I think colleges should require better quality masks. Covid, even the Omicron variant, doesn’t seem to spread in the hospitals where medical quality N95 masks are used. A few colleges that require and distribute free of charge such masks also have zero Covid cases the last time I checked.
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But NJ state isn’t monitoring the infected people to make sure they are isolating. Due to the possible high number of infected people next week, I feel for the schools who would have to care for infected students during the holidays. Seems students within a drive could go home if someone picked them up.
Changes fees are history, but it may be difficult to book a new flight depending on the route because flights are often full.
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Less full on Dec 16 than they will be on Dec 21.
Not ideal, but at schools like Cornell and Pton where a lot of kids have to fly home, it is a good idea to get them away asap. Cornell went from 100 cases to 900 in under 48 hours.
That’s true, but that’s not going to help a student who already booked a 12/21 flight. S/he still may not be able to change to a 12/16 flight.
Well, there seems to be a little bit of a game going on here during the last week of school. Kids don’t want to test and might skip their testing time and just get the heck out of there. I doubt Cornell or Princeton are testing kids before they allow them to leave. They just want them out.
I think most schools do allow parents to take students home to isolate but that only works for students who are within driving distance unless their parents are willing and able to make a super long drive both ways to pick up their student. I know Colgate had a rule this year that students who live within a certain distance had to go home to isolate. I suppose that could be something colleges do for spring. Two kids at Bowdoin tested positive yesterday. That means they’ll get out of isolation on Christmas Eve. I hope their parents live close and go get them today.
Do you know or can anyone here remind me - did Cornell start testing everyone and that’s how they are picking up so many cases? I assume these are not all symptomatic kids who went to get a test. I can’t remember if Cornell was surveillance testing this semester.
Nvm
According to the Cornell website, only the unvaccinated are required to participate in surveillance testing:
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Pton tested everybody 2x week regardless. Athletes 3x week. I would assume the covid levels at schools not doing testing are similar but unreported. Why would they be any different?
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I hope bowdoin lets the positives go home 
This is all so exhausting, feels like we are going backwards.
I hope CDC reacts to Omicron data more quickly than they have for Delta. I have always been a big supporter of FDA and CDC, but they have let us down again and again with regard to not allowing more rapid tests to come to market, not adequately tracking nor sequencing cases, and an overall slowness in changing policies to reflect reality (e.g. shorter isolation times for Delta cases, unfortunately we have no idea if the same is true for omicron and will have to wait until some other country generates that data).
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Geeeeeeez. So I guess they caught some cases initially and then maybe contact tracing kicked in for vaccinated kids to test? I’m still a little overwhelmed by that 900 number!
See this line from your link:
- All fully vaccinated undergraduate students, and fully vaccinated professional students in CVM, Law, Johnson, AAP and ILR, are required to participate in surveillance testing once per week.
So, all undergrads + grad students in specific schools (Vet, Law, MBA, Architecture, and ILR) were required to test weekly.
Maybe it depends on community spread. Lots of NESCACs testing kids twice a week (Williams, Bowdoin, Amherst, Bates, maybe more) and they are seeing a few cases but not a big blow up…yet. Finals at Bowdoin are this week and still in person but they’ve been asked to mask up more than has been required lately and to leave for home as soon as they can.
My D20 called last night to say she is sick (fever, congestion). She had her normal covid test on Monday and it was negative, then woke up yesterday with a fever. She got another test yesterday, and going for a flu test today. She has one final left on Friday. Her school’s policy seems to be that if it is covid, she will need to isolate and accommodations will be made for taking that last exam, but it is unclear what will be required (permitted?) if it is flu or some non-specific ailment.
She is due to take Amtrak home on Saturday. I guess we will just wait and see what it is before figuring out if that is still happening or if we’re picking her up (I don’t relish the thought of 5 hour drive with her if she’s covid +).
Sorry to hear about your D’s illness. If it turns out it is Covid, this sort of illustrates the problem with pre-arrival testing for spring semester. My kid’s college (in southwestern Michigan) says they’re going to test everyone upon arrival for spring semester. Their rule is that if you live within 350 miles of campus and test positive, they ask you to isolate at home – assuming someone can pick you up by car. Their student body tends to come from MI, IL, IN, OH so that’s more realistic for them.
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Easy to say if you are not the student. with all respect - I am masked all day, vaccinated and tested every other day. Our campus has extremely low number of cases. I’m masked even when partaking in martial arts - by the end of my session, I feel like passing out.
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I agree. I am required to wear a mask all day at work (open office space). I do it because we are required and because I personally feel it is the right thing to do, but…I’m not going to lie. It is not pleasant. The first thing I do when I step outside (or into a private bathroom stall) is rip the darn thing off my face.
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I understand. We all wish that we don’t have to wear them. However, the quality masks are effective, probably even more effective than vaccines at preventing the spread of the virus, particularly the Omicron variant. There’re people in certain professions (e.g. healthcare workers) who have to wear them all day long.
I get healthcare workers of course and anyone high risk. Even healthcare workers have shifts and get to go “home” and take off their masks. I’m living in a dorm - and have my mask on most of my waking hours - every day of the week with no break. It’s gruelling. (in addition to testing every other day of the entire year.)
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