Fifteen students were in 10-day isolation as of Monday after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. Since the start of the semester, 78 students have tested positive and 63 of them have recovered.
“Students are isolating 10 days from the onset of symptoms and may return to class on the eleventh day, provided they have been cleared by Health Services,” Associate Dean of Men Jeffrey Rogers said.
Students with COVID-19-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and loss of taste and smell, should visit the Health and Wellness Center, Rogers said. They can take a free rapid COVID-19 test that will deliver a positive or negative result within minutes.
Students who test positive receive a letter with instructions to isolate at a designated quarantine location such as Park Place or the Michindoh Conference Center.
When a student tests positive for the virus, the deans’ office notifies professors of missed class time, Rogers said.
In addition to its normal Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekday hours, the Health and Wellness Center added extra testing opportunities from 1 – 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Hillsdale Health and Wellness, located at 240 W. Carleton Rd., offers a COVID-19 testing walk-in service . The service is available for students on weekends from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., but the clinic only offers polymerase chain reaction testing, which detects genetic material of the virus. Results for PCR testing typically take between one and five days.
Last week, Hillsdale County reported 185 COVID-19 cases and four virus-related deaths, putting the number of cases up 11 from the previous week.
Hillsdale Hospital announced on Sept. 16 that it would limit visitors to the facility, citing an overwhelming influx of COVID-19-related hospitalizations. Only one visitor per patient is allowed to accompany a patient in the emergency room.
