Cal State Long Beach has placed everyone who lives on campus in quarantine after five students tested positive for COVID-19, including four who live at residence halls, university officials said Saturday.
"Late yesterday, we became aware of a number of students who have not heeded our guidance related to COVID-19 precautions and congregated socially off campus earlier this month,'' according to a statement from CSULB President Jane Close Conoley. "Five of these students have now tested positive for the illness. Four students live on campus in the residence halls, and one lives off campus.
These are the actions we are now taking to protect the health and safety of our community:
-- We have placed all on-campus residents in quarantine and, in conjunction with Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, will be testing all of these students soon.
-- As we engage in contact tracing on campus, we will pause in-person instruction for two weeks and review the number of employees on campus. Those who have the need to be tested will have a test offered.
-- We will continue our partnership with public health officials to understand the ultimate scope of those who are impacted and assist with contact tracing in the broader community.
-- We will be cleaning and disinfecting facilities as needed.
-- We will be investigating related student conduct issues and addressing them appropriately."
San Diego State University issued a similar quarantine this summer. SDSU has reported at least 819 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since its campus reopened Aug. 24.
"As you know, we took a conservative approach to the fall semester by vastly reducing the number of students in our residence halls and the number of classes offered on campus,'' Conoley said. ``Unfortunately, even with our proactive efforts we need to adapt and respond to this new challenge. We will keep our community informed as we learn more."
