Since 2 August, double jabbed students from the EU and US arriving in England do not have to quarantine anymore if they were vaccinated with one of the four approved vaccines. By cutting the ten days students would have had to spend in isolation, they not only gain valuable time to explore their new surroundings, but also more financial freedom.
Among those that can now travel freely to study in the UK is Claire Schrago, a 24-year-old, exchange student from Switzerland. For her, the lifting of the quarantine rule is a huge relief:
“I was worried my mental health would suffer.”
As she will be new to Sheffield, the days leading up to intro week are indispensable. She said:
“After arriving in a completely new environment to study there for a whole semester, I would be glad to be able to explore my surroundings instead of having to isolate for ten long days.”
When booking her flight, she made sure to account for potential quarantine time. Nevertheless, her flight is “only” on the 5th of September, meaning she would have been out of quarantine in the middle of September.
“I would have missed half of orientation week, where I can get to know Sheffield”, Miss Schrago said. She did not want to fly to the UK any earlier than that though, because it would have meant that she could not go on vacation with her partner, who had exams until late August.
Apart from the loss of vacation time, quarantine could have also meant financial strain, as she would not have been able to move into her accommodation earlier. Hence, she would have to pay for a hotel to quarantine.
Quarantine plans postponed
While Miss Schrago didn’t look forward to quarantine, she already had things in mind to keep herself busy.
“I was planning on watching a lot of netflix series I would not watch otherwise, read a lot, try to do some workouts in my room and listen to self-help audiobooks to avoid going crazy.”
The Swiss student remembers the joyful moment of receiving an e-mail from the government website about the rule change:
“When I saw the news, my first reaction was a big smile and a huge relief. Next, I informed my friend who is also coming to Sheffield and then texted my family and friends the good news.”
Covid-worries gone
Compared to her home country, Switzerland, where a mask mandate is still in place in public transport, shops and other places where social distancing cannot be upheld, the UK seems a different reality in the Covid-age.
In order to travel freely and face no potential restrictions when going to lectures or nightclubs, Miss Schrago got the vaccine. Due to being jabbed, she is also more confident going to a place with no restrictions.
She is not too concerned about the rising infection rates in England:
“I am fully vaccinated and even if I caught Covid I do not think that it would affect me greatly. Also, I will not necessarily have contact with elderly people when I‘m studying abroad so I do not have to worry about infecting vulnerable people as much.”
Should a fourth wave come – which Schrago, as many others, worries about – lectures and seminars might be held online again. Nevertheless, she is staying positive:
“I will just enjoy the beginning which was announced to be in-person. In case everything will go back to online classes, at least I got to know people in the beginning.”
