While many people can isolate inside their home with family, international students are getting by through text messages and video chat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Brock University students Maia Andrew and Danielle Sobers both made the tough choice to stay in St. Catharines when news broke on the virus outbreak and the closure of the Canadian borders.

“It is quite difficult since I don’t really have any family support up here in Canada. I’m pretty much on my own,” said Andrew, a fourth-year psychology student from Trinidad and Tobago.

She added that there are relatives close by, but they are elderly and fall in the vulnerable category for the virus, so she doesn’t want to be a potential vector of the virus to them.