself with others. I’ll leave you with a simple reminder: never forget to take care and love more because in a world where life is often unpredictable and ever changing, one cannot risk taking time or loved ones for granted. With that, I bid you farewell, fellow comrades, like all else, this too shall pass, now go live your best life!

Privilege in a Pandemic 

Covid-19 has impacted millions of Americans who have been out of work for weeks, thus creating a financial burden. Without a job and the certainty of knowing when one will return to work, paying rent and utilities has been a problem for many. With unemployment on the rise, relying on unemployment benefits has become a necessity for millions of people. According to the Washington Post , unemployment rose to 14.7% in April which is considered to be the worst since the Great Depression. 

Those who are not worried about the financial aspect or the thought never crossed their minds have privilege. Merriam Webster defines privilege as “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.” Privilege can have a negative connotation. What you choose to do with your privilege is what matters. Talking about privilege can bring discomfort, but the discomfort it brings can also carry the benefit of drawing awareness to one’s privilege, which can lead the person to take steps to help others. 

I am a first-generation college student who recently transferred to a four-year university. When schools began to close, and students had to leave their on-campus housing, many lost their jobs.I was able to stay on campus because I live in an apartment. I am fortunate to still have a job, although the hours are minimal. My parents help pay for school expenses, including housing, tuition, and food. I do not have to worry about paying rent or how to pay for food because my parents are financially stable to help me. However, there are millions of college students who are not financially stable or do not have the support system I have. Here, I have the privilege and, thus, I am the one who can offer help to others. I may not have millions in funding, but volunteering for centers who need help is where I am able to help. Those who live in California can volunteer through Californians For All  or at food banks, shelter facilities, making calls to seniors, etc. 

I was not aware of my privilege during these times until I started reading more articles about how millions of people cannot afford to pay their rent, and landlords are starting to send notices of violations. Rather than feel guilty and be passive about it, I chose to put my privilege into a sense of purpose: Donating to nonprofits helping those affected by COVID-19, continuing to support local businesses, and supporting businesses who are donating profits to those affected by COVID-19.

My World is Burning 

As I write this, my friends are double checking our medical supplies and making plans to buy water and snacks to pass out at the next protest we are attending. We write down the number for the local bailout fund on our arms and pray that we’re lucky enough not to have to use it should things get ugly. We are part of a pivotal event, the kind of movement that will forever have a place in history. Yet, during this revolution, I have papers to write and grades to worry about, as I’m in the midst of finals. 

My professors have offered empty platitudes. They condemn the violence and acknowledge the stress and pain that so many of us are feeling, especially the additional weight that this carries for students of color. I appreciate their show of solidarity, but it feels meaningless when it is accompanied by requests to complete research reports and finalize presentations. Our world is on fire. Literally. On my social media feeds, I scroll through image after image of burning buildings and police cars in flames. How can I be asked to focus on school when my community is under siege? When police are continuing to murder black people, adding additional names to the ever growing list of their victims. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. David Mcatee. And, now, Rayshard Brooks. 

It already felt like the world was being asked of us when the pandemic started and classes continued. High academic expectations were maintained even when students now faced the challenges of being locked down, often trapped in small spaces with family or roommates. Now we are faced with another public health crisis in the form of police violence and once again it seems like educational faculty are turning a blind eye to the impact that this has on the students. I cannot study for exams when I am busy brushing up on my basic first-aid training, taking notes on the best techniques to stop heavy bleeding and treat chemical burns because at the end of the day, if these protests turn south, I will be entering a warzone. Even when things remain peaceful, there is an ugliness that bubbles just below the surface. When beginning the trek home, I have had armed members of the National Guard follow me and my friends. While kneeling in silence, I have watched police officers cock their weapons and laugh, pointing out targets in the crowd. I have been emailing my professors asking for extensions, trying to explain that if something is turned in late, it could be the result of me being detained or injured. I don’t want to be penalized for trying to do what I wholeheartedly believe is right. 

I have spent my life studying and will continue to study these institutions that have been so instrumental in the oppression and marginalization of black and indigenous communities. Yet, now that I have the opportunity to be on the frontlines actively fighting for the change our country so desperately needs, I feel that this study is more of a hindrance than a help to the cause. Writing papers and reading books can only take me so far and I implore that professors everywhere recognize that requesting their students split their time and energy between finals and justice is an impossible ask.

Opportunity to Serve

Since the start of the most drastic change of our lives, I have had the privilege of helping feed more than 200 different families in the Santa Ana area and even some neighboring cities. It has been an immense pleasure seeing the sheer joy and happiness of families as they come to pick up their box of food from our site, as well as a $50 gift card to Northgate, a grocery store in Santa Ana. Along with donating food and helping feed families, the team at the office, including myself, have dedicated this time to offering psychosocial and mental health check-ups for the families we serve. 

Every day I go into the office I start my day by gathering files of our families we served between the months of January, February, and March and calling them to check on how they are doing financially, mentally, and how they have been affected by COVID-19. As a side project, I have been putting together Excel spreadsheets of all these families’ struggles and finding a way to turn their situation into a success story to share with our board at PY-OCBF and to the community partners who make all of our efforts possible. One of the things that has really touched me while working with these families is how much of an impact this nonprofit organization truly has on family’s lives. I have spoken with many families who I just call to check up on and it turns into an hour call sharing about how much of a change they have seen in their child who went through our program. Further, they go on to discuss that because of our program, their children have a different perspective on the drugs they were using before and the group of friends they were hanging out with. Of course, the situation is different right now as everyone is being told to stay at home; however, there are those handful of kids who still go out without asking for permission, increasing the likelihood they might contract this disease and pass it to the rest of the family. We are working diligently to provide support for these parents and offering advice to talk to their kids in order to have a serious conversation with their kids so that they feel heard and validated. 

Although the novel Coronavirus has impacted the lives of millions of people not just on a national level, but on a global level, I feel that in my current position, it has opened doors for me that would have otherwise not presented themselves. Fortunately, I have been offered a full-time position at the Project Youth Orange County Bar Foundation post-graduation that I have committed to already. This invitation came to me because the organization received a huge grant for COVID-19 relief to offer to their staff and since I was already part-time, they thought I would be a good fit to join the team once mid-June comes around. I was very excited and pleased to be recognized for the work I have done at the office in front of all staff. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity. I will work even harder to provide for the community and to continue changing the lives of adolescents, who have steered off the path of success. I will use my time as a full-time employee to polish my resume, not forgetting that the main purpose of my moving to Irvine was to become a scholar and continue the education that my parents couldn’t attain. I will still be looking for ways to get internships with other fields within criminology. One specific interest that I have had since being an intern and a part-time employee in this organization is the work of the Orange County Coroner’s Office. I don’t exactly know what enticed me to find it appealing as many would say that it is an awful job in nature since it relates to death and seeing people in their worst state possible. However, I feel that the only way for me to truly know if I want to pursue such a career in forensic science will be to just dive into it and see where it takes me. 

I can, without a doubt, say that the Coronavirus has impacted me in a way unlike many others, and for that I am extremely grateful. As I continue working, I can also state that many people are becoming more and more hopeful as time progresses. With people now beginning to say Stage Two of this stay-at-home order is about to allow retailers and other companies to begin doing curbside delivery, many families can now see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Let’s Do Better

This time of the year is meant to be a time of celebration; however, it has been difficult to feel proud or excited for many of us when it has become a time of collective mourning and sorrow, especially for the Black community. There has been an endless amount of pain, rage, and helplessness that has been felt throughout our nation because of the growing list of Black lives we have lost to violence and brutality.

To honor the lives that we have lost, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Michael Brown, Trayon Martin, and all of the other Black lives that have been taken away, may they Rest in Power.

Throughout my college experience, I have become more exposed to the various identities and the upbringings of others, which led to my own self-reflection on my own privileged and marginalized identities. I identify as Colombian, German, and Mexican; however navigating life as a mixed race, I have never been able to identify or have one culture more salient than the other. I am visibly white-passing and do not hold any strong ties with any of my ethnic identities, which used to bring me feelings of guilt and frustration, for I would question whether or not I could be an advocate for certain communities, and whether or not I could claim the identity of a woman of color. In the process of understanding my positionality, I began to wonder what space I belonged in, where I could speak up, and where I should take a step back for others to speak. I found myself in a constant theme of questioning what is my narrative and slowly began to realize that I could not base it off lone identities and that I have had the privilege to move through life without my identities defining who I am. Those initial feelings of guilt and confusion transformed into growth, acceptance, and empowerment.

This journey has driven me to educate myself more about the social inequalities and injustices that people face and to focus on what I can do for those around me. It has motivated me to be more culturally responsive and competent, so that I am able to best advocate for those around me. Through the various roles I have worked in, I have been able to listen to a variety of communities’ narratives and experiences, which has allowed me to extend my empathy to these communities while also pushing me to continue educating myself on how I can best serve and empower them. By immersing myself amongst different communities, I have been given the honor of hearing others’ stories and experiences, which has inspired me to commit myself to support and empower others.

I share my story of navigating through my privileged and marginalized identities in hopes that it encourages others to explore their own identities. This journey is not an easy one, and it is an ongoing learning process that will come with various mistakes. I have learned that with facing our privileges comes feelings of guilt, discomfort, and at times, complacency. It is very easy to become ignorant when we are not affected by different issues, but I challenge those who read this to embrace the discomfort. With these emotions, I have found it important to reflect on the source of discomfort and guilt, for although they are a part of the process, in taking the steps to become more aware of the systemic inequalities around us, understanding the source of discomfort can better inform us on how we perpetuate these systemic inequalities. If we choose to embrace ignorance, we refuse to acknowledge the systems that impact marginalized communities and refuse to honestly and openly hear cries for help. If we choose our own comfort over the lives of those being affected every day, we can never truly honor, serve, or support these communities.

I challenge any non-Black person, including myself, to stop remaining complacent when injustices are committed. We need to consistently recognize and acknowledge how the Black community is disproportionately affected in every injustice experienced and call out anti-Blackness in every role, community, and space we share. We need to keep ourselves and others accountable when we make mistakes or fall back into patterns of complacency or ignorance. We need to continue educating ourselves instead of relying on the emotional labor of the Black community to continuously educate us on the history of their oppressions. We need to collectively uplift and empower one another to heal and rise against injustice. We need to remember that allyship ends when action ends.

To the Black community, you are strong. You deserve to be here. The recent events are emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting, and the need for rest to take care of your mental, physical, and emotional well-being are at an all time high. If you are able, take the time to regain your energy, feel every emotion, and remind yourself of the power you have inside of you. You are not alone.

The Virus That Makes You Forget

Following Jan. 1 of 2020 many of my classmates and I continued to like, share, and forward the same meme. The meme included any image but held the same phrase: I can see 2020. For many of us, 2020 was a beacon of hope. For the Class of 2020, this meant walking on stage in front of our families. Graduation meant becoming an adult, finding a job, or going to graduate school. No matter what we were doing in our post-grad life, we were the new rising stars ready to take on the world with a positive outlook no matter what the future held. We felt that we had a deal with the universe that we were about to be noticed for our hard work, our hardships, and our perseverance.

Then March 17 of 2020 came to pass with California Gov. Newman ordering us to stay at home, which we all did. However, little did we all know that the world we once had open to us would only be forgotten when we closed our front doors.

Life became immediately uncertain and for many of us, that meant graduation and our post-graduation plans including housing, careers, education, food, and basic standards of living were revoked! We became the forgotten — a place from which many of us had attempted to rise by attending university. The goals that we were told we could set and the plans that we were allowed to make — these were crushed before our eyes.

Eighty days before graduation, in the first several weeks of quarantine, I fell extremely ill; both unfortunately and luckily, I was isolated. All of my roommates had moved out of the student apartments leaving me with limited resources, unable to go to the stores to pick up medicine or food, and with insufficient health coverage to afford a doctor until my throat was too swollen to drink water. For nearly three weeks, I was stuck in bed, I was unable to apply to job deadlines, reach out to family, and have contact with the outside world. I was forgotten.

Forty-five days before graduation, I had clawed my way out of illness and was catching up on an honors thesis about media depictions of sexual exploitation within the American political system, when I was relayed the news that democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was accused of sexual assault. However, when reporting this news to close friends who had been devastated and upset by similar claims against past politicians, they all were too tired and numb from the quarantine to care. Just as I had written hours before reading the initial story, history was repeating, and it was not only I who COVID-19 had forgotten, but now survivors of violence.

After this revelation, I realize the silencing factor that COVID-19 has. Not only does it have the power to terminate the voices of our older generations, but it has the power to silence and make us forget the voices of every generation. Maybe this is why social media usage has gone up, why we see people creating new social media accounts, posting more, attempting to reach out to long lost friends. We do not want to be silenced, moreover, we cannot be silenced. Silence means that we have been forgotten and being forgotten is where injustice and uncertainty occurs. By using social media, pressing like on a post, or even sending a hate message, means that someone cares and is watching what you are doing. If there is no interaction, I am stuck in the land of indifference.

This is a place that I, and many others, now reside, captured and uncertain. In 2020, my plan was to graduate Cum Laude, dean's honor list, with three honors programs, three majors, and with research and job experience that stretched over six years. I would then go into my first year of graduate school, attempting a dual Juris Doctorate. I would be spending my time experimenting with new concepts, new experiences, and new relationships. My life would then be spent giving a microphone to survivors of domestic violence and sex crimes. However, now the plan is wiped clean, instead I sit still bound to graduate in 30 days with no home to stay, no place to work, and no future education to come back to. I would say I am overly qualified, but pandemic makes me lost in a series of names and masked faces.

Welcome to My Cage: The Pandemic and PTSD

When I read the campuswide email notifying students of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the coronavirus pandemic, I was sitting on my couch practicing a research presentation I was going to give a few hours later. For a few minutes, I sat there motionless, trying to digest the meaning of the words as though they were from a language other than my own, familiar sounds strung together in way that was wholly unintelligible to me. I tried but failed to make sense of how this could affect my life. After the initial shock had worn off, I mobilized quickly, snapping into an autopilot mode of being I knew all too well. I began making mental checklists, sharing the email with my friends and family, half of my brain wondering if I should make a trip to the grocery store to stockpile supplies and the other half wondering how I was supposed take final exams in the midst of so much uncertainty. The most chilling realization was knowing I had to wait powerlessly as the fate of the world unfolded, frozen with anxiety as I figured out my place in it all.

These feelings of powerlessness and isolation are familiar bedfellows for me. Early October of 2015, shortly after beginning my first year at UCI, I was diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Despite having had years of psychological treatment for my condition, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Retraining, the flashbacks, paranoia, and nightmares still emerge unwarranted. People have referred to the pandemic as a collective trauma. For me, the pandemic has not only been a collective trauma, it has also been the reemergence of a personal trauma. The news of the pandemic and the implications it has for daily life triggered a reemergence of symptoms that were ultimately ignited by the overwhelming sense of helplessness that lies in waiting, as I suddenly find myself navigating yet another situation beyond my control. Food security, safety, and my sense of self have all been shaken by COVID-19.

The first few weeks after UCI transitioned into remote learning and the governor issued the stay-at-home order, I hardly got any sleep. My body was cycling through hypervigilance and derealization, and my sleep was interrupted by intrusive nightmares oscillating between flashbacks and frightening snippets from current events. Any coping methods I had developed through hard-won efforts over the past few years — leaving my apartment for a change of scenery, hanging out with friends, going to the gym — were suddenly made inaccessible to me due to the stay-at-home orders, closures of non-essential businesses, and many of my friends breaking their campus leases to move back to their family homes. So for me, learning to cope during COVID-19 quarantine means learning to function with my re-emerging PTSD symptoms and without my go-to tools. I must navigate my illness in a rapidly evolving world, one where some of my internalized fears, such as running out of food and living in an unsafe world, are made progressively more external by the minute and broadcasted on every news platform; fears that I could no longer escape, being confined in the tight constraints of my studio apartment’s walls. I cannot shake the devastating effects of sacrifice that I experience as all sense of control has been stripped away from me.

However, amidst my mental anguish, I have realized something important—experiencing these same PTSD symptoms during a global pandemic feels markedly different than it did years ago. Part of it might be the passage of time and the growth in my mindset, but there is something else that feels very different. Currently, there is widespread solidarity and support for all of us facing the chaos of COVID-19, whether they are on the frontlines of the fight against the illness or they are self-isolating due to new rules, restrictions, and risks. This was in stark contrast to what it was like to have a mental disorder. The unity we all experience as a result of COVID-19 is one I could not have predicted. I am not the only student heartbroken over a cancelled graduation, I am not the only student who is struggling to adapt to remote learning, and I am not the only person in this world who has to make sacrifices.

Between observations I’ve made on social media and conversations with my friends and classmates, this time we are all enduring great pain and stress as we attempt to adapt to life’s challenges. As a Peer Assistant for an Education class, I have heard from many students of their heartache over the remote learning model, how difficult it is to study in a non-academic environment, and how unmotivated they have become this quarter. This is definitely something I can relate to; as of late, it has been exceptionally difficult to find motivation and put forth the effort for even simple activities as a lack of energy compounds the issue and hinders basic needs. However, the willingness of people to open up about their distress during the pandemic is unlike the self-imposed social isolation of many people who experience mental illness regularly. Something this pandemic has taught me is that I want to live in a world where mental illness receives more support and isn’t so taboo and controversial. Why is it that we are able to talk about our pain, stress, and mental illness now, but aren’t able to talk about it outside of a global pandemic? People should be able to talk about these hardships and ask for help, much like during these circumstances.

It has been nearly three months since the coronavirus crisis was declared a pandemic. I still have many bad days that I endure where my symptoms can be overwhelming. But somehow, during my good days — and some days, merely good moments — I can appreciate the resilience I have acquired over the years and the common ground I share with others who live through similar circumstances. For veterans of trauma and mental illness, this isn’t the first time we are experiencing pain in an extreme and disastrous way. This is, however, the first time we are experiencing it with the rest of the world. This strange new feeling of solidarity as I read and hear about the experiences of other people provides some small comfort as I fight my way out of bed each day. As we fight to survive this pandemic, I hope to hold onto this feeling of togetherness and acceptance of pain, so that it will always be okay for people to share their struggles. We don’t know what the world will look like days, months, or years from now, but I hope that we can cultivate such a culture to make life much easier for people coping with mental illness.

A Somatic Pandemonium in Quarantine

I remember hearing that our brains create the color magenta all on their own. 

When I was younger I used to run out of my third-grade class because my teacher was allergic to the mold and sometimes would vomit in the trash can. My dad used to tell me that I used to always have to have something in my hands, later translating itself into the form of a hair tie around my wrist.

Sometimes, I think about the girl who used to walk on her tippy toes. medial and lateral nerves never planted, never grounded. We were the same in this way. My ability to be firmly planted anywhere was also withered. 

Was it from all the times I panicked? Or from the time I ran away and I blistered the soles of my feet 'til they were black from the summer pavement? Emetophobia. 

I felt it in the shower, dressing itself from the crown of my head down to the soles of my feet, noting the feeling onto my white board in an attempt to solidify it’s permanence.

As I breathed in the chemical blue transpiring from the Expo marker, everything was more defined. I laid down and when I looked up at the starlet lamp I had finally felt centered. Still. No longer fleeting. The grooves in the lamps glass forming a spiral of what felt to me like an artificial landscape of transcendental sparks. 

She’s back now, magenta, though I never knew she left or even ever was. Somehow still subconsciously always known. I had been searching for her in the tremors.

I can see her now in the daphnes, the golden rays from the sun reflecting off of the bark on the trees and the red light that glowed brighter, suddenly the town around me was warmer. A melting of hues and sharpened saturation that was apparent and reminded of the smell of oranges.

I threw up all of the carrots I ate just before. The trauma that my body kept as a memory of things that may or may not go wrong and the times that I couldn't keep my legs from running. Revelations bring memories bringing anxieties from fear and panic released from my body as if to say “NO LONGER!” 

I close my eyes now and my mind's eye is, too, more vivid than ever before. My inner eyelids lit up with orange undertones no longer a solid black, neurons firing, fire. Not the kind that burns you but the kind that can light up a dull space. Like the wick of a tea-lit candle. Magenta doesn’t exist. It is perception. A construct made of light waves, blue and red.

Demolition. Reconstruction. I walk down the street into this new world wearing my new mask, somatic senses tingling and I think to myself “Houston, I think we’ve just hit equilibrium.”

How COVID-19 Changed My Senior Year

During the last two weeks of Winter quarter, I watched the emails pour in. Spring quarter would be online, facilities were closing, and everyone was recommended to return home to their families, if possible. I resolved to myself that I would not move back home; I wanted to stay in my apartment, near my boyfriend, near my friends, and in the one place I had my own space. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, things continued to change quickly. Soon I learned my roommate/best friend would be cancelling her lease and moving back up to Northern California. We had made plans for my final quarter at UCI, as I would be graduating in June while she had another year, but all of the sudden, that dream was gone. In one whirlwind of a day, we tried to cram in as much of our plans as we could before she left the next day for good. There are still so many things – like hiking, going to museums, and showing her around my hometown – we never got to cross off our list.

Then, my boyfriend decided he would also be moving home, three hours away. Most of my sorority sisters were moving home, too. I realized if I stayed at school, I would be completely alone. My mom had been encouraging me to move home anyway, but I was reluctant to return to a house I wasn’t completely comfortable in. As the pandemic became more serious, gentle encouragement quickly turned into demands. I had to cancel my lease and move home.

I moved back in with my parents at the end of Spring Break; I never got to say goodbye to most of my friends, many of whom I’ll likely never see again – as long as the virus doesn’t change things, I’m supposed to move to New York over the summer to begin a PhD program in Criminal Justice. Just like that, my time at UCI had come to a close. No lasts to savor; instead I had piles of things to regret. In place of a final quarter filled with memorable lasts, such as the senior banquet or my sorority’s senior preference night, I’m left with a laundry list of things I missed out on. I didn’t get to look around the campus one last time like I had planned; I never got to take my graduation pictures in front of the UC Irvine sign. Commencement had already been cancelled. The lights had turned off in the theatre before the movie was over. I never got to find out how the movie ended.

Transitioning to a remote learning system wasn’t too bad, but I found that some professors weren’t adjusting their courses to the difficulties many students were facing. It turned out to be difficult to stay motivated, especially for classes that are pre-recorded and don’t have any face-to-face interaction. It’s hard to make myself care; I’m in my last few weeks ever at UCI, but it feels like I’m already in summer. School isn’t real, my classes aren’t real. I still put in the effort, but I feel like I’m not getting much out of my classes.

The things I had been looking forward to this quarter are gone; there will be no Undergraduate Research Symposium, where I was supposed to present two projects. My amazing internship with the US Postal Inspection Service is over prematurely and I never got to properly say goodbye to anyone I met there. I won’t receive recognition for the various awards and honors I worked so hard to achieve.

And I’m one of the lucky ones! I feel guilty for feeling bad about my situation, when I know there are others who have it much, much worse. I am like that quintessential spoiled child, complaining while there are essential workers working tirelessly, people with health concerns constantly fearing for their safety, and people dying every day. Yet knowing that doesn't help me from feeling I was robbed of my senior experience, something I worked very hard to achieve. I know it’s not nearly as important as what many others are going through. But nevertheless, this is my situation. I was supposed to be enjoying this final quarter with my friends and preparing to move on, not be stuck at home, grappling with my mental health and hiding out in my room to get some alone time from a family I don’t always get along with. And while I know it’s more difficult out there for many others, it’s still difficult for me.

The thing that stresses me out most is the uncertainty. Uncertainty for the future – how long will this pandemic last? How many more people have to suffer before things go back to “normal” – whatever that is? How long until I can see my friends and family again? And what does this mean for my academic future? Who knows what will happen between now and then? All that’s left to do is wait and hope that everything will work out for the best.

Looking back over my last few months at UCI, I wish I knew at the time that I was experiencing my lasts; it feels like I took so much for granted. If there is one thing this has all made me realize, it’s that nothing is certain. Everything we expect, everything we take for granted – none of it is a given. Hold on to what you have while you have it, and take the time to appreciate the wonderful things in life, because you never know when it will be gone.

Physical Distancing

Thirty days have never felt so long. April has been the longest month of the year. I have been through more in these past three months than in the past three years. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a huge impact on both physical and social well-being of a lot of Americans, including me. Stress has been governing the lives of so many civilians, in particular students and workers. In addition to causing a lack of motivation in my life, quarantine has also brought a wave of anxiety.

My life changed the moment the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the government announced social distancing. My busy daily schedule, running from class to class and meeting to meeting, morphed into identical days, consisting of hour after hour behind a cold computer monitor. Human interaction and touch improve trust, reduce fear and increases physical well-being. Imagine the effects of removing the human touch and interaction from midst of society. Humans are profoundly social creatures. I cannot function without interacting and connecting with other people. Even daily acquaintances have an impact on me that is only noticeable once removed. As a result, the COVID-19 outbreak has had an extreme impact on me beyond direct symptoms and consequences of contracting the virus itself.

It was not until later that month, when out of sheer boredom I was scrolling through my call logs and I realized that I had called my grandmother more than ever. This made me realize that quarantine had created some positive impacts on my social interactions as well. This period of time has created an opportunity to check up on and connect with family and peers more often than we were able to. Even though we might be connecting solely through a screen, we are not missing out on being socially connected. Quarantine has taught me to value and prioritize social connection, and to recognize that we can find this type of connection not only through in-person gatherings, but also through deep heart to heart connections. Right now, my weekly Zoom meetings with my long-time friends are the most important events in my week. In fact, I have taken advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with many of my old friends and have actually had more meaningful conversations with them than before the isolation.

This situation is far from ideal. From my perspective, touch and in-person interaction is essential; however, we must overcome all difficulties that life throws at us with the best we are provided with. Therefore, perhaps we should take this time to re-align our motives by engaging in things that are of importance to us. I learned how to dig deep and find appreciation for all the small talks, gatherings, and face-to-face interactions. I have also realized that friendships are not only built on the foundation of physical presence but rather on meaningful conversations you get to have, even if they are through a cold computer monitor. My realization came from having more time on my hands and noticing the shift in conversations I was having with those around me. After all, maybe this isolation isn’t “social distancing”, but rather “physical distancing” until we meet again.

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Without housing, we were out of options. COVID quarantine offered my family a path forward.

The writer of this essay is a 2023-24 Student Voices Fellow at Chalkbeat. Click to learn more about our high school fellowship program.

Content warning: This essay contains references to thoughts of suicide.

As the winter breeze blew through my braids, I felt a surge of excitement. Back then, good news was hard to come by so I was eager to share some with my mom. A smile spread from ear to ear as I rushed toward a white Honda parked across the street from my school, imagining her reaction.

But the usual sensation of love and security that I felt in my mom’s presence seemed to diminish with each step that I took. My mom didn’t trust me crossing the street, so she would usually park closer. This time, she didn’t roll down her window and call out to me with familiar laughs and friendly jokes. Something was wrong. A brewing surprise awaited me in that car. I hate surprises.

I hesitated for a moment before opening the car door. When I did, my heart sank when I saw who was driving. As I settled into the back seat, I wasn’t met with the typical “How was your day?” but instead with a chilling silence. Every slight noise — the hum of the car engine, the shuffling of my burgundy coat, my heart pounding — seemed magnified.

I recall having to swallow what felt like a brick to playfully ask, “Can we go home?”

“You have no home,” my mom’s partner said, turning around from the driver’s seat to look at me. He taunted me. I begged and pleaded to go home as tears fell from my eyes. He laughed and repeatedly said, “You have no home.”

Months earlier, my mom’s day care business began to fail. Money wasn’t coming in, running hot water was a luxury, and choosing what to eat was no longer a privilege. Although she was in a “marriage,” my mom was always left to figure things out on her own. Only this time, she couldn’t find a solution.

Eventually, her partner decided it was best to sell our home, the same home where his presence contributed little but chaos and stress. My mornings were often filled with the discordant symphony of screaming and arguing — whether it was about his infidelities or his decision to take our front gates down, resulting in my mom having to close the day care.

At the time, school and God were my only escape. At school I kept up appearances, pretending everything was normal, even as my life was slowly falling apart. I reminded myself that school would be the way out for my mom, my sister, and me.

I remember walking home one day to an empty house. The tables, the daycare toys — everything was just gone. That’s when the reality of my situation hit me. I felt shock, sadness, and worry. In that moment all I could do was document my barren home on Snapchat memories. I guess some part of me knew that this would be important one day, even if I didn’t understand it at the time.

Life after that chaotic winter night in 2019 was “no crystal stair,” as the poet Langston Hughes put it:

It’s had tacks in it

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

But when you saw me at school, you would’ve never known that the night before, I had slept in the car or that I had to get ready and freshen up in a gas station bathroom. I was always full of giggles. Growing up, I was taught that what happens in the house stays in the house, even if you no longer have one.

I remember the third night after losing my home — after spending two nights in a cold car — my mom’s partner, who had been sleeping at his sibling’s house, finally brought us to a Holiday Inn. He paid for us to spend the night there but initially didn’t give us any of the proceeds from the sale of our home. We arrived with nothing but the clothes on our back and whatever my mom managed to pack in a small brown bag.

At school I kept up appearances, pretending everything was normal even as my life was slowly falling apart.

That night, for the first time, I had thoughts of ending my life. I was only 12 years old.

I had made up my mind that life would be easier for my mom without me. As my thoughts spiraled downward, I received a text message from my sister. She sent me Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The scripture was a lifeline and managed to calm the storm in my mind.

After about three months in hotels and motels, we had run out of money. To make matters worse, my mom’s license plates got taken, so getting to school meant walking, often in the freezing cold, or taking a cab we couldn’t afford.

Bereaved students like me are more likely to struggle in school. Here’s what we need to thrive.

Life while being homeless was like a rabbit hole. Things were constantly changing. This instability caused me to be late to school almost every day of my seventh grade year, drawing the attention of my guidance counselor. It was hard for me to reach out for help, but when I finally got the courage to do so, my situation became gossip. I never spoke about it again.

Unfortunately, the school wanted to get the state involved. Just when I thought my world would get flipped upside down, and I would be separated from my mom and forced to repeat a grade, COVID and quarantine changed things.

During what was meant to be a two-week quarantine, our only options for housing was to go to a homeless shelter or upstate to my mom’s father’s place. Eventually, with hesitation, my mom decided to take my sister and me to her father’s home — a place I came to call “the hell house.”

The external appearance of this house was deceiving. The grass was freshly cut, and there was a pool in the backyard, but inside this beautiful home hid an ugly truth: the constant threat of violence.

Before COVID, life felt like it was moving too fast, and we couldn’t keep up. Quarantine was supposed to give us a break, a chance to figure out our next step. However, living in the hell house triggered my mom, plunging her into a deep depression. Nothing could snap her out of it. When we were kicked out into the snow eight months later, we had nowhere to go. No car, no money, nothing.

The rule “what happens in the house stays in the house” no longer applied. My sister reached out to our godmother in Newark who welcomed us with open arms. Her family provided the steady, loving environment that I so desperately needed. My mom was always doing for others, so it was hard for her to acknowledge that she and we needed help. If it wasn’t for quarantine, I would not be where I am today: safe, stable, and surrounded by love.

Alexa Brown-Hill, a junior at Bard High School Early College in Newark , is a multifaceted individual who is deeply passionate about literature and aspires to become a published author and a makeup artist. She is a 2023-24 Chalkbeat Student Voices fellow .