As of the Fall 2023 semester, on-campus RAs have been told nothing about what to do when
their residents test positive for COVID-19. This is a stark contrast from the last two years when
students were relocated to COVID-19 quarantine floors or were required to leave campus
altogether. This is also leaving students who live on campus with many questions regarding
what to do if they test positive for COVID-19.

Executive Director of Residence Life, Amy Cunningham, stated that because COVID-19
has now been reclassified as an endemic by the Center of Disease Control or CDC as of the beginning of the Fall ‘23 semester, students who test positive are no longer required to quarantine by the university. All health recommendations that are to be suggested by Resident’s Life leaders will come from the Student Health Center and follow current CDC guidelines.

As of May 11th, 2023, the CDC still recommends a five-day isolation period for people testing positive for the virus, but what happens when students living on-campus do not know this information or who to turn to?

“Precautions for people who tested positive should have been better because people
who had [COVID-19] could still walk around, they just had to wear a mask, and that made me
uncomfortable”, states Bloomsburg freshman Sadie Simmons. According to Simmons, there
were no instructions given to on-campus residents from RAs on what to do if they tested
positive for the virus, causing mass confusion in residents’ halls.

Many students contacted the Student Health Center to seek information on what should be done once testing positive, which now seems to be the advice being given to students. The days of the two-week quarantine are
over for students.

There is no official count of Bloomsburg students who are currently tested positive for
COVID-19 and living on-campus, which has been available in previous years. Students are
encouraged to call the Student Health Center with any questions or concerns they may have.