SU still has space to quarantine students following COVID-19 spike

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Fatigue among students and gatherings over Halloween weekend contributed to the recent spike in coronavirus cases at Syracuse University, Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie said on Tuesday.

The university announced on Nov. 11 that it would move classes online for the remainder of the fall semester as coronavirus cases spiked both on campus and in Onondaga County. As of Tuesday evening, SU reported 266 active cases among students and employees in central New York with 584 students in quarantine.

“A lot of people worked very, very hard to bring a residential semester to this campus,” Haynie said in a press conference on Tuesday. “We have sustained a residential campus a lot longer than anyone thought we could.”

The majority of new cases among SU students are cases of student-to-student transmission, Haynie said. SU still has space to quarantine students who have COVID-19 or may have been exposed to the virus, he said.

At its highest point on Nov. 14, SU reported 700 students in quarantine. SU has “excess capacity” to quarantine students, Haynie said.

SU’s quarantine housing in the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel is not currently filled, Haynie said. The university is also using South Campus apartments and Skyhall I and III to quarantine students.

Students who live off campus may also choose to quarantine in their own residence, Haynie said.

The university has said it is prepared to accommodate additional students who choose to remain on campus over winter break or who must complete mandatory isolation or quarantine in Onondaga County. Haynie believes “several hundred” students will be remaining on campus over break, he said.

SU is not currently reconsidering its start date for the in-person spring semester, which is set to begin on Jan. 25 and exclude a spring break, Haynie said. SU officials have said that the low rate of infection in the areas surrounding SU was key to opening campus for in-person classes this fall.

“The situation in central New York is different than it was in August,” Haynie said. “We are all at a higher level of risk as we go out and about in the community.”