BLOOMSBURG – University board members met with Columbia County Commissioners in a 45-minute meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

Columbia County Commission Chairman, Chris Young, who spoke out about the lack of communication between the university and Commissioners, said that the meeting went well and that they predict a trending down in the number of confirmed cases over the next two weeks. 

Commissioner Young said that “the key to beating this is testing” and that the university and County Commission are working on a joint purchase for a rapid testing device that will be able to test students for COVID within just 15 minutes. 

The Commission and university also discussed a more efficient plan to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing regulations better. 

The University police have reached out to Columbia county sheriff’s department and plan to team up with them to better help with regulation enforcement. 

Young also mentioned a possible mask-wearing mandate in the works that would require all individuals unable to socially distance to wear a mask, with significant consequences to those who do not follow. “This mandate would not happen overnight. However, it would need to go through several stages of the Commission that could take nearly a month before being implemented”, said young. 

Young finished off the interview, explaining that although this virus is new to everyone, the university is hard at work to find a solution and that he has a positive outlook for the future.