During the month of September a large number of students at the Upper School had fallen ill last month. Rossalyn Moore ‘25 was one out of many students that got sick last month, having symptoms within the second week. Some of her symptoms included a cough, sore throat, and nasal congestion. Moore says she “[thinks] it was from a bug going around the school because everyone had it at the exact same time.” Northrup campus is not the only school safe from this mysterious illness, as Moore confirms that her brother who goes to the Middle School also had the same symptoms around this time, along with many other students in his grade. Moore states that this sickness lasted about two weeks, and that “usually [her] sickness wears off after like a few days,” so this was not a normal cold for her. 

Biology teacher and 9th grade dean Jen Vance claims that several students had covid during this time, and that it might have been a “stomach illness or a cold.” As for how this might have expanded to such a large scale, she thinks that “one of the things that happens is that we’re away from each other all summer, and then we all come back together… or teams start practicing again… and things like colds or a stomach issue can get passed pretty easily.” Vance says that in her experience, it is not uncommon that people get sick in school this time of year. 

Although it seems the US has reached the tail-end of this strange outbreak, it is important that we take preventative measures to ensure that this does not happen again. Vance recommends that students continue proper hand washing and not sharing food or drink. She also asks that students stay home when they are sick to take care of themselves, or to wear a mask if comfortable.