When students in residence halls test positive for COVID-19 testing, they need another place to safely stay quarantined. In response, University of Idaho students has provided an isolation-specific facility for students living on campus.
Targhee Hall, a former dormitory located on the south edge of UI’s Moscow campus, was chosen as the university’s isolation facility. It can hold 170 plus students, but the university has access to another 200 spaces if necessary.
“The isolation facility is intended to be a safe space for students completing their confinement period,” Special Assistant to the President Toni Broyles said. “We do not want students who are not positive in the facility because of the risk of contracting COVID-19.”
The goal of isolating students is to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, according to Blaine Eckles, the vice provost for student affairs and dean of students. Therefore, students quarantined in Targhee Hall are encouraged to stay in the building during their stay. “There is an expectation that all students follow the Healthy Vandal Pledge and part of that is proper COVID-19 safety protocols,” Eckles said “Students not complying with the isolation recommendation could be in violation of the Student Code of Conduct.”
Although UI encourages students to stay in isolation facilities and quarantine, students are adults who make their own decisions. Officials ask students to be responsible for their health and the health of others by avoiding contact with others if infected.
The number of students in isolation and quarantine changes daily as students check out after completing their quarantine period and others check in. The amount of time stayed in these isolation rooms is determined by Public Health – Idaho North Central District (PH-INCD). If a student is asymptomatic, they should stay in the facility for 10 days from when they were last tested, Broyles said.
Students must remain in the facility until they receive a negative COVID-19 test result after a retest, according to the 2020 Campus Opening Roadmap. Employees and off-campus students who test positive are told to isolate in their own homes.
“The isolation facilities are where students who test positive move into until they are no longer contagious per (PH-INCD) confinement recommendations,” Broyles said. “They are important because they provide a safe space for a student to fulfill their confinement period and continue to engage in their learning while not infecting others.”
A staff manager is dedicated to oversight and helping students in the isolation facility, Broyles said. Students have access to amenities including food service, custodial service, exercise equipment, technology and board games. The university will provide academic support, health and counseling services in these spaces to make students comfortable and continue their education remotely, according to the 2020 Campus Opening Roadmap.
Students who test positive cannot attend in-person classes, but Targhee has technology which allows students to attend classes virtually.
More information about COVID-19 testing resources available to UI community members can be found on UI’s COVID-19 website. Moscow community resources can be found through Gritman Medical Center.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.