COVID fatigue has been described on the U.C. Davis Health Newsroom as, “We’re tired of being cooped up, tired of being careful, tired of being scared. Our collective fatigue is making some people careless — one reason COVID-19 is rising sharply again in California and throughout the U.S.”
Business administration freshman Audrey Nguy said she is tired and over COVID-19 because she misses being social and seeing people face to face.
“For me, I need to see them [people] in-person for me to have a genuine connection with them,” Nguy said. “During quarantine — the only people you connect with are your parents and yourself.”
Although COVID-19 was a big deal at the beginning of quarantine, later events in the year such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, presidential election and the raiding of the Capitol in Washington D.C. caused COVID-19’s prominence to lessen, Nguy said.
“People are still talking about what happened at the Capitol and it is on every social media platform and every news outlet, but no one is really talking about COVID-19,” Nguy said. “[COVID-19] is just playing as a background barrier for people when people are addressing other issues right now.”
Business administration freshman Zoe De Young said that COVID-19 is just as prominent of an issue as it was back when quarantine started, but people are less inclined to follow health precautions.
“They are just sick of staying home and all of the protocols,” De Young said.
De Young said that it is still important to social distance and wear a mask.
“Even though we are getting tested pretty frequently you can still contract it,” De Young said. “You could be asymptomatic but still pass it on to someone else, so it is important to have those measures as a safety precaution.”
Psychology sophomore Katelyn La said that she feels prepared going into winter quarter because she really wanted to get back on campus.
“It is pretty boring at home and I find it easier to focus here in SLO rather than at home in my bedroom,” La said. “I like being on-campus and being able to have social interaction, so I definitely feel prepared for the winter quarter.”
La said that she hopes to improve her work habits in winter quarter.
“I feel like I was adjusting to how COVID-19 worked with me being in housing during the fall quarter,” La said. “But now that I have done it one quarter I feel like I know what to expect this quarter.”
Business sophomore Alec Yerganian said that a challenge that he might face during the winter quarter is going to be how strict the COVID-19 regulations at Cal Poly for outdoor activities will be.
“I play soccer and Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) is letting [our team] use the field, but if restrictions kind of hamper that then it is going to be difficult to get out and stay fit and active,” Yerganian said.
Yerganian said another challenge he is going to face in the winter quarter is the COVID-19 testing, since it was changed to having to get tested twice a week instead of once a week.
“I understand getting tested for COVID-19 is important and it is great because it keeps everyone safe,” Yerganian said. “But personally [I] live in Poly Canyon Village (PCV), so walking all the way to the other side of campus to take a COVID-19 test every three days is kind of a hassle.”
Professor Erin Victoria Zamora who teaches in the Communication Studies Department at Cal Poly said that she feels like she has her feet on the ground a little more going into the winter quarter with distance learning.
“I think fall was its own challenge just because it was a matter of ‘what does teaching and distance learning look like’ now that you had a whole summer to envision what it looks like,” Zamora said. “Even though I have been teaching public speaking for so many years it felt like I was redeveloping the class all over again so that it would be interesting and applicable to students.”
Zamora said that she is hopeful for the COVID-19 vaccine, but is also cautious.
“I think if [the vaccine] suddenly ends up not panning out whether people are not getting vaccinated or all of a sudden we find out that the virus mutates, I think that adds to not just the fear but the fatigue in terms of trying to function a little more like how we used to.”
Business administration freshman Jasmine Le said that the new COVID-19 vaccine is the “light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Just that little opening is enough,” Le said. “The fact that they already have a vaccine is a good step in the right direction towards things getting better and to helping the most vulnerable people stay safe.”
Le said that she thinks COVID-19 is still a big issue, and the United States could be handling it better compared to other countries.
“Other countries have learned how to deal with COVID-19, but America has just learned to live with it,” Le said.