Queen’s shares plans for managing students living on campus this fall
Queen’s University has released new information on how they plan to manage the arrival of students for the 2020-2021 academic year, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Julie Brown, Media Relations Officer for the University, Queen’s will be offering students rooms in floor-based communities, with other students in the same faculty or program.
By creating small groups of students who live in the same residence and take the same courses, Queen’s hopes to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission by minimizing points of contact on campus.
Brown has also confirmed that international students, as well as domestic students arriving from abroad, will be permitted to arrive earlier for mandatory 14-day self-isolation.
All students moving into residence were asked to complete a Personal Circumstances Form Questionnaire, to confirm where they’ll arrive from. The form was due to the University on Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2020.
“We need to know this for both international and domestic students who may live and/or travel in or out of Ontario and Canada to aid in our prioritization assessments and pre-arrival planning,” says a statement on the University’s Residence page.
“The Government of Canada’s Emergency Order under the Quarantine Act requires persons entering Canada — whether by air, land or sea — to quarantine themselves for 14 days if they are asymptomatic to limit the spread of COVID-19,” the statement says. “We need this information in order to make space available for students who will be required to quarantine upon arrival to Queen’s.”
Residence move-in begins on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, and will be staggered over multiple days. Students will be assigned a specific move in date in August.
Queen’s University confirmed in June that up to 2,300 students will be able to live in on-campus residences this fall, while maintaining compliance with physical distancing and public health requirements. This is approximately half of their usual residence capacity, the University said.