Duke University Announces Week-Long Quarantine for Undergraduate Students asCOVID-19 Cases Increase

Due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, Duke University has issued a quarantine order all-week long for all undergraduate students until next Sunday, March 21.

According to Erudera.com, the university will provide an update on the quarantine order on Thursday, March 18.

On Sunday, the university delivered a letter to students, highlighting that more than 180 students have tested COVID-19 positive and have been forced to quarantine. In addition, after tracing contacts, some additional 200 students have been placed in isolation.

The letter was signed by the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students John Blackshear, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education Gary Bennett, and Vice Provost of Student Affairs, Mary Pat McMahon.

“This action is necessary to contain the rapidly escalating number of COVID cases among Duke undergraduates, which is principally driven by students attending recruitment parties for selective living groups,” the letter read.

It further pointed out that since the beginning of the pandemic outbreak, this is the largest one-week number of positive tests and quarantines.

After the decision, learning will move online, and students on campus are required to respect quarantine and remain in their rooms almost constantly, except for essential reasons such as buying food or safety reasons.

Undergraduate students working in laboratories will not be permitted to carry out laboratory activities this week.

As per off-campus students, the latter are not allowed to visit the campus, only for surveillance testing participation, picking up food orders, or for medical help.

“If this feels serious, it’s because it is. The restriction of student movement — coupled with a renewed dedication to following social distancing, masking, symptom monitoring, and other public health guidelines — gives us the best path toward curtailing further spread,” the letter said.

It further added that the violations of these requirements will be considered a Duke Compact violation and will be treated as flagrant, whereas the repeated violations will lead to withdrawal from Duke.

In an attempt to avoid COVID-19 spread among the student population, the University of California (UC) in Davis has been offering an amount of $75 to students who decide to stay on the campus during the spring break in late March.

After submitting applications, 2,000 students are expected to withdraw their gift cards from a local business.

The quarantine imposed by Duke University has entered into force as of Sunday, March 13.