What to Expect When Quarantining at the Sheraton

photo by jenna wirth

After the recent outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases, the number of students currently in quarantine is in the hundreds. For students who have tested positive or been exposed to the virus, SU has graciously provided an all-paid, luxurious quarantine experience in hotel rooms at the Sheraton and the Crown Plaza with delivered meals, snacks, and the like. Exposure to the virus is stressful enough (please keep wearing your masks), but the idea of being in isolation by yourself in a hotel room for two weeks can be extremely daunting. Lucky for you, after a friend tested positive—which actually turned out to be a false positive—and 10 days spent in the Sheraton that I’ll never get back, Jerk is here to tell you what to expect during your quarantine staycation at the Sheraton.

Before we start, let’s break down the difference between quarantine and isolation. Isolation is when you separate someone who is actually sick/has tested positive from people who aren’t sick, and quarantine means separating someone who has been exposed to a sick person. For the sake of this article, we’ll use quarantine as an umbrella term for anyone who has to leave their original residence and enter the Sheraton or Crowne Plaza because they either tested positive, or they were exposed to someone who tested positive.

That being said, let’s get into it. First, you’ll receive a call from contact tracing. In a perfect world, assuming that the person you were exposed to is a friend, relative, or someone you know, they’ll give you a heads up. If not, try not to freak out when you receive a call from university contact tracing and/or the Onondaga County Health Department. They’ll notify you of your exposure or positive test result, take some general information such as your birthday, age, contact information, people you’ve been in contact with, etc., and instruct you to quarantine for the next two weeks. This is when things become official, which means you’ll be subjected to consequences (fines, most likely really hefty ones) if you don’t follow the county’s instructions to quarantine. Not only is it against the law to break your quarantine, but it’s also just a really shitty thing to do, so stay in your hotel room!

It’s also important to note that over the course of your quarantine, you’ll have to keep in contact with the Health Department through daily texts or calls for follow-ups. I went with the text option, where I was asked every day if I had any COVID-19 symptoms, to which I promptly answered “no” every time.

After providing information to the contact tracers, you’ll receive another call from the university. They’ll instruct you to pack a bag and provide transportation for you, which will be a van that’ll pick you up from your residence and take you to the hotel. Once you arrive, the hotel staff will be ready for you with sanitizing wipes in hand. After receiving the key card to your room, they’ll even wipe down the elevator buttons to ensure complete sanitization. 

Your hotel room will be fully prepped as if you were an actual guest, including access to AC, so enjoy the luxury while you can. All meals are delivered to your door and you get what you get, but we’ve heard that the Crowne Plaza offers a menu that you can select your meals from. Breakfast is delivered between 8:30-9 am on weekdays and 9:30-10 am on weekends, lunch is delivered between 12:30-1 pm, and dinner is delivered between 5:30-6 pm. However, you should also receive snacks (when I was there, I got Capri Suns, Dole fruit cups, goldfish, and granola bars). If you don’t get any snacks, don’t hesitate to call the front desk and ask for some. Unfortunately, no outside food deliveries are permitted so you can stay off UberEats and save some money for now.

Speaking of the front desk, it’s available to you 24/7 just like it is for normal hotel guests. You can contact them for extra towels, shampoo and conditioner, and even pads or tampons. During your previous contact tracing calls, you should’ve also been provided a number to contact for any questions or concerns about your quarantine. If you didn’t catch it, the Sheraton will provide you more information about your quarantine with other contact information that you’ll receive upon arrival. Don’t be afraid to reach out for any accommodations—the hotel stresses that they’re there to keep you comfortable and safe. Take advantage of the nice bathroom and room service!

On the last day of your quarantine, you’ll receive a call from the Onondaga County Health Department again. They’ll send you a very official email certifying your clearance of quarantine. I was intent on leaving ASAP, so I immediately contacted the university and asked for them to expedite my quarantine check-out process. They’ll ask for your SUID and proof of your quarantine completion (you can forward the email or even screenshot the texts you’ve been receiving), and then transportation back to your residence will be provided for you again. 

And that’s it! You’re officially out of quarantine and no longer contagious. Continue to wash your hands, participate in saliva pool testing, and social distance. Don’t be irresponsible just because you survived COVID-19, you can still spread that shit even if you’re immune!