COVID In Boulder: Buffs Move Back Into Dorms With Strengthened Precautions
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Students at the University of Colorado Boulder moved back into residence halls on Monday ahead of in-person learning returning to campus later in the month. The university started its spring semester with classes completely remote in January.
"I mean we're all pretty excited," said Nick Ryan, a freshman from Denver majoring in business. "We're all used to the COVID tests and all that kind of stuff but we're all just excited to be back together here at CU."
The university said around 4,700 students would move into campus housing this week starting on Sunday. CU asked them to get tested for COVID-19 before arriving to their dorms or get screened on site before they started to unpack their belongings.
Along with staff and faculty, those on campus once a week will need to get tested every seven days. While the same protocols are in place, the university say it has more tests available this semester and is asking its campus to get checked more frequently.
"We want everybody to know that we're doing everything we can to provide our students with a true college learning experience while at the same time maintaining public safety," said Scott Pribble, a university spokesman. "We have to make sure we don't let our guard down and that we continue to keep on these practices."
The university is once again looking at wastewater from residence halls to monitor a potential outbreak of the coronavirus, a tool they used in the fall as well. CU says their students understand the requirements and the importance to stop the spread of the virus.
"The majority of our students are doing it right, but we do have some students from time to time bend the rules a little bit and that's where we have some problems," Pribble told CBS4 on Monday.
Boulder County Public Health asks gatherings stay at 10 or fewer and only include people from two households. CU says each dorm room will count as a household and students need to follow the guidelines put out by the county.
"I have a new roommate that I'm just about to meet here in a few minutes, so that's pretty exciting," Ryan told CBS4 on Monday. "I'm not too concerned because last semester none of my friends really got COVID, I never really got sick because we were pretty good about not going into groups of 30, 40 people."
There wasn't a single case of the virus spread inside a classroom in the fall, according to the university. CU will offer a weekly town hall for anyone who wants to watch remotely to address current issues related to the pandemic.
The additional steps along with the same overall plan for tracking and containing the virus has the university confident about in-person and hybrid classes starting next Monday.
"It's a lot easier to pay attention when you're doing in-person classes because you have all the distractions of your phone and iPad," Ryan said.
"Despite all the restrictions, we still have a lot of fun and the classes are really good too."
