Connor Brownfield | Reporter

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Avon High School is not immune. Throughout the school year, multiple AHS students have been forced to quarantine because they tested positive for COVID-19 or made close contact with somebody who tested positive for COVID-19. Senior Jacob Mills, who had COVID-19 during the hybrid schedule, said that Avon High School students need to follow the safety guidelines. 

“It has been obvious to anybody who has been paying attention from the beginning that all the safety measures are important. I firmly believe in listening to scientists and experts who have knowledge about what is going on. I did not go to medical school. They did,” Mills said. 

For Avon students, the virus presented itself through several symptoms. While Mills said he had a bad stomachache and a runny nose for a few days, sophomore Molli Williams, who had COVID-19 before school started, said her symptoms were very spread out. 

 “It started out as a sore throat and a stuffy nose, so I thought it was just like, a cold. And then I got really tired. Then my body started to hurt, especially my back. After that I took my temperature and I had a fever so I thought I should probably get tested,” Williams said. 

One of the safety procedures that Avon Schools introduced this school year was that students who test positive for coronavirus must quarantine for multiple days. Although he had to stay at home, Mills said being out of in-person school was not bad. 

“It just so happened that I only missed one day of in-person school because we were on an alternating schedule. And all of my family tested positive, so I had to stay home, which I was doing anyway,” Mills said. 

Part of what makes COVID-19 so hard to avoid is that it can come from almost anywhere and spreads easily from people who are in close contact with one another. An Avon High School sophomore who requested to remain anonymous said that the virus’s potential to spread caused many problems for them. 

 “I don’t know exactly where I got it, but I am pretty sure I contracted COVID-19 from someone on the cross-country team. Then I accidentally passed it to other family members,” the sophomore said. 

No matter how bad a case of COVID-19 is, it is important to keep social distancing and mask up, Williams said.  “Everyone needs to be a lot more vigilant, especially with wearing a mask, because you do not know just how serious it can be,” Williams said.