For those following the UNC clusters there is an AMA on the UNC reddit from a student verified in campus quarantine, including what meals are being delivered.
Does anyone know the difference between isolation dorms vs quarantine?
I was just looking at that reddit. There was a comment there that said: “Yes, from what I know Craige North is for exposed (quarantine) and Parker is for those who tested positive (isolation)”
UNC has one isolation dorm for students who test positive, Parker Residence Hall, and one quarantine dorm, Craige North, for those identified as close contacts but not yet confirmed as positive for COVID-19. The University uses the CDC definition of a close contact of “anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes.”
The campus isolation dorm has a total of 85 rooms and the campus quarantine dorm a total of 63 rooms.
I want to know why they moved from daily updating of dashboard to weekly. Will be interesting to see this week’s numbers added.
OK…I’ve read this reddit in more detail. I’m horrified. This kid basically called student health with pretty typical covid symptoms and was told to go to the quarantine dorm. There he was given access to a locker with food for a day (pretty crappy stuff) and a roll of toilet paper. Someone commented that the school says they will get better food delivered but he hasn’t yet. No one really confirmed he was there or is checking in to make sure he’s OK. They are told not the leave the building if the fire alarm goes off. The are supposed to stay in their room but he can hear people talking in the halls at times and thinks people might be hanging outside a bit. He’s staying put, especially since he hasn’t tested yet. Says he’s supposed to go get tested somewhere tomorrow (so he can leave for that but not for fire alarm). They can get food delivered as long as it’s contactless.
He lives in a high rise that is not one of the clusters. Isn’t sure where he contracted it. No parties but ate out once and has been eating in dining halls and going to class.
What did you expect in quarantine? Maybe the food will improve soon. He will get checked out medically tomorrow, no school is going to babysit students with mild symptoms of this, or any other viral illness. If he gets sicker, he can call the health center.
If there is a real fire, and quarantined students die due to the fire’s effects when they could have otherwise escaped from the building, the headlines could look very bad for the university.
Granted, most fire alarms in dorms are false, but if the assumption is that they are always false, what is the point of having them?
Going in-person indoor class and eating in indoor dining halls and restaurants are high risk activities in terms of getting the virus, although not as high risk as many student parties.
My son keeps in touch with a lot of kids from different schools especially in the south. The attitude there is very anti-mask and social distancing. Even my son’s school (private LAC in a southern state) has a lax attitude. There official Covid plan sounds good, but the social media posts from students show no masks or any social distancing. What bothers me the most is the attitude of the parents. On the parent FB page some asked “are masks required for move in?” and when told no these parents cheered.
My question is, when does a school have to close? Let’s say you only test kids who show symptoms. The Covid-positive asymptomatic students are never tested or quarantined. So technically you could have a major outbreak but as long as students don’t get tested you’ll never know the real numbers. And let’s face it, many students even if they have some symptoms will avoid seeking testing because they don’t want to be quarantined. At what point is a college forced to close?
My biggest issue is it seems as if students can easily leave if they wish- hang out outside, visit other rooms (where they might be spreading the virus to those not positive), the food is not what an ill student needs, the student had very little guidance on how/when to get tested and what to watch out for, and that last little bit about stay in the dorm if a fire alarm goes off (I understand most are false alarms but what if it is not?!).
I think it is not much to ask for clearer guidelines, better meals, and a member of health services to be in touch to check on students in their care.
I take back saying I was impressed that UNC was reporting Information on the clusters.
That poor, sick, kid, what a cluster * of a cluster. Pretty sure prisoners are given more to eat and treated better than the sick students in the quarantine dorm.
If UNC’s Global Health department is embarrassed today, they will be beyond mortified tomorrow when this blows up on national news. Hopefully the bad press will inspire some responsible behavior.
Wish I thought my kids’ school wasn’t following in UNC’s footsteps…
While this is true, it is also true that college employees don’t want to lose their jobs through layoffs, or (in extreme cases) a college closure. My LAC is giving professors the option of teaching f2f, hybrid, or remotely. Many are getting back in the classroom not because they are completely comfortable with the health risks, but because they fear the financial implications for the college if we are all remote. As we continually see on this thread, parents do not want to pay full tuition for remote learning. In addition to any lost revenue due to R&B, colleges are worried about students taking a gap year, or leave of absence for a semester or even year. Other students may consider transferring to a cheaper alternative if this persists. Many are already dealing with the loss of R&B from the abrupt campus closures last spring. Although CC tends to focus on the same T20/ elite schools, most colleges and universities cannot easily weather these financial hits for long.
So while we undoubtedly worry about Covid, we also worry about the faculty, staff, and custodial and food service workers who could all lose their jobs if the college experiences a severe or prolonged budget shortfall.
Has anyone actually looked up their policy on this besides making assumptions? I can’t believe a major university would be that lax on this. The polices I have seen sorta mimic each other and the cdc guidelines. The kid I hope has more sense that if the alarm sounds, put on a mask and go outside but stay away from people.
I actually don’t think UNC (or any of the large public universities in the South, for that matter) will end up shifting online. Given the lack of care we have seen from UNC so far with regard to the spread of COVID-19, I doubt they would care enough to shift to online no matter what happens with the virus, since it costs them a lot of money and many helpful precautions that could have been taken were viewed as too expensive.
So a very quick Google https://campushealth.unc.edu/services/covid-19-services
Seems to spell out what needs to be done and the difference between isolate and quarantine. States who to contact for health services and testing. Not sure I understand what the issues are.
At my kids school they have gotten this information like weekly or more often now (he’s going back in 2 weeks). I just can’t believe that any student would not know what to do. I don’t mean memorize it but just have enough knowledge to Google it. It took me seconds to find this. If this is not exactly what he needed then do more research or call the health services or even the hospital for guidance. They can also reach out to their R/As if they are new to campus.
The student on the AMA posted the email from the school staying to stay in quarantine dorm in case of a fire alarm. I am not sure what the policy is but that is terrible advice to give a student. They should say exit the building with a mask on if possible.
I posted this definition of quarantine & isolation rooms above earlier.
"UNC has one isolation dorm for students who test positive, Parker Residence Hall, and one quarantine dorm, Craige North, for those identified as close contacts but not yet confirmed as positive for COVID-19. The University uses the CDC definition of a close contact of “anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes.”
The campus isolation dorm has a total of 85 rooms and the campus quarantine dorm a total of 63 rooms."
Rumor has it that they are now out of quarantine rooms and are hosting students at local hotels. I suspect this story will receive a lot of play on the morning news.
I agree. Didn’t read that part…
It is on a separate thread on Reddit (same poster, same forum) along with a photo of the daily food provided in quarantine. I bet the school is going to have serious PR issues tomorrow. The student seems to be open to speaking directly to the media.
From a couple of friends I’ve already received pictures of kids hanging/drinking together maskless and very close together, as well as stories of kids dropped off at school only to be picked up again a day or so later and brought home because either the kid or their roommate(s)/housemate(s) tested positive for Covid. Schools located in the mid-Atlantic and southern areas.
Not an auspice beginning.
And now a hashtag # shutdownunc
I’ll put my nickel on going all online, doesn’t seem like the professors are going to be willing to keep jumping in front of the approaching train full of idiot kids.
Please let there be lessons learned from this…
I can believe this is in fact true, but how do they know it’s true? I didn’t think any lab was culturing virus from samples. Are they using the CT value from two different tests?