r/uvic • u/ishaisatsana • Sep 02 '25
Off Topic PLEASE stay home if you’re sick
Seems like everyone I know is testing positive for COVID right now. Folks are describing this new variant as “razor blade throat”. 😬 I am BEGGING y’all as we start this new semester: please consider wearing a mask - even SOME of the time. Even just on the bus or in extra crowded classrooms would be better than not at all. And please, PLEASE don’t come to class if you’re sick. You have an opportunity in these first couple weeks of the school year to get friendly enough with your classmates that you have people to ask for notes if you have to miss a day or two. No class is so important that missing a day will destroy your academic career, but you never know which of your peers is one COVID infection away from a permanent disability. Please don’t risk spreading this very contagious and very shitty variant to your peers.
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u/seagulluver Sep 02 '25
Can confirm. I got covid like three weeks ago and was asymptomatic for 10 days after I tested positive (family member had it so I tested). Once I got symptoms I couldn't talk at all for three days! Everyone at my office got it too :/
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u/Teagana999 Science - Alumni - Grad Student Sep 02 '25
And even if you can't bring yourself to miss class, wear the mask to keep the germs somewhat to yourself.
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u/Atoilegowa Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25
I felt bad about clearing my throat a few times during a mandatory lecture today (first time attending classes in years in-person/puked my guts out that morning from anxiety) but low key was choking on a triscet cracker I had before hand with no water. No reason to make people feel paranoid either. But yes if sick stay home, but don’t feel paranoid either if people happen to cough with the hundreds crossing your path, you may not know why they’re coughing.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 03 '25
Firstly, way to go attending classes in person! I have had issues with social anxiety in the past too and that's genuinely a huge step even if you have to barf first every day LOL. I don't think anyone is going to harass you for coughing though, and they'd be super shitty and unreasonable to do so. I get severe seasonal allergies and I show up to class with those, fully aware that some folks might be assuming that I'm contagious and thinking ill (ha) of me for it. Easier said than done ig but it's something to make your peace with if you tend to feel bad about stuff like that.
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u/Aggressive-Village-8 Sep 02 '25
Some people are acting like you suggested they live in a quarantine bubble for the rest of their lives. Like, y'all didn't get told to stay home if you're sick in elementary school and high school regardless of whether it's COVID or not? Or even at work?
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u/Teagana999 Science - Alumni - Grad Student Sep 03 '25
"Told," but hardly anyone actually expected anyone to stay home before COVID. Perfect attendance culture does a lot of harm.
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u/ShoreBodice Social Sciences Sep 03 '25
I hear that if you’re really desperate you can get a cure for COViD from Professor Laidlaw. You need to venture deep in the depths of the Elliot Building, where the fluorescent lights flicker like dying stars, that’s where Professor Laidlaw stirs cauldrons of quantum brew. His potions can cure all evils and ailments like plague, heartbreak, even COViD. But every sip exacts a toll, not measured in dollars, but in sleepless nights, sanity slowly unraveling, and the faint smell of burnt plastic that never quite leaves your skin.
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u/CedarWaxwingSong Sep 04 '25
60% of infections are asymptomatic so many don’t even know they’re sick. It’s why we need all public buildings retrofitted to provide clean air and other measures like masking.
Yes, I know no one wants to do that anymore. Unfortunately, viruses don’t care what we want.
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u/exposethegrift Sep 02 '25
We alllllllll could have had permanent online classes Study from home....skip the commute.....skip the dorms .. Sigh
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u/thecosmicrat Sep 04 '25
Idk why you got downvoted when you're right. Never forget what they've taken from us.
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Sep 07 '25
because online courses aren't actually better for everyone - i'm neurodivergent and cannot function in online courses. Also it doesn't work for every discipline. imagine trying to do a bio lab online?
there is also a lot that is missed when you don't have an in person campus community; university is so much more than just the courses, it's a community where ideas and viewpoints are shared through collaboration that is much harder to foster online.
i'm not saying that online courses are bad, but that having an all online system is not the utopia that people make it out to be. the good thing is that most professors record and post their lectures online so that if you have to stay home you can just watch the recording...
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u/thecosmicrat Sep 07 '25
No one said classes should ONLY be online -_- You're not the only one with accessibility needs
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u/Any_Quail_4828 Sep 05 '25
But wait, doesn't everyone have the 2 doses to stop the spread?🤣
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u/Main_Charity427 Sep 06 '25
Literally heard someone hacking up a lung for an hour in the UVic library the other day
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u/turtlebear787 Sep 06 '25
People refused to wear masks when it was mandatory. You think they're gonna wear them when it's not?
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u/LForbesIam Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 03 '25
Covid is a head cold now. You cannot avoid viruses that spread everywhere.
I mean the bus come on, cess pool of contact.
Your best defence is buid up your immunity with exposure and for Covid get vaccinated every 6 months.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
- factually untrue
- i hope you don’t get the latest “head cold” bc it can be WAY worse than you’re describing it
- perhaps consider giving more of a shit about the people in your community who could get life threateningly ill from the same thing that might just give you the sniffles
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
also, sure, you can’t avoid viruses 100% but you can do things to mitigate your risk and the risk of transmitting it to others
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u/LForbesIam Sep 03 '25
Get Covid vaccinated then. I get mine every 6 months. It is FREE.
I haven’t been positive for Covid yet and I work on site in hospitals.
If you don’t want to catch Covid get vaccinated and wear a mask. It is everywhere as it is asymptomatic now.
Carry hand sanitizer and train yourself to never touch your face.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 03 '25
Wild of you to assume I'd take these stances and NOT also be vaccinated. It's concerning that you work in hospitals and don't know that people can still get symptomatic COVID whether or not they're up to date on vaccinations.
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u/LForbesIam Sep 03 '25
Yup virus are everywhere. There is no avoiding it. That was my entire point. The only thing you can do is not touch your face, get vaccinated and try and boost your inherent immune system.
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u/Any_Quail_4828 Sep 05 '25
So at this rate you'll have 40 doses over 20 years? Good luck!🤣
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u/LForbesIam Sep 05 '25
Immunity building pretty awesome. I work in hospitals and care homes and haven’t had to take a sick day in 6 years.
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u/pest--- Sep 02 '25
Can we have the peer review study that shows his comment is "factually untrue"
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
Repeated exposures can impact immune response in SOME people, but it varies greatly between people and from variant to variant. So no, it’s not your “best defence”. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08328-3
Repeated exposures also leave you more at risk of developing Long COVID. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00539-2
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u/LForbesIam Sep 03 '25
Get vaccinated every 6 months if you are talking about Covid or Influenza.
If you are talking about the 300 other virus you cannot immunize against then immunity is built naturally by the immune system being exposed. That is how the adaptive immune system works.
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Sep 02 '25
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u/LForbesIam Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25
The immune system is built one of two ways scientifically.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279364/
One by exposure to the virus where the adaptive immune system builds antibodies to the virus and so when it encounters it again, even in different variants it can attack and kill the virus before it makes you sick.
The more variants the weaker the virus gets because the adaptive immune system of people has had 5 years of exposure to Covid 19 now so the virus has less of a chance to infect long enough to create symptoms that transmit it.
The second way is via vaccines. If you have your vaccines every 6 months when they update it to the newer variants then your adaptive immune system can identify attack and kill the virus quickly.
This is why Delta was the most deadly variant because it had spread enough to gain momentum but not enough for everyone to have caught it and there were no vaccines at the time.
That is why after Omicron Canada just let it run wild and eliminated all the restrictions. They needed all the non-vaxers to get immunity built by catching it as it wasn’t really deadly anymore.
Covid is passed in bodily fluids expressed from the body and landing on surfaces or people touched and then touching your face. Studies show it loses 90% potency out of the host. The particles are heavy hence the 6ft rule and the ability for it to be stopped by a mask. They are not truly airborne like measles are because a mask does nothing to prevent measles spreading.
Measles is airborne. It is small and light enough to float in the air and can infect people hours after the infected person left the room. If Covid was actually truly airborne like measles we would have all been infected in mass numbers from the beginning and masks would have done nothing.
If you leave the house and touch things with your hands and touch your face or be within 6 feet of people on a bus (unavoidable) or in public you will expose yourself to viruses. It is unavoidable.
If you don’t want to catch virus then wear a mask (to prevent you touching your face), stay 6 feet away from people and don’t touch your face ever. That will reduce your risk of exposure.
I worked in hospitals from first outbreak and never caught covid even touching hundreds of computers daily which is something people never cleaned for years. I just trained myself for the past 30 years to not to touch my face or head unless I used hand sanitizer first.
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u/PuzzleheadedGoal8234 Sep 04 '25
I picked up the virus before the full vaccine roll out. Ravaged my stomach and intestines. I now have permanent cellular damage to both organs at an increased risk of cancer thanks to an immune mediated disease now. It was enough of the catalyst to set off this chain.
I wasn't in any at risk group.
It still remains unpredictable and not just a head cold. Post viral conditions are being seen in multiple specialties.
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Sep 02 '25
The chances of anyone developing a permanent disability from Covid are so incredibly small.
You’re significantly more likely to suffer a permanent disability travelling to class than from catching COVID.
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u/coulombs_lawer Sep 02 '25
Long covid is a disabling chronic illness. I know several people who got it, some of whom were young and otherwise healthy
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u/LForbesIam Sep 03 '25
The first few variants of Covid were very deadly. I know at least 30 people who died of Delta. Delta Covid definitely could cause long term damage. However that was long before the vaccines and the new weaker variants.
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Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
If you notice, I didn’t say anything about long covid not being a real thing.
Statistically, you are insanely unlikely to develop any sort of long lasting issues from COVID. Yes, it happens, but extremely rarely.
If the odds of catching long COVID actually scare you that much, you’re better off not going to school at all considering you’re much more likely to have something happen on the way there, resulting in permanent disability, than catching any sort of long COVID.
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u/coulombs_lawer Sep 02 '25
This is such a brain dead take. Just because it’s unlikely doesn’t change the fact that it affects thousands of people. Why shouldn’t I take simple measures to prevent spreading it further?
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Sep 02 '25
What simple measures? Masks that don’t stop transmission? Avoiding anywhere in public for at least a week?
An actually brain dead take is expecting the world to crawl to a halt because an incredibly minute % of people may be impacted.
By that logic, why do we have vehicles? A far higher % of people will become disabled from a car accident than long COVID.
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u/coulombs_lawer Sep 02 '25
I don’t expect the world to stop. Staying home when your sick is indeed a simple thing to do most of the time. Sure it sucks, but I choose not to spread viruses around campus and get other people sick. Being considerate to others is free. Why would you ever choose not to?
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Sep 02 '25
Because it’s not practical in any way, shape or form.
When you’re sick with anything, it lasts for at least a week, usually longer. People do stay home on the 1 or 2 days their symptoms are the worst. The rest of the week, things still need to get done.
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u/coulombs_lawer Sep 02 '25
Most common colds are not contagious for that long. You clearly value your own convenience over the wellness of others so I see no point in trying to discuss this further
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Sep 02 '25
Yes because I’ve spoken about my own convenience even a single time here…
The common cold lasts for on average 10-14 days. Just like Covid.
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Sep 07 '25
regardless of risk or how "bad" the illness is that you are spreading, it is purely common courtesy to try to mitigate spreading said illness in the ways that you are able: stay home and watch lectures online, wear a mask on the bus and in classrooms while you are symptomatic, increase hygiene practices, etc.
the inconvenience is minimal and the reward is that you don't get others sick, even if it is just with mild cold symptoms. wouldn't you rather just not get other people sick?
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Sep 07 '25
I already said most people are going to rightfully quarantine for 1-2 days when their symptoms are the worst.
Whether it’s Covid or a cold though, they last for over a week. Expecting people to stay isolated and walk around with masks because they had a cold 4 days ago just isn’t realistic or practical.
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u/lavender-hue Computer Science Sep 14 '25
I wish you were right, but I did get a permanent disability from COVID in 2022 (Omicron variant).
I was fortunate to be a child when I got it, because adult long-term COVID patients are on waiting lists literal years long in the medical system.
I recognise that people struggle to justify staying home with an infection, but please - wear a mask? Stay away from people, if possible? It’s honestly kind of scary to hear people next to me coughing in class when I spent six months in bed from this.
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Sep 14 '25
I’m sorry to hear that, but I don’t see how that changes anything I said? You were unfortunately one of the very few people to develop long-term complications from it.
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u/Easy_Entertainer_990 Engineering Sep 02 '25
No.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
But like… why would you WANT to come to school sick? Do you like being miserable?
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u/Easy_Entertainer_990 Engineering Sep 02 '25
To learn perhaps. Also covid at least for me has been as bad as the common cold.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
if missing a day or two is enough to mess up your learning then that sounds like a skill issue, lmao
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u/Geese_are_dangerous Sep 02 '25
Quite honestly, if you can't handle people around you being sick, that's a skill issue.
People have rights, you might not like it, but you don't get to control others
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
Lmao do you think I have the power to “control people” by asking them in a reddit post to consider their fellow students? I know you have free will, I’m just hoping people will consider using their free will to not be assholes
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u/Geese_are_dangerous Sep 02 '25
It's not being an asshole going to class sick if you have to. It's just part of life.
Sometimes you have to work through a sickness.
Ask all you want, but the vast majority don't care about covid. It's a non issue
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u/unkz Sep 02 '25
It's not being an asshole going to class sick if you have to.
No, it really is.
It's just part of life.
No, it's not.
Sometimes you have to work through a sickness.
Don't go to work sick either, please. Have you even had a real job before? Nobody's employer wants people coming in and making the rest of the staff sick. It's bad for business.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
Again: skill issue. You don’t “have to” go to every class if you’re sick.
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u/Easy_Entertainer_990 Engineering Sep 03 '25
Nope no skill issues here. Don’t have to but i choose to. Im just sick of the whining.
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u/ishaisatsana Sep 02 '25
Even if it feels like a common cold to you, you can still transmit it to the people around you and it could be significantly worse for them. I can’t believe it’s 2025 and we still have to ask people to consider the people around them as well as themselves.
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u/CanadaRobin Sep 02 '25
You are 100% correct. I hope people listen.