Bliss Hall Resident Tests Positive for COVID-19

Dear Members of the Campus Community:

A resident student reported to the College that he tested positive for COVID-19 today.

The student resides on the second floor of Bliss Hall. He is currently at home in quarantine in Staten Island.

The student was last on campus on March 27 to collect belongings from his residence hall. He reported that the onset of symptoms occurred on March 23. 

Two student residents living on the second floor of Bliss Hall have been instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days. We are temporarily restricting access to the floor and dispatching cleaners with proper training and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to clean in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.

We are working closely with the Ulster County Department of Health and Mental Health and the Ulster County Office of Emergency Management to reach out to any students, faculty or staff members who may have come in contact with this individual, and instructing them to immediately self-isolate as per CDC guidelines. As of this writing, we can confirm that seven employees and eight students have tested positive for COVID-19. All are in self-quarantine at home or in the hospital. Some are already feeling better.

We are activating all necessary protocols and will provide timely updates to all members of the campus community. We remind members of our community that the CDC has advised that there is “No Identifiable Risk” to an individual who walks or briefly shares a room with a COVID-19-positive individual. That guidance can be found in Table 1 of the CDC’s interim guidance for risk assessment related to perceived levels of exposure.

We continue to recommend that members of our community who are experiencing flu-like symptoms practice good public health protocols by resting, drinking lots of fluids, reducing contact with others, restricting their movement around campus, and contacting the Student Health Center or their primary care physician.

Campus leadership is continuing to monitor developments related to COVID-19 with guidance from the CDC and our local and state health departments, as well as SUNY System Administration and the Governor’s Office. Please continue to monitor campus e-mail for updates. Campus community members can view updates at the Coronavirus Information and Coronavirus FAQs webpages, which are being updated regularly as this situation evolves.

Posted via Campus Update