Cal State Long Beach Pausing In-Person Classes For 2 Weeks, Dorm Residents Under Quarantine After Positive COVID-19 Cases
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) -- California State University, Long Beach has paused in-person classes for the next two weeks due to what school officials say was neglect of coronavirus precautions by some students.
About 300 students who live on campus will be confined to their rooms but will have access to individual bathrooms and have meals provided to them.
"Late yesterday, we became aware of a number of students who have not heeded our guidance related to COVID-19 precautions and congregated socially off campus earlier this month," said a statement released on Saturday from university President Jane Close Conoley.
A CSULB spokesperson said the testing and subsequent positive cases came after the school received a tip about a recent gathering of students off-campus.
Five of these students have now tested positive for coronavirus. Of those, four students live on campus in the residence halls and one lives off-campus, students said.
"The actions they take can affect the entire campus and this is one of those moments," said spokesperson Gregory Woods.
Along with the on-campus residential quarantine, the university is planning to review the number of employees currently on campus and provide testing as needed.
Cleaning and disinfecting is also underway and the CSULB said it will investigate and address related student conduct issues.
"As you know, we took a conservative approach to the fall semester by vastly reducing the number of students in our residence halls and the number of classes offered on campus," Conoley said. "Unfortunately, even with our proactive efforts we need to adapt and respond to this new challenge. We will keep our community informed as we learn more."
Resources about steps Cal State Long Beach is taking during the coronavirus pandemic can be found on the Our OneBeach website.