When students contract illnesses, it is not uncommon for them to decide to attend school nevertheless as they are afraid of missing classes. However, this action can have numerous consequences, such as spreading germs to classmates and prolonging their recovery.
There is a large spectrum of illnesses, some of which are unable to be transferred with others being extremely contagious. In some of the former cases, there can be debate over whether or not the sick person attends school, but if the individual is experiencing symptoms from the latter, the student should not be present.
“You’re going to be infectious if you have a viral infection [or] if you have a bacterial infection, depending on how deep it is, … anything which can come out through your nose and your mouth is going to be contagious, meaning it can get transferred. So the more intense your infection is, you think of it as there is a lot more virus in your body, a lot more bacteria in your body,” said science teacher Mallika Srinivasan. “So every time you breathe, every breath that you have, every sneeze you do, you’re putting out hundreds and hundreds of millions of virus particles. So the other person who gets it from you, who’s sitting next to you, the probability of them falling sick increases because a lot more of these bugs or viruses are getting into them.”
Additionally, students who attend school while sick risk not only worsening their own condition but also spreading illness to others, potentially causing both themselves and their peers to miss important school events. With the colder weather and multitude of viruses and infections being passed around schools this time of year, it is imperative that students rest in order to recover in the safety of their own homes. Especially with exciting activities like Intercession and the Gatsby Ball coming up, the best option is really to stay home and avoid missing important events such as these.
“If you come to school when you’re sick, I just feel like you’re putting other people at risk and spreading the cold or the flu, and you should just stay home to rest your body,” said sophomore Ashley Turek.
Although missing school is never a student’s first choice, it is a necessary step to recovery as well as to ensure that they and their classmates are able to academically thrive in the long run.
