Date: September 21, 2021
Winter is going to make our life complicated. COVID continues to be present, and winter brings a whole host of coughs, sore throats, and even temperatures. So yesterday I issued new guidance. The email triggered some good questions. What if I am a sufferer from seasonal allergies which might provoke COVID-type symptoms? So let me answer this question by way of my own recent history. Sore throats are part of my life: it is mixture, so my doctor tells me, of allergies and stress (my throat is my weak point). However, when a sore throat arose two weeks ago, followed pretty quickly by a cough, I took the following action: I informed Taryn Habberley that I had to cancel all my meetings and took the Friday, Monday, and Tuesday as sick days. On the Sunday, I found a PCR testing site and had the test.
On Tuesday morning, I discovered that I was negative. So I reentered carefully into community. I took ‘to-go’ lunch; I stayed away from chapel. I didn’t want others to get my summer cold. I did attend some events and I did my lectures. I had two additional PCR tests later that week. I wanted to be confident that I was negative.
None of this is an exact science. We are all navigating a world that none of us have lived through before. We are called to the hard work of responsible discernment. If you recognize a “sore throat” as one of your normal allergies, then responsible participation in the community is permissible; but if you have any doubts, then please take some time out and get it checked out.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President