I'm an advocate for not going to class, especially as a fellow student. We are in pretty confined quarters where illnesses spread reasonably quickly (we have had outbreaks of seasonal slu, H1N1, and norovirus at our school.)
We do record all our lectures, and even if the recording gets messed up, post to the class list serve and half a dozen folks will offer you their notes and recordings of class. Missing labs is a bit harder, but the profs will come in and work with you.
It's easy to say wear a mask...but you still have to worry about rubbing eyes, or wiping your mouth, blowing your nose then touching a desk or door handle or stethascope, or putting your eyes to a microscope. And if there's a lunch meeting and you get food..... Also, if you are handling animals and your immune system is already fighting one infection, you risk a second one...or, in some cases, transferring a virus to the animals. Also, we had a zoonosis of H1N1 from students into ferrets.
Stay home and watch the lecture captures, drink plenty of fluids, see a doctor if necessary. This is just too contained of an environment; illness can spread quickly (we were at ~50% attendance with Norovirus and the conclusion was that a single lunch meeting was the main culprit.) Also, our desks, door knobs, etc only get wiped down once a week (due to budget cuts.)
