Yale students must quarantine on campus amid COVID-19 surge, encouraged not to eat at local restaurants
Joe Biden urges schools to remain open, warns you can get virus even if vaccinated
The CDC has been warning about breakthrough COVID-19 infections for the better part of 2021, issuing an update in April that said, "People can still get sick and possibly spread COVID-19 to others after being fully vaccinated." During the outbreak of the delta variant over the summer, the CDC updated its guidance for fully vaccinated people, saying they should wear masks in crowded indoor areas because of the high transmissibility of the variant. While the COVID-19 vaccines can prevent severe illness, hospitalizations and death, breakthrough infections still can and do occur, the CDC said.
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut - All Yale University students returning to its New Haven, Connecticut, campus after winter break must quarantine until they test negative for COVID-19, the school's newspaper reported.
Students are also being instructed to avoid eating at local restaurants, even if outdoors, the Yale Daily News reported, citing an email from the school.
Students are allowed to return to campus between Jan. 14 and Feb. 4, during which time they must quarantine in their dorms until their "arrival" tests are negative. The campus-wide quarantine ends Feb. 7, the school announced on Dec. 22.
Yale University old campus is show (Credit: Bobby Banks/WireImage)
"The fall term demonstrated how effective the health and safety measures we have established are at preventing the spread of COVID-19," Yale President Peter Salovey said in the Dec. 22 announcement. "Most of the transmissions resulted from off-campus social gatherings or within households."
For meals, students have access to "grab-and-go" food from the school or may order curbside pickup — rather than eat indoors or outdoors — from local establishments, the paper reported.
"If your arrival test is negative, you may move around campus, but avoid local businesses, restaurants and bars, including outdoor dining or drinking," the email states, adding that students must follow the guidelines whether they live on or off-campus.
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New Haven is reporting about 103 positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the state's COVID-19 tracker. More than 60% of New Haven residents are fully vaccinated.
At Yale, nearly 100% of undergraduate and graduate students are fully vaccinated, and more than 90% of staff are fully vaccinated.
As of Monday, four students on campus and 28 teachers or staff members had tested positive for COVID-19. More than 1,800 individuals at the university have been tested for the virus within the last seven days, according to Yale's COVID-19 tracker.
Tuition for on-campus Yale undergraduate students, including room and board, totals $77,750, the school's website states.