Yale U. Mandates Month-Long Quarantine for Returning Students

Yale University is mandating that its students quarantine on campus for one month after they arrive. Classes resumed on February 1, and students are expected not to leave campus until March 1.

“The policies are of course not meant to be punitive. They are meant to reduce the risk of viral spread in the community at a time of sharply higher infection rates across the country as well as here in New Haven,” said Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun to Yale Daily News.

During the fall 2020 semester, Yale students were required to quarantine in their residential colleges for 14 days after arriving on campus. But the spring 2021 guidelines are twice as strict, mandating a month-long quarantine period that will be broken up into three phases.

First, students were instructed to register for a move-in date on either January 28 or 29. Students are also required to take a pre-arrival coronavirus test that was sent by mail to their current residence, which must be negative before they can arrive on campus.

Phase one of the quarantine requires students to stay in their suites until they receive a negative test result from the coronavirus test they took upon arrival, which is estimated can take 24 to 36 hours.

But testing negative for the coronavirus is not enough, as students must then abide by the next two phases of the month-long quarantine.

The second phase of quarantine begins after the student receives their negative test result. During this phase, students will be allowed to leave their suite, but they will be required to stay within their residential college, or other campus residence, and the corresponding courtyard, reports Yale Daily News.

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