ALISA OPPENHEIMER
News Editor
To say we’ve made it through this semester gracefully would be a false statement.
COVID-19 made its presence known on our campus, but we’ve managed to stick it out.
As we head into our final week of in-person classes, looking back on how we got here only proves that we made it through by just the skin of our teeth.
Around the first day of classes of this fall, public places in New York were just beginning to re-open.
A briefing was held by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the morning of Aug. 24, where he discussed the progress made in COVID at that time.
“Today is a great day,” said Cuomo.
“The infection rate today is 0.66. That is the lowest infection rate we’ve had since we started this.”
As Fredonia students were getting ready for their first day of classes, this briefing was playing on pretty much every New Yorker’s television screens.
For almost all of us, this was not only our first day back to class, but this was our first time back into a social atmosphere after 177 days stuck inside of our homes.
That briefing set off a sense of optimism.
Though, too much optimism may have been our downfall.
Within only the first three weeks of classes, our total number of positive COVID cases increased by at least 11 people daily.
Beginning on Aug. 31, with only 10 positive cases, that number more than doubled by the following week with a total of 22 positive cases.
In the week following that, our positive case number reached 64, and then hit 72 after the weekend.
Our numbers steadily increased throughout the days, and the campus-community grew concerned.
Many wondered if returning to Fredonia was the right decision.
Others were trying to decide whether or not attending their in-person classes was a good idea.
There was also talk of our school’s process of testing being unreliable, and even professors voiced their worries.
“I have the same concerns you have about the limited testing,” said associate psychology professor Darrin Rogers, around the time of our initial rise in COVID cases.
“We had started two different kinds of alternative testing, and the pool testing was, at that time, in small numbers, and with lots of no-shows,” said Rogers.
Later, SUNY stepped in and implemented various changes in not only our process of testing, but they also pushed for better communication to students and the rest of the community regarding COVID.
We witnessed a greater emphasis on the importance of pool testing. Fredonia continuously increased the number of students tested every week, and students went from receiving a random email requesting their attendance for a test, to having scheduled dates and time periods, and everyone was required to be tested at least twice.
As for the communication, our COVID Dashboard was modified at least three times, and each Thursday, President Kolison began sending out email updates regarding COVID on our campus and pool testing results.
As the weeks went on and more people were being tested daily, our numbers gradually went down.
We received results as low as zero positive cases out of hundreds of students for two weeks from pool testing, and classes continued to be held in person.
All of this occurred while various other SUNY schools were still shut down from previous outbreaks, like Oneonta and Cortland.
Compared to them, we were considered to be doing well.
The amount of people selected for pool testing continued to rise from week to week.
With this, we haven’t seen results as low as zero positive cases since those early weeks in testing, which was expected.
Once Halloween weekend came, many wondered if this would affect our numbers.
According to our COVID Dashboard, it did.
In the week before Halloween, Oct. 19-23, our total positive cases from campus administered tests was only 3.
From Oct. 26-30, our Dashboard shows that we had a total of 10 positive cases by that Friday.
Our in-person classes were still in session, but it’s evident we managed to remain vigilant and cautious in our day-to-day activities.
Currently, our positive case numbers have stayed in the same range since Halloween, with this week’s total positive cases being 11.
We’re now only a week away from being able to say we’ve made it through an entire semester in COVID.
We’ve almost done it.
But remember, the pandemic is still a reality and is way bigger than what we see on our small campus.
In these last few days, it’s vital that everyone take the necessary precautions that have been enforced since the very beginning.
Make sure you’re tested before you go home, and don’t let your guard down once you leave Fredonia.