Three people at Judson University in Elgin tested positive for COVID-19 during the first week of fall semester, university President Gene Crume said in a campus letter Wednesday.
The three individuals do not live on campus and are isolated/quarantined off campus, Communications Director Mary Dulabaum said Friday; Judson did not specify if they were students, staff or faculty. There are no positive test-confirmed individuals quarantined or isolated on campus, Crume said in the letter, which was posted on the Judson website.
Nineteen people are quarantined or isolated due to potential infection or exposure to the virus. Crume’s letter said eight people are isolated off campus; one person is isolated on campus; eight people are quarantined off campus; and two others are quarantined on campus.
“As a reminder, isolation is the term we use when someone has tested positive or most likely is COVID-19 positive because of the symptoms they exhibit,” Crume said. “Quarantine means the person has had close contact to someone who has tested positive or someone we believe most likely is positive even if they haven’t tested based upon their symptoms.”
Dulabaum said they secured multiple residential rooms on campus before the start of the semester to isolate or quarantine students who tested positive or exhibited COVID-19 symptoms but had not been tested yet.
Crume said officials were notified of the cases early. The college’s tracing and tracking protocols have determined there was no significant exposure risk to others as a result of the positive and potential COVID-19 cases, Crume wrote.
“If national trends are an indication, we will most likely have more positive tests as well as people exhibiting symptoms that we will need to isolate,” he said. “We will follow our protocols to ensure that we take the appropriate steps to protect the health of our students, staff and faculty as well as the health to anyone else who might have had contact or interaction with them.”
In the letter, Crume reminded students to be mindful of their health and wellbeing ahead of the Labor Day weekend.
“Please continue to remain diligent in your health protocols by limiting your interactions outside of campus if you are a resident or varying from your normal routine if you are an adult, graduate or commuter student,” Crume said. “Keeping our campus safe now goes a long way in ensuring that we can complete the semester as we started! We love having you on campus, and we are enjoying being together in-person as a Judson community.”
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