COVID In Boulder: CU Students Move Into Remote Learning, Ponder Thanksgiving Holiday Plans
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- The University of Colorado Boulder campus has moved to remote learning for all classes and students after a surge in coronavirus cases. Now, students are trying to figure out their next steps as the Thanksgiving break approaches.
It should be a time of joy, but this Thanksgiving is a time for extreme caution. At colleges across America, students, including those at the CU Boulder campus, are being urged to take precautions not to bring COVID-19 home with them.
CU Freshmen Nicole Ventimigilia and Tetra Boyd are preparing to head to the San Francisco area for the holiday, but before that they have a test to take and it's not for class.
Nicole told CBS4's Rick Sallinger, "I'm taking a COVID test before I leave and I'm flying home on Friday and only going to see my parents for the first two weeks I am home."
All on campus students are being urged, not ordered, to go to a COVID-19 testing station 48-to-72 hours before leaving. Gavin Muse is hoping to return to Orange County, California.
"I'm getting a test because I don't want to take it back to my family and if I test negative, I'm going to head back."
The campus, along with all of Boulder County, is now at Level Orange or Safer at Home mode. A total of 40 students are currently in isolation. They will only be allowed to travel home by private car, not plane, bus or train. Others are taking steps to be careful.
Hasan Hasan lives in Denver and is going there over the holiday, "Less people with contact due to the COVID situation."
Monday was the first day of full-remote learning. That will last until the semester ends. Then the students go home until the next semester starts in January 2021.
"I like being here because I have people around me in similar classes, so it helps me focus."
Another holiday tradition, football, will also be missing from campus. Saturday's game at Folsom Field has been put off due to COVID-19 problems with the Arizona State University team.
