A Case of Covid-19 

Over the past eight months, the Covid-19 virus has dictated the lives of almost everyone in the world, and yet, it remains a foreign entity to most.  But, one student at Norwood High, Brendan Bartucca, experienced the virus first-hand after being diagnosed in late October.

After Bartucca abruptly lost his sense of smell, he went to Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics and got tested for strep throat and Covid-19. “I didn't feel sick; I just wanted to be precautious,” Bartucca said, “and later I found out that the Covid test was positive.”

The diagnosis came as a bit of a shock. “I wasn't going to get tested but since they made me take a strep test I just took a Covid test and it came back positive” he said.

After receiving the news, Bartucca “wasn't really concerned.” He said he “just didn't want to get [his] family members or friends sick.” 

To prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease he “basically had to isolate away from [his] family and wear a mask whenever [he] went in the same area as them.”

Bartucca says he's back to “feeling 100%” and that the worst of it “pretty much felt like a mild cold.” 

He added that he felt “a little worried that [his] taste and smell wouldn't come back,” but luckily he regained the senses rather quickly. 

The worst thing to come of the disease for Bartucca, is that he was forced to miss his scheduled SATs. Nevertheless, Bartucca remains conscious of the impact the virus could have on “people that wouldn't recover as easily” so he continues to take all preventive measures. 

“Obviously I am young so I wasn't expected to get that sick” Bartucca reiterated. 

He stressed “people shouldn’t be scared” while also highlighting the importance of social distancing saying “the fear is giving it to people who are at risk.” 

Bartucca has passed the point where he could transmit to other people and is back at school. However, he added that he was “living in [his] house, working and even went to school” before he was symptomatic and so far nobody he was close to has contracted Coronavirus.

Charlie Baker, the Governor of Massachusetts, has released statements that support these claims. “There is clear and convincing scientific data that shows learning in a classroom, as long as people are playing by the rules, does not lead to higher transmission rates” Baker said in a statement released Nov. 6. 

Baker has even begun to consider the reopening of school insisting that “Not being in school poses significant risks for kids, both related to COVID and related to other health concerns, like depression, anxiety, and others.”

As of right now though, the pandemic is still at a high point, and medical officials advise vigilance but not hysteria. So far, it seems that the preventive measures taken in Norwood High and other Massachusetts schools have worked, a fact exemplified by Bartucca’s case.