STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — The University of Connecticut (UConn) is reporting a COVID positivity rate of below 1%. With the holidays approaching, staff is working to keep that number low by asking students to return home for Thanksgiving break and stay there.
For most UConn students, it will be the first time they see their families since they started the semester mid-August. Uconn requested that students refrain from traveling home after their initial quarantine on campus.
“I am excited to go home,” student Michael Tompkins, of New York, told News 8. “I am a little bit worried about it, but I’m going to get tested before I go home.”
Next Friday, Nov. 13, marks the official beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday, and Uconn welcomes any students to get tested before their travels.
“Students are welcome to get a test and they should,” said Eleanor Daugherty, UConn Dean of Students. “Go home and let your family know that you are healthy and safe and ready to be back in the family unit.”
University officials said students that head home for the holiday will not be allowed back on campus until the spring semester, which is in January.
The campus will be closing down and going virtual for the last two weeks, so the university said it will help find housing for those who cannot go home.
“We know that when people leave and come back they usually bring the virus with them, so by having students go home for Thanksgiving and remain home, we’ll be able to keep them within their own families and not risk spreading the disease to travel,” Daugherty explained.
“All of us going home and staying home for a couple of months, it the right move,” said student, Mitch Hornak. “We will see what happens over winter break. Hopefully, it will die down. I know it’s going back up because of Halloween, and holidays aren’t going to be good either.”
