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HAMDEN, CT (WTIC/WCCT) — Officials announced Wednesday that Quinnipiac University is elevating the campus alert level to Orange after 55 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed.
Medical Sciences professor and Senior Medical Adviser to the COVID-19 Task Force, Dr. David R. Hill, said in a letter that the decision comes after seeing a continued increase in new COVID-19 cases among students.
According to Hill, 34 cases are among on-campus students and 21 are off campus. 108 active cases are currently in isolation.
With the increase to an Orange alert level, all on-ground graduate and undergraduate classes will transition to remote through Friday, November 6.
University officials will reevaluate whether in-person classes can resume next week.
The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine is the only exception to the remote switch, Hill wrote.
Additional changes for the QU community:
* Only previously invited residential students should participate in today’s on-campus sample testing. This week’s sample testing will continue on Wednesday, November 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Burt Kahn Court, but only residential students should participate if you received an invitation to test. A separate testing session will be held in Burt Kahn Court for off-campus students on Thursday, Nov. 5
* Off-campus students will participate in sample testing on Thursday, November 5. Off-campus students who were selected as part of this week’s sample testing should come on Thursday instead. Testing will be held Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Burt Kahn Court for off-campus students.
* All students should restrict interactions and activities until further notice. Social interactions should be restricted to your residential family unit/pod to limit further spread of the virus. All students are asked to remain inside their residence halls, apartments or suites as much as possible, and if outdoors, please limit interactions to those with your roommates. If you live in off-campus housing, please remain in your house to eliminate contagion within and outside our community.
* Dining has been moved to takeout only. All food will be available for grab-and-go pickup only during regular hours at any of our dining locations. Students will be able to enter the dining halls following our established guidelines for social distancing, and lines must be spaced 6 feet apart. Food should be taken back to students’ rooms.
* In-person events and gatherings have been paused. All student-organized and university-sponsored, in-person events are paused until the trend in cases has declined.
* Faculty and staff can work from home. All faculty and staff who can fulfill their responsibilities without coming to campus should work from home for the remainder of the week. Essential staff should come to work as scheduled.
“We recognize that these increased restrictions are inconvenient and challenging, but we know from public health experts and the experiences of other universities that these measures work to stem the tide of infection,” officials wrote. “We will continue to take every precaution and containment measure, and we will update our campus community regularly.”
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