Heading home for Thanksgiving? Western students share their plans
CBC News | Posted: October 7, 2020 8:00 AM | Last Updated: October 7, 2020
Students left to weigh travel plans and vague advice from health officials
It's a question that could be tougher than anything Western University students will face on an exam this year: Is it worth the risk to travel home for Thanksgiving this weekend?
If a trip to the turkey table is a go, what steps should they take to make that trip as safe as possible with Ontario experiencing a September surge in COVID-19 cases?
In the six weeks students have been back on campus, Western has experienced outbreaks, as have other Ontario universities.
Dr. Chris Mackie, London's medical officer of health, has said Thanksgiving needs to be "reinvented" this year to limit contact that can cause coronavirus transmission. Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, said Tuesday she wants holiday visits to be limited to people in your household.
But does that include a student who's been living in another city, and possibly mixing with another peer group, for the past six weeks?
CBC News went to Western University Tuesday to ask students about the coronavirus-related conversations they're having with their families as they plan for the weekend while weighing the risk factors.
It's clearly a hot topic. Many students said they've been emailing back and forth with parents all week to work out a plan.
Here are the top three issues they're working through:
1. Get a test first or no?
This was a big one. On one hand, it seems to make sense. Why not get a test before gathering around the dining room table for a few hours to break bread with family members?
However, with demand exceeding testing capacity, the province has brought in strict guidelines for testing. People with symptoms or who've had direct contact with a case fit the criteria, but a student who doesn't want to break a holiday tradition doesn't qualify.
Josh Struthers is heading home to Milton but isn't sure if he's going to try to get a test.
"I'm definitely looking into it," he said. "I know that some people are getting tested, but I haven't decided if I am yet."
While some students who don't have symptoms told CBC News they were able to get a test at Western's on-campus test centre, others said they were pulled out of the line for not meeting the criteria.
Claire Groot is heading home to Burlington. Her family wanted her to get tested if she had plans to see anyone outside the immediate family, but she's decided to stick to her immediate family members, who've all be staying in a strict bubble.
"I'm just going to stay at home and quarantine together instead of going out," she said. "I won't go get tested if I don't have symptoms."
2. Travel plans?
A few students said their parents are offering to drive a few hours each way just to ensure students don't have to risk a ride home on a crowded train or bus.
Others would rather take the risk than ask their parents to make a five-hour round trip.
"The only way for me to go home is on the train," said one student. "The concern there is that I could get COVID on the train."
So she's going to mask up, take the train to Toronto and not visit with grandparents "which sucks, because I really wanted to see them."
3. Just stay in London
A few students said they've opted to stay in London, rather than risk infecting loved ones. For students that live more than a drive way, this was an easy decision.
Ladislau Mahlewa is an international student from Angola in West Africa. For him, a trip home is out of the question.
Sometimes friends invite him to their families' Thanksgiving meal. This year, he's choosing to stay home.
"My Thanksgiving is just me in my room studying, and getting work done," he said.
Laylah Chen says she's heading home to Pickering, but many of her friends on campus aren't.
"Some people are just staying home to be safe, even if their parents wanted them there," she said. "A lot of their parents don't want them coming home, again to be safe. I never thought I'd want to leave campus but I'm looking forward to going home."