By Jay Hammel

Quincy University students persist in life on campus while the world remains on lockdown due to COVID-19.

A total of 26 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Adams county as of April 12, 2020.

There have currently been no deaths, with two hospitalizations in the county linked to COVID-19 albeit none of these cases is connected to QU, according to Dr. Brian McGee.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has created complicated circumstances facing the unknown, especially for those who are away from their families.

Dayson Croes, 20, from Noord, Aruba, is incapable of returning home because the borders are closed.

“It’s been tough for sure, seeing how everybody else here is with their families going through this, and I’m so far away from home,” Croes said.

And while there is no real way to know how long this will last, Croes ensures to remain in contact with his mom, dad, and sister.

“I text them every day and try to FaceTime them every two weeks,” Croes stated. “There are 77 cases back home right now.”

Luckily, Croes is not stranded by himself.

Suitemate, Gino D’Alessio, initially from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose family moved to Quincy, Illinois this fall, has been keeping Croes company in the QU dormitories.

D’Alessio mentioned he has been around so many people and doesn’t want to take the chance of going home with the virus.

“Another big factor is that they keep the HFC (Health Fitness Center) open, so I’m still able to lift regularly,” D’Alessio said.

D’Alessio and Croes are both members of the Quincy University Baseball team and have been taking advantage of the weight room being available in the course of quarantine, maintaining the social distancing procedures of course.

In response to COVID-19, QU has been doing all they can: offering help to students adapting to new changes of online classes, assisting on-campus students with avoiding COVID-19, who to contact in regards to whatever questions one may have, and by supplying food in the cafeteria.

“QU has done a great job of informing the students on and off-campus about the Corona Virus,” D’Alessio stated. “They have continued to use the Caf to feed the students on campus, which is very nice. We even got steak and shrimp one day…fire!”

As online classes continue, Health-Care students globally are now being approved in terms of graduating early to help aid in the coronavirus fight.

QU student, Josie Eriksen, 21, out of Crystal Lake, Illinois, is approaching her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.

Eriksen applied to be a CNA, which is a nursing assistant, following the alert she received on her phone expressing there was a national need for healthcare workers.

“I never thought I would apply for a healthcare job until I got my nursing degree, but all of this has made me more motivated to do all that I can to help people,” Eriksen said. “As a student nurse right now it’s really weird because we have all these skills we could use to help patients, but technically unless we have a license, we’re unable to help.”

Eriksen, alongside her nursing classmates, is feeling helpless considering they should be in the clinical setting getting hours in and helping though the hospital is off-limits.