Students who have been deemed as a close contact to someone who is infected will also have to quarantine, and some of them will likely not even be infected. The infected have to isolate.
I expect schools will have a wide range of effort and capability in enforcing their rules/practices.
I find it interesting that MIT and RPI are both being more conservative than average in terms of hesitating to bring students back. To me, that implies where the science is as opposed to wishful thinking.
Did I miss something final posted by MIT? I’ve read everything they put out and they have not decided on anything definite yet to my knowledge. @TheVulcan
I don’t think it’s even a matter of “getting back to their friends” if they are quarantined. I think it’s a matter of mental health not being to even go outside for 14 days. I understand that’s what quarantine means and it’s likely hard enough to quarantine in your own home with your family bringing you food and emotional support. Being in a dorm room that’s not even yours, on a campus far from home sounds exceptionally difficult. I’m an adult and, if I couldn’t go outside for 14 days, I’d lose my mind. I know a lot of people had to do it and kudos to them but no one can say it doesn’t mess with the person’s mental state.
I wonder if quarantined people can see each other. Is that a thing?
I don’t think so, because some of those will be infected and some won’t…we don’t know who is positive until a test shows they are positive.
Infected people, so those who did test positive, have to isolated separately from those quarantined, and of course the rest of the campus.
Totally disagree. It’s not treating someone “really well” to let them get exposed to the virus. (!!)
The reason that graduate students are allowed back sooner is that a large portion of their work is “work” in the sense of being in a lab or similar. I assume that an English graduate student would not be allowed back any sooner than a typical LAC undergraduate.
Whether or not a student chooses to attend school, based on whatever the policies are, is entirely in the control of the student (as well as parents in many cases). Most adults are able to make their own decisions wrt how much risk to take re: virus exposure.
@Mwfan1921 so those students testing positive have to be alone or can they see others who have tested positive? I assume those kids would be on the same floor somewhere or in a whole building together.
I think CDC guidance is to keep infected people isolated, which means alone, literally isolated. The reason is that the severity of disease is tied to viral load, among other things. So, being around other sick people could increase an already sick person’s viral load.
Just clarifying, quarantining is for those who have been exposed and we don’t yet know if they are sick, or will become sick. If and when they test positive, they have to be isolated too.
Not what I meant, which is that students could promise all sorts of things (ex. the quarantine/isolation/test if sick conditions) to be allowed on campus). And then promises will be broken. ?
@Mwfan1921 yeah the terms are a problem. We were watching ESPN last night and saw that two NFL players tested positive and now are under “quarantine”.
So Vandy just announced its reopening plan:
Chancellor Wente said:
“In-person, on-campus undergraduate classes will begin on Monday, August 24, and will conclude on Friday, November 20. All undergraduate students will complete the final week of classes remotely and then also take final exams remotely through virtual and alternative platforms, with the semester concluding on Sunday, December 13.”… and
“There will be no fall break this year. In addition, we ask that students stay in the Nashville area and not travel away from campus for weekend trips through the end of in-person classes on Friday, November 20.”
Vandy also said that students could elect to take classes remotely. There will be required COVID testing prior to students arriving on campus and also once they get to campus and they will do contract tracing.
They are reducing student density in the dorms and their plans for the incoming freshman are interesting. Freshmen will be in singles and will be assigned virtual roommates.
They will have special housing for those needing to be quarantined.
It’s a comprehensive plan for sure.
When there is a second wave will we have enough Covid19 tests to keep up with the general population let alone randomly test college students? I highly doubt it but hopefully I am wrong.
well, at least for kids in dorms, I think kids who test positive won’t be able to get out of going into quarantine. Maybe the info will be relayed to the RAs and the student won’t have a choice. Maybe once the test is positive, someone from health services will go to their dorm room and escort them to quarantine. Now, kids off campus? Who knows. That’s why (about 50 pages back hahaha) I was asking if kids who test positive through the college’s health center and live off campus will also be somehow escorted to quarantine or expected to quarantine in their off campus living space.
Makes sense for positives - but no way will it work for ‘contacts’ or roommates of positives to quarantine if they have no symptoms. This won’t work. They will have to test the close contacts and quarantine them based on the test or symptoms.
Graduate students don’t go to a college for that “experience”. Graduate students aren’t pampered at any college. They spend most of their time in the labs any/or in front of computers, and certainly aren’t there for fun. They must return to campus to keep these labs operating and research projects on schedule. These labs and research projects benefit everyone including undergraduates. Many students choose these colleges precisely because of these projects and research facilities.
@suzyQ7 maybe there will be some system set up for the contacts who are supposed to quarantine that doesn’t allow them into buildings on campus? Shut off their access code or not allow them to swipe their card? So those kids wouldn’t be able to get into the cafeteria or buildings on campus. Maybe professors will get a list of those kids and they will not allow them in class?
I know this is crazy complicated.
All of which quite nicely describes DS, who is a grad student at TAMU. He also teaches as a TA.
Unless, of course, they are a TA running recitation sections or teaching a class, in which case they could be considered more along the lines of the faculty.