2 Cal Poly students directed to self-quarantine after they returned from traveling
Update 4:30 p.m. Thursday:
After reviewing the circumstances of residents who traveled to areas with a high number of known coronavirus infections, the SLO County Public Health determined that their risk of infection was still low and not high enough to be ordered to quarantine.
Instead, those students and other community members have been asked to self-observe. They are not confined to their homes, but are asked to report at the first sign of any COVID-19 symptoms, County Public Health spokesperson Michelle Shoresman said.
Original story: Two Cal Poly students were told to self-quarantine for 14 days after they returned from traveling, university officials have confirmed.
The students had traveled to “an area of the country with a higher number of known infections,” according to university spokesman Matt Lazier.
While the students are not exhibiting symptoms of the illness, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department told them to quarantine out of an abundance of caution, Lazier said.
Lazier declined to say whether the students live on or off campus, saying the information is a privacy issue.
“The university is providing those students with all appropriate support, while also continuing to plan and work toward maintaining the health and wellbeing of all campus community members,” Lazier said.
No cases of coronavirus have been identified on the Cal Poly campus or in San Luis Obispo County.
The news of the quarantines came one day after university President Jeff Armstrong asked that students planning to travel to higher-risk areas for spring break stay in town for the week instead. Cal Poly’s winter quarter ends after finals next week.
For the time being, in-person classes are continuing at both Cal Poly and Cuesta College, even as other campuses around the state are switching to online instruction. This week, UCSB suspended in-person classes through at least April.
Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is spread through contact between people within six feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.
The CDC says it’s possible to catch COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure.The disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 6:33 PM.
