After the first week of classes for UNC’s spring 2021 semester, coronavirus cases are still prominent despite new safety regulations and testing procedures.
UNC students started their spring semester last week remotely after an announcement from Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said all undergraduate classes would be held remotely for the first three weeks of the semester. After a rocky start to the fall 2020 semester, UNC put in place new coronavirus protocols to prevent another surge in cases for the spring.
The university ramped up its testing program requiring all undergraduate students living on campus or in an in-person course to be tested for the coronavirus twice a week. All other undergraduates living in the Chapel Hill or Carrboro area to be tested once per week to remain complaint with the university.
In the fall 2020 semester, UNC reported that 130 students and 5 employees tested positive for the coronavirus in the first week of classes causing the university to transition to fully remote learning for the rest of the semester.
For the spring 2021 semester where the university hopes to provide some in-person instruction, UNC Housing also allows some students to live on campus in single occupancy rooms only.
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger recently spoke with 97.9 The Hill about the beginning of the new semester in the town. She said one constructive change was the university’s requirement for all students to be tested before moving back on campus or greater community.
“They stopped about 88 students from coming back until they’re cleared for COVID,” Hemminger said.
Asymptomatic students living in Chapel Hill or Carrboro will be required to test once per week at one of three UNC testing locations: the Frank Porter Graham Student Union, CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio and UNC Rams Head Recreation Center. Students living on campus or taking in person courses will test twice per week. Students showing COVID-19 symptoms are asked to be tested through Campus Health.
Hemminger hopes students and residents of Chapel Hill can work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re in this together and we can work through this together but the testing is gonna be mandatory for students on campus and students in the community,” Hemminger said.
Although testing is more frequent, cases still are rising according to the Carolina Together COVID Dashboard with 94 students and 9 employees testing positive for the coronavirus since January 13 – the first day students were able to move into on-campus housing.
Hemminger said she is hopeful of lower numbers in positive coronavirus cases because of the increased testing especially with asymptomatic students.
“I’m just hopeful that because of the vaccine coming out because we understand more about the virus because we have some systems in place that we’ll see not much effects of the virus but a lot of effect of students coming back and helping,” the Chapel Hill mayor said. “They’re helping with food distribution, they’re helping at the community kitchen. They’re helping in all kinds of ways.”
UNC is currently set to resume in-person instruction February 8.
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