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New South dorms on Ohio University's campus in Athens, Ohio.

Students react to second semester of quarantine, isolation housing

Ohio University has continued isolation and quarantine housing out of on-campus residence halls into the Spring Semester. 

Students must reside in isolation housing if they tested positive for COVID-19 or are symptomatic. Students who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 are placed in quarantine housing, Gillian Ice, special assistant to the president for Public Health Operations, said. Out-of-state students were also placed in quarantine dorms when they arrived on campus.

“Isolation is typically 10 days from symptom onset or positive test result but can be extended if the individual has a fever or continued symptoms,” Ice said in an email. “Quarantine typically lasts for 14 days from the last known exposure but may be shortened to 10 days if the individual actively participates in case management and is symptom free.”

When in either isolation or quarantine housing, students must follow certain restrictions to ensure there is no further spread of COVID-19.

“Students may not spend time with others and are not permitted to leave the building unless there is an emergency,” Ice said in an email.

Additionally, students must wear masks when using the restroom and laundry services, Ice said.

Despite restrictions being in place, Sam Wilson, a sophomore studying finance and business economics, said they were not enforced.

“Restrictions were loosely voiced by the administration, and since there were no RA's, very few restrictions were enforced,” Wilson said in an email.

Students in isolation and quarantine housing are given a room with a fridge and microwave for their meals. However, Alex Berhosky, a sophomore studying psychology, did not move into an empty room.

“I was supposed to be in Sowle for quarantine, but the room they put me in still had dirty sheets and stuff from the last person who stayed there,” Berhosky said in an email. “By the time I moved in, housing was closed for the day so the next morning they put me in Adams.”

Students are also able to order meals from Culinary Services or have food delivered as long as it is contactless, Ice said.

Some students reported that they did not enjoy the process in which food was distributed while in isolation and quarantine housing. 

“If I could change something about the dorms it would definitely be the food situation,” Berhosky said in an email. “You order meals on the first day you’re there for the whole period you’ll be staying and they just bring you a lunch and a dinner in the morning that you need to microwave when you want to eat it.”

He said that students should be able to have options from the dining halls while in quarantine.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to agreed that the actual meals like a sloppy joe or some weird noodle slop I got were kinda disgusting,” Berhosky said in an email. “I think they should let students in quarantine order what they want from the available dining hall options and have that brought to them instead of random food that ends up just going to waste.”

Students have access to a COVID-19 Campus Liaison in order to provide support to those in quarantine or isolation housing, Ice said. However, students feel that despite the food, quarantine and isolation housing is manageable.

“Living in quarantine wasn't terrible but it was drab. The first few days go by quickly but soon it feels as if the days drag on forever,” Wilson said in an email.

@mayacatemorita

mm294318@ohio.edu 

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