CALIFORNIA—On Monday, February 1, the University of California-Berkeley announced that students who live in residence halls must self-sequester due to a rise in cases on campus.
UC Berkeley said on its website that this “will continue until at least Monday, Feb. 8, when a re-evaluation will occur.”
Students, the university says, “must stay in their rooms as much as possible and wear face coverings in any common areas within their household” and define “self-sequestering” as “minimizing in-person interactions for a limited time.”
UC Berkeley says students can only leave their dorm rooms if they want to use the bathroom, take a shower, pick up meal/delivery, getting tested for COVID-19, getting mail, or doing laundry.
Students were previously allowed to leave to exercise, but the university updated its restrictions saying that outdoor exercise is no longer permitted and “are working with the City of Berkeley to determine whether” it is allowed.
UC Berkeley opened its campus in August 2020 and until January 30, 2021, 544 positive coronavirus cases were reported with 0.4 percent positivity rate.
The university said on January 31 that “there has been a surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases among students, including students who live in campus housing” and are asking for help to “reverse this disturbing trend.”
UC Berkeley said it is “critical and required by current public health orders” to “not attend indoor gatherings — large or small — with people outside your household.”
Founded in 1868, UC Berkeley is California’s first land grant university with alumni like MSNBC news anchor Nicolle Wallace and former Surgeon General of the United States Jerome Adams under former President Donald Trump.
