Temporary Campus Pause Extended, Fulton Townhouses Under Quarantine, Amidst New COVID-19 Cases
On Oct. 11, the Marist College Administration announced that the temporary pause on campus life and activities will be extended until Wednesday, Oct. 13, according to an email sent from Deborah DiCaprio, vice president for Student Affairs.
The Fulton townhouses are under a temporary quarantine after multiple positive cases were identified in the area. Source: Tara Guaimano
The precautionary pause was first implemented on Oct. 8, after nine new cases of COVID-19 were detected as a result of an off-campus party the weekend before. After quickly implementing procedures for additional testing and contact tracing, multiple more positive cases were detected by the medical team, bringing the total active COVID-19 cases at Marist to 25 on Oct. 11.
Marist’s COVID-19 Dashboard has been updated to reflect this uptick in cases. The college still remains at the “Yellow” alert level, meaning increased surveillance testing and broader restrictions on gatherings and activities.
Multiple positive cases were detected in the Fulton Townhouses as a result of Marist’s surveillance testing. The students who have tested positive, as well as their close contacts, have been identified for testing and quarantining off-campus, John Cordella, assistant director of Housing and Residential Life, noted in an email to Fulton residents.
Out of supreme caution, the administration has instituted a temporary precautionary quarantine for the Fulton Townhouses (1-15), and residents must be available to potentially report for testing on Monday, Oct. 12. At the time of the email to Fulton residents, no determined end to the quarantine was given. Students are required to remain in their townhouses, attend all of their classes virtually and, if they utilize dining services, must order through the Grubhub app, until the restriction is lifted.
For the rest of the Marist community, the administration's communication to the campus community details the steps that will be taken to prevent further spread of the virus and protect those on campus. First, the college is implementing multiple mandatory rounds of targeted COVID-19 testing — even for students who have been recently tested.
All classes will be held remotely on Oct. 12 and 13, and all students are required to remain on campus and avoid non-essential travel — including travelling home. However, leaving campus to get groceries or to an doctor’s appointment, for example, is permitted.
Marist has suspended all on- and off-campus on-ground activities, including clubs and events through Student Activities, for the foreseeable future. All on- and off-campus gatherings, including parties, are prohibited. All athletics have been suspended, and the McCann Center is temporarily closed.
The campus also remains closed to all visitors, including parents and families of students residing on campus.
While Marist has been successful in curbing the spread of the coronavirus during the first month of the fall semester, “COVID-19 is still a threat to the campus and the larger community, and must be taken seriously. Our path forward requires full compliance by the entire Marist community and our collective vigilance,” noted the communication from Geoff Brackett, Marist’s executive vice president, Thom Wermuth, vice president for Academic Affairs and DiCaprio.
All updates will remain available through the college’s COVID-19 dashboard, and the administration will continue to update the community as more information becomes available.