Students attending Bradley University in central Illinois have been ordered to quarantine in their dorm rooms for the next two weeks following a coronavirus outbreak among the student body. Officials said that nearly 50 students have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the school wants to keep the virus from spreading. The university will transition to online classes until September 23, when the quarantine order will be lifted.
"We have just under 50 confirmed positive cases on campus, which is comparable or even lower than some of our peer institutions," school officials said. "Our concern is because of these cases and clusters, as well as our rigorous quarantine protocols, we have more than 500 students in quarantine at this time. And through contact tracing, we continue to identify more students who may be impacted, which means more students in quarantine."
Students will be allowed to leave their dorms to pick up food from on-campus dining halls and restaurants and run essential errands both on and off-campus. They will not be permitted to visit off-campus restaurants or bars or congregate with anybody other than their roommates. Any time students leave their rooms, they will be required to wear a mask.
"Although it may seem extreme, this move to temporary remote learning and a two-week, all-student quarantine allows us to focus on the continuity of the educational experience for all of our students while giving us time to gather data on the full extent of the spread of the virus and assess the best way to proceed as a community," Bradley University President Steve Standfird said in a video address to students.
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