Untested Students Quarantined

By  David Chen, Evan Gonzalez and Tucker Gibbs

Following the second round of on-campus testing for September arrivals, four students were quarantined for missing their mandated COVID-19 tests. These students were quarantined for four days while awaiting secondary testing.

September arrivals have received two PCR tests since coming on campus, the second time on Wednesday, Sep. 30. Students who missed the testing window were quarantined on the third floor of the Lamont Health and Wellness Center until a negative test result was received.

All students on campus are required to take PCR tests on a rotating basis. October arrivals are being tested once a week for their first two weeks on campus. Back in September, early arrivals were also required to take two tests. 

Uppers and seniors’ only requirement now is to take two more tests over the duration of this term, on dates specified by the Health Center. Because these tests are now planned many weeks into the future, there is no possibility to reschedule a missed test. “Unfortunately, we do not have flexibility with our lab to change the dates of testing or the number of tests administered, so it is imperative that you come for your assigned test as scheduled,” Dean of Student Health and Wellness Johnny Griffith said in an email.  

Due to the necessity that students are tested regularly, “we have had to resort to that [quarantine] policy only when students have received multiple reminders and still failed to show up for testing,” Griffith added. Griffith did not provide a medical reason for the quarantine procedure.

Students in quarantine due to missing their PCR tests were quarantined for four to five days on the third floor of the Health Center, despite earlier impressions that quarantine would only be 48 hours. The reasoning provided was that tests took longer to come back due to the large number of tests administered. 

Some of these students felt their quarantine was unnecessary, noting that their likelihood of testing positive did not increase because they missed their tests. “I don’t feel that I should’ve had to quarantine because I didn’t come into close contact with anyone, and I didn’t have any symptoms, but I understand that I should’ve taken my COVID test,” upper KG Buckham-White said.

During the quarantine period, students were confined to their rooms; they were not allowed to see other students and were escorted to showers. However, they were offered takeout food options such as Front Row Pizza and Los Olas. Students reported that they used their quarantine time to catch up on work and watch Netflix.

For many of the students, the quarantine served as a reminder to follow the coronavirus guidelines closely. “I definitely won’t be missing my COVID test,” Buckam-White said. “[It was] totally not worth it.”