'Boring, But It's Possible': Major Steps Taken To Reverse COVID Spike Surrounding CU Boulder
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- For the next two weeks every University of Colorado Boulder student is being asked to self-quarantine, only leaving homes or residence halls for essential needs.
"If that's what it takes to cut off everything and start over again in a month or so," one student said.
Juliet Ricci, also a student at CU, says it comes as no surprise given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases the county has seen related to the Boulder campus in just the last two weeks.
Still she says what's allowed and what's not needs to be made clear.
"Sometimes the message is a little contradicting when we also have in-person classes," she said.
There are also those at properties off campus that have been identified by the City of Boulder as being a nuisance, or repeatedly violated public health guideline, who have no choice.
At least one fraternity annex is already on a mandatory quarantine order and the City of Boulder says several other properties are being closely monitored.
"We really do want students for the most part to stay where they are and not gather with other groups," said Jeff Zayach, Executive Director for Boulder County Public Health.
While the steps are significant, officials say the orders are being put in place with the good of the entire community in mind and that even moving to remote learning wouldn't solve the issue.
Patrick O'Rourke, the interim executive vice chancellor at CU Boulder, also addressed the rise in cases on Wednesday morning.
"The classroom setting has been fairly safe. If we move remote, there's still students in the community," he said.
What happens next, officials say, will rely heavily on individual behavior.
"It's been very boring, but it's possible," one student said about the weeks ahead.
