‘I Haven't Left This Hotel Room’: For Some Students, Homestays Begin With Quarantine

Harvard sent the vast majority of undergraduates home to their childhood bedrooms last week. Julian Lee ’22, however, has spent most of his time inside of a hotel room, as he joins other quarantined undergraduates trying to shield their families from the novel coronavirus.

“I haven't left this hotel room for the last five or six days, except to throw out the trash, and each time I do leave, I wear a mask, wash my hands, and do all that,” Lee said. “We're planning on me staying here at least a week, and maybe more.”

The novel coronavirus can incubate in infected people for up to 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Harvard students vacated campus less than a week ago, meaning undergraduates who may have contracted the virus could still be asymptomatic. As of Friday, six Harvard affiliates have tested positive or presumptive positive for the virus, according to a University website.

Hayato Shiotsu ’22 said he thought there was “a relatively high chance” that he was exposed to the coronavirus at Harvard or while travelling back to his home in Japan. As a result, Shiotsu said he has quarantined himself from friends and has kept close contact with only his family.

“I think it's hard to completely isolate myself from my family. It just happens. It's easier to make sure that I don't go downtown or meet up with friends. That takes more effort to do, so I guess it's easier to refrain from doing that,” Shiotsu said.

Others — like Lee, whose family lives in Taiwan — have taken more extreme measures to limit contact with family members and friends alike. Lee’s father drove him from the airport to a hotel. He has not been back to his house, where sharing a bathroom with his sister would prevent him from self-quarantining.

Once Lee returns home, he said he plans to stay in his room and avoid eating meals with his family for the remainder of the possible incubation period.

He added that most returning travellers in Taiwan have chosen to self-quarantine to protect their families and friends.

“I think that in Taiwan and in a lot of these Asian countries, everyone buys into the idea that this is the collective effort that they all have to make the sacrifice, this temporary sacrifice, so that we can all get back to our way of life as soon as possible,” Lee said. “Whereas in the United States, I think there's not as much of that idea of coming together. It's a lot of like, ‘What's in it for me? Why am I doing this when I am not really at risk? Why am I compromising my individual liberties for others?’”

“I think the faster the general population in the United States can come around to the idea that it really is a group effort, the faster everything can get back to normal,” he added.

Karly Hou ’23, who lives in Palo Alto, Calif., said she decided to self-quarantine to avoid potentially infecting her parents and her grandmother, who lives with her family and is in her 80s.

Still, Hou said she had found ways to maintain social contact with the outside world.

“One of my friends who lives down the street came by my house, and I opened the window and we had a conversation. I would just yell from my window and go back, so that was fun,” Hou said.

After six asymptomatic days of quarantine, Hou said she did not believe she was a carrier for coronavirus, but that she would avoid contact with her family for the 14-day period.

“I think it's well worth it if I can minimize any risk of doing anything to my family,” Hou said.

—Staff writer Ellen M. Burstein can be reached at ellen.burstein@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @ellenburstein.

—Staff writer Camille G. Caldera can be reached at camille.caldera@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @camille_caldera.