STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — The University of Connecticut reported Wednesday, Sept. 30 they have lifted their quarantine on Eddy Hall after “the spread of COVID-19 has dropped precipitously over the past 10 days.”
“Through the beginning of the quarantine, the positivity rate in Eddy Hall was 6.3% with 12
confirmed cases,” the university wrote in a letter to students living in Eddy Hall Wednesday. “However, you continued to be tested and observe the precautions of the quarantine and it worked. There have been no new cases detected in Eddy Hall in the past week.”
The school adds “Students in isolation or medical quarantine under the care and direction of SHaW should continue with their current precautions. Students who are released from isolation must continue to follow the public health guidelines that keep everyone safe whether or not they have tested positive for COVID-19. This includes mask-wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing,
which will protect the community from all respiratory viruses including COVID-19. These
measures keep everyone healthy.”
The university placed Eddy Hall under quarantine Saturday, Sept 19 due to COVID-19 concerns.
The students living in Eddy Hall participated in an enhanced testing regimen with surveillance testing twice a week.
Students in Eddy Hall were not permitted to attend in-person classes. Students needed to notify their instructors to find out how to access course materials remotely.
“I can’t go on the bus,” said a freshman student who didn’t want to give her name told News 8 at the start of the quarantine. “I can’t meet anybody in person. I need to go to a separate dining hall. Even within the building, I can’t meet with the floor members.”
Grab-and-go meals were available only at Buckley Dining Hall. We spoke with that student while she was returning from Buckley Hall.
RELATED: Current COVID-19 cases and recoveries on UConn Storrs campus
UConn estimated this quarantine may last more than 14 days. Students were updated on the status of the Eddy Hall quarantine on Sept. 25. The quarantine was lifted on the 11-day mark (Sept. 30).
Eddy Hall residents already in quarantine had to follow all guidance provided by the Student Health and Wellness Center.
The unidentified student told News 8 there’s was a sense of nervousness in the dorm when the quarantine was first announced.
“I’m worried about getting COVID,” she said.
On Sept. 19, UConn reported there are 51 active cases of COVID-19 among on-campus students in Storrs. Ninety-six students live in Eddy Hall. Four of them have tested positive — that includes three new positive cases since Friday, Sept. 18.
Sunday, Sept. 20, the school reported seven new cases. Three of the seven new cases were from the Eddy residence hall.
“There’s cases growing,” said sophomore, Patrick Miconi, who lives near Eddy Hall and has friends who are residents there. “It’s a bit nerve-wracking.”
“There are a lot of rumors about who has corona and who doesn’t,” he said.
Earlier in the semester, UConn had asked all residents in Garrigus Suites Residence Hall, as well as all students living in The Oaks, to quarantine to help control COVID-19 outbreaks on campus.
Students we spoke with Sept. 19 told News 8 the university is doing a good job trying to control the spread of the virus on campus.
“If they catch you in a big group without your mask or not following protocol you get sent home and your housing doesn’t get refunded,” said Freshman, Jose Fuentes.
Fuentes was originally supposed to live in Eddy Hall but got reassigned at the beginning of the school year. He says he’s glad about that now. But, he worries how the virus will impact things on the Storrs campus in the weeks to come.
“I think it’s pretty scary,” he said. “Hopefully my dorm doesn’t get shutdown.”
