Positive COVID-19 cases remain under 20 as midterms approach

Home News Positive COVID-19 cases remain under 20 as midterms approach
Positive COVID-19 cases remain under 20 as midterms approach
Students lined up for a health check, which are no longer required. Courtesy | Kalli Dalrymple

Active COVID-19 cases on Hillsdale’s campus rose to 11 this week, while more students moved off campus to wait out quarantine.

On Wednesday morning, Hillsdale College reported six resolved cases. The school has detected a total of 17 positive cases among students since the fall semester began. There are currently 129 students in contact isolation, and four students with possible COVID-19 symptoms. 

Individuals in contact isolation are in a 14-day quarantine period after close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19. The students are being closely monitored for symptoms. As of Wednesday morning, students are quarantined in the townhouses, the Park Place apartments, and Michindoh Conference Center, roughly four miles from campus.

Brock Lutz, director of health and wellness, said that the school is closely following CDC updates and reviewing guidelines as needed. Lutz said the college is working with local health officials to ensure students’ safety.

“Our current COVID guidelines are based on professional guidelines, the local health department standards, and consultation with Hillsdale Hospital and related epidemiologists,” Lutz said in an email. “All policies or procedures that the college has in place have included input from many departments. Certain preventative measures (masks in public spaces, encouraging physical spacing, handwashing) and careful response (reporting symptoms, testing and isolating those awaiting test results, and then isolating those who have had contact with a positive COVID individual) will help campus be as safe as possible.”

While some students are concerned about the number of students quarantined per positive case, according to Lutz, this is a sign of the administration’s effective use of contact tracing to identify and monitor individuals who may have been exposed to the virus. But the school’s protocol isn’t perfect, according to some.

Senior Isaac Kirshner said he was notified by the administration last Friday that he had come in contact with a positive case. Kirshner said the school wouldn’t tell him who he had been in contact with, but that he had to isolate for 14 days.

“I had gotten an email from the nurse, saying that someone had named me for COVID-19, and the person who has named you is ‘blank name,’” Kirshner said. “It was a blank as if they were supposed to fill in something. They asked me some preliminary questions, and I sent them an email back saying I’m willing to cooperate fully. As long as I was actually exposed.”

The administration works with the local health department when a student tests positive. When a positive case is identified, they are asked to compose a list of people they were in close contact with. Kirshner said that when a fellow classmate disclosed the name of the person he had allegedly been in contact with, he knew he had been wrongly identified. 

“I’m glad my friend gave me the name because it turns out I didn’t know who this person was,” Kirshner said. “I didn’t know his name. I told the deans I was not in contact with this person.”

Ultimately, Kirshner said his parents called the president’s office and echoed their son’s concerns. After re-opening his specific case, the administration found that Kirshner had not been in contact with a positive case and was free to leave isolation. 

Lutz said contact tracing has its faults, but that it greatly contributes in stopping the spread of the virus.

“Contact tracing is time-consuming and not always precise,” Lutz said. “Sometimes it is not completely clear if someone qualifies, so we try to work with the students to gain more clarity as to not put someone in isolation unnecessarily.”

Despite any flaws in the system, Lutz said he is optimistic that the school will continue to perform its mission, safely and effectively. 

“The college’s goal remains to have in-person classes in a way that is safe and legal, and continues to review its processes and procedures each week in an ever-changing environment,” Lutz said.