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Clemson's fall COVID-19 testing, quarantine capacity remains unclear

Zoe Nicholson
Greenville News

Less than a week before classes begin – and as thousands of off-campus students return to their apartments – Clemson University said it has communicated much of its COVID-19 response plan, but questions remain over testing plans and what the fall semester will be like for freshmen. 

The fall semester begins Aug. 19 with four weeks of online-only instruction before resuming partial in-person instruction on Sept. 21.

And while Clemson's plan to keep classes a mix of in-person and virtual is "moderate risk," its housing plan, which includes roommates and communal bathrooms, is "high risk," according to the Centers for Disease Control's guidelines for colleges and universities. 

A digital sign with a message about Campus Update online learning through September 21, near Littlejohn Coliseum at Clemson University Monday, August 10, 2020.

Random testing 

Instead of testing 100% of the 15,000-plus students who live off-campus, the university announced a plan earlier this month to randomly test 600 off-campus students per week.

The random sampling will continue for four weeks and could be expanded based on cases in the area. Testing begins this week.

When asked why the university changed its testing policy, Galbraith said the situation "continues to develop daily and rapidly from a capacity standpoint."

"Our team on the testing side is working constantly to determine the best methodology and effective way to try to minimize the incidence rate of infected individuals returning to the community," he said.

The Greenville News and Independent Mail have asked for clarification on the reason for the change in testing. 

For rising senior Emma Ressler, the change in plans shows a lack of preparation.

"It seems like they're pushing things back and making some promises that they can't necessarily keep... their plan from the get-go was assuming that everything is going to go away in the next few months," the engineering student said. 

This summer, Clemson altered reopening plans to online-only instruction for the first four weeks of the semester after months of touting a "laser focus" commitment to in-person instruction.

"Obviously, the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff and the entire community is the primary focus," spokesperson Joe Galbraith told The News and Mail. 

Ressler, who lives off-campus, doubted the original plan's feasibility. 

"I was just like, there's no way that they can test that many people. I mean, South Carolina at that point was not even testing that many people in that timeframe."

In August, 5,000 to 8,000 people were tested a day statewide, according to the state Dept. of Health and Environmental Control. 

To test every student in the five days prior to the college's return to on-campus instruction on Sept. 21, the university would need to conduct about 5,200 tests a day, according to 2019 enrollment data.

Cars with students get coronavirus testing in the parking lot of Newspring Church Clemson Campus in Seneca Monday, August 10, 2020.

On-campus residents, student workers and employees are required to obtain a negative test five days before they return to campus. 

Since mid-July, Clemson has tested thousands of employees and plans to provide routine drive-thru testing at NewSpring Church in Seneca in the weeks leading up to Sept. 21, according to Clemson's reopening guidelines. 

Some students are satisfied with Clemson's planning and communication. 

Incoming freshman Chloe Crownover said she's received regular updates from the university on how and when she's supposed to get tested. 

"We've been getting emails, so I know you're supposed to get a test done within five days," the Daniel High School graduate said. 

Galbraith said the university is committed to providing regular testing data to the public to ensure transparency with its testing data dashboard.

Since June, the university has received over 5,000 tests, 236 (4 percent) of which were positive for COVID-19, according to the site. 

Since Aug. 1, positive rates are below 1 percent, according to the data. 

On-campus positive response plans

Crownover, the freshman, said her friends enrolled at public universities in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all moved into their freshman dorms, but she'll start the semester in her home. 

Crownover won't move in at Clemson until mid-September after she's submitted a negative COVID-19 test. 

"It's a weird situation. I don't have anything to compare it to, in terms of knowing how much I'm supposed to know or not... So I'm just kind of going along with whatever's happening," the Clemson native said. 

Here's what happens if a student or employee test positive for the coronavirus, according to Galbraith:

  • Clemson has 250 quarantine beds, but is looking to identify more.
  • Medical care provided by Redfern Health Center (student care) and the Joseph F. Sullivan Center (employee care) will provide immediate care and symptomatic testing. 
  • Isolation spaces for students will be provided in on- and off-campus housing facilities, not hotels. 
  • Staff will provide food, cleaning supplies and medical care to students quarantined. 
  • Sick students also have the option to go home and recover away from campus. 
  • Contact tracers with DHEC will notify those potentially exposed to COVID-19 by the student.

While Clemson has 250 beds picked out for quarantining, Galbraith emphasized that number does not indicate Clemson's capacity to provide care to quarantined individuals.

When asked to clarify, Galbraith said the capacity to treat and quarantine can be affected by the level of care an infected student requires and whether a student opts to seek treatment off-campus.

"It is very much a fluid number," Galbraith said. The university is also implementing a number of preventative measures:

  • Requiring masks
  • Reducing in-person classes
  • Enforcing physical distancing in classrooms and buildings
  • Monitoring wastewater treatment samples to determine the spread of the virus on campus without widespread, continual testing

Galbraith added that housing staff will work with medical professionals to monitor any potential outbreaks in residence halls.

"Our housing team is going to be working constantly with our health officials and the contact tracing procedures led by DHEC in identifying when we might need to take action for a large area, whether it's a full floor or full building," Galbraith said. 

According to guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control, Clemson's plan to have mostly virtual courses with an in-person component is "moderate risk." All-online school is the lowest risk, according to the guidelines. 

No 'trigger' for evacuating campus

With roommates and communal bathrooms, Clemson's full-capacity housing plan is "high risk" because of student density. 

Clemson is following other CDC guidelines – like mandatory masks and social distancing – in its plan, Galbraith said.

While is there is not one "trigger" that would make the university move classes completely online like they did in mid-March, Galbraith said the university will monitor local and regional health data and consult medical experts if that need arises.

Crownover, the freshman, said she would not be surprised if classes moved online, and has already reconciled that her freshman year will be non-traditional.

"I'm not trying to put all my energy and being excited about things, because I really don't know what to expect. So I'm hoping for the best, but I'm not going to expect everything to go as I want it to," she said. 

Zoe covers Clemson for The Greenville News and Independent Mail. Reach her at znicholson@gannett.com or Twitter @zoenicholson_