Students Recount Experiences of Exposure

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated that the student sources remained anonymous due to HIPAA. As of Sept. 25, 2021, this article has been updated to reflect the fact that sources chose to not disclose identities to The Observer for fears of judgment and privacy concerns.

Due to students concerned about experiencing judgment and protecting the privacy of other individuals, all student sources in this article will remain anonymous.

One anonymous first-year student explained that when they received the call from Public Safety about being exposed to a COVID-positive person, they were not told who had tested positive. The student explained that this frustrated them as they did not know if they had interacted with the student who tested positive.

If exposed, unvaccinated individuals are not allowed to go to classes and are expected to quarantine for 10 days.

“Two people on our floor tested positive, but unfortunately we are not allowed to know who due to HIPAA violations,” the student said. “Luckily we didn’t have class with these people and never had contact with them and my roommate and I both tested negative with PCR tests, so we’re all safe.”

The student also added that the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) student staff members on their floor were not aware of the positive COVID-19 cases.

There are different procedures for those who have been exposed, depending on whether or not they have been vaccinated. Because the majority of Fordham students are vaccinated, most are encouraged to continue going to classes after potential exposure, which students often follow due to strict attendance policies.

If exposed, unvaccinated individuals are not allowed to go to classes and are expected to quarantine for 10 days.

One anonymous sophomore explained that they continued to go to class after being alerted of their possible exposure because Fordham allowed it. They were nervous about accruing absences. 

Since social distancing is no longer enforced in campus buildings, “having students with confirmed exposures/waiting for test results continue to go to class and around campus freely seems incredible(ly) irresponsible,” the student said.

Public Safety did not reach out to the student until a week after their exposure.

The anonymous sophomore said they were notified of a potential exposure less than 24 hours after their class. 

“To me, that says that whichever student it was was waiting for test results and went to class anyway, because PCR results typically don’t come in that quickly as far as I’m aware,” the student said.  

Due to the unavailability of tests on the day they went to get tested, the student said they had to go off-campus to get their test. A second anonymous sophomore also stated that they had to go off-campus for a test because Fordham had no more available appointments.

If a student tests positive, they will be required to isolate for 10 days.

Students who were potentially exposed to a COVID-positive person in class are normally contacted by Public Safety. A third anonymous sophomore shared that that was not the case for them in their introduction to Mandarin class. 

“The way I found out about the person testing positive was actually through my teacher, not Public Safety,” they said.

The student added that their professor provided them with resources for testing and informed their class that unless Public Safety reached out, there was no need to worry. The professor encouraged students to get a PCR test.

“I was very lucky to be able to go home to quarantine.”anonymous, COVID-19 positive junior

Public Safety did not reach out to the student until a week after their exposure. The student was required to get tested and was told they were not allowed to eat or remove their mask in public areas around campus unless they were in their dorm room.

“If I had ended up being positive with COVID-19, it probably wouldn’t have been good since they did wait a week to call me and tell me ‘hey maybe you should get tested with the school,’” they said.