San Jose State is requiring coronavirus testing and has added new protocols for university housing residents who traveled for Thanksgiving, according to a Nov. 28 campuswide email from President Mary Papazian.
The requirement is in response to Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s new revisions after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Nov. 16 the county’s reentering of purple tier, California’s most restrictive COVID-19 tier.
Papazian stated in the email that university housing residents including students, faculty and staff will be required to comply with testing following their arrival back to campus.
She said free testing will be held in the housing quad in front of Campus Village Building A and Campus Village Building 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 1-2 and will be administered by HealthQuest Esoterics, a testing company partnered with the university.
Advertising sophomore Joshua Reyes said he believes the university is doing the right thing.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Reyes said over text. “COVID-19 is constantly starting to become a bigger problem each day and ways we can spot it is by getting tested.”
Patrick Day, the vice president of student affairs, explained the university’s priority is to keep all residents safe and enforce the new restrictions.
Day said the university will always make the safety and health of students in the residential halls a priority.
“Since the beginning of the year, University Housing Services has had health and safety protocols in place up to and including quarantine if necessary,” Day said over email.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department updated the county’s restrictions and added new COVID-19 regulations on Nov. 28 in response to Santa Clara County’s rising caseload.
The Santa Clara County website states that stores and other facilities open to the public will be limited to 10% indoor capacity. Grocery stores, drug stores and pharmacies can operate at 25% indoor capacity to ensure access to food and medicine.
A statewide curfew is enforced to halt nonessential activity from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. until regulations are lifted on Dec. 21 unless the Santa Clara County Public Health Department extends the orders.
The county’s website states anyone who has traveled more than 150 miles and then reenters the county must quarantine for 14 days.
Day said that students will not be asked to quarantine.
“Students will not be quarantined after testing but will be asked to sequester, limiting their interactions on campus, until they receive their test results,” Day said. “A member of the team in Health Services will reach out to students who test positive and make arrangements with them based on their specific circumstances.”
Environmental studies junior and CVB resident Maritza Ortiz-Urrutia said the university has lacked enforcing COVID-19 policies in the resident halls since the semester began, but she’s relieved to see new testing and quarantine regulations.
“In my opinion we should have had mandatory testing from the start to make sure everyone is safe,” Ortiz-Urrutia said over email. “This [COVID-19 testing] is definitely long overdue.”
There are 760 new COVID-19 cases and 239 COVID-19 related hospitalizations recorded as of Nov. 28, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department website.
The website states the number of new cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations set new records for the highest single-day counts since the beginning of the pandemic.
Ortiz-Urrutia said as the severity of COVID-19 rises again in the county, the university has yet to inform students on what else it will provide for housing residents besides testing.
She said the university provided her with supplies only after she requested them. The last time she was in need of essential items, the university never got back to her.
“As for mandatory quarantines, they haven't issued any statements about providing us with food or supplies if we do have to quarantine,” Ortiz-Urrutia said. “This is not reassuring at all.”
