Registered Nurses Lori Justin (left) and Caroline Pasko (right) work on their computers while no students need their care. Registered Nurse Amy Fletchall said, “Our main goals are keeping the students and staff healthy while being mindful of the importance of not missing instructional time.”

According to Registered Nurse Amy Fletchall, large group events including show choir, sports tournaments, and other activities can cause a rapid outburst of common illness.

“Big group events can definitely cause an increase in illness, but that has always been the case even before COVID,” she said.

Bailey Oehler, member of Ambassadors and junior, said with competition season usually comes common colds due to the amount of time the choirs are around others.

“With competition season, we spend a lot of time together with rehearsals and competitions,” Oehler said “We’re basically like with each other more than our families so if one person gets sick, then a lot of us get sick. Just like if your siblings get sick and you spend a lot of time with them, you’re likely to get sick.”

Oehler said the absences caused by illnesses can have an effect on the efficiency of the group.

She said, “It’s really hard when we don’t have all of the group because then we can’t work on the blend of the choir as well or blocking in rehearsals. When someone gets sick for a competition, we have to reblock parts of the shows so it still gives pretty pictures.”

Flethcall said the health center’s main goal is to keep students as healthy as possible, however students need to keep up on hygiene especially during these large events.

“Our main goals are keeping the students and staff healthy while being mindful of the importance of not missing instructional time,” Fletchall said. “(To decrease likelihood of illness,) students can continue to wear masks to avoid getting and/or spreading germs. They should also stay home if they are ill and hand washing is also important.”