The sixth COVID-19 case on California State University, Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) campus was reported to all CSUMB faculty, staff and students Nov. 12 via email. The email did not specify if it was a student, staff, or faculty member who was infected, but said the individual had “general campus access.”
According to the email, the individual was last seen on Nov. 5 accessing a restricted building on campus. After discovering the person tested positive for the virus, “The Incident Management Team and Health and Wellness Services responded promptly to the notification received on Nov. 10 and ensured that all health and safety measures are in place.”
All COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing and face-covering were followed to ensure the building was properly disinfected.
“The building was subsequently cleaned and sanitized, and the risk to the campus community is considered low to medium … if you are not contacted, no specific action is necessary,” the email read.
CSUMB has been under a shelter-in-place order since March 12 and the campus population has been drastically reduced to stop the spread of the virus. This has yet to change and is a continuation of the response by CSUMB to the ongoing public health crisis and world-wide pandemic. Because of this, “there are no public gatherings on the campus, so the potential risk for the spread of the disease is considered low,” the email sent to students said.
Fourth-year Alyssa Gardella shared her thoughts towards the COVID-19 email sent to CSUMB staff, faculty and students. “… we are all online, I don’t think the emails are necessary” Gardella said. “We live with COVID scares on the regular because of the fact that we are the one of three counties [in the state to remain in the purple tier].”
“I’m scared enough about COVID and I don’t need CSUMB making me feel some sort of way, but I understand and respect the communication on our schools part,” said Gardella. “However, when I see those and see the thing on Canvas, I don’t bother.”
In Monterey County residents can get tested for COVID-19 for free, regardless if you have medical insurance. Testing sites can be found on the Monterey County website.
Visit CSUMB’s COVID related information page for more info: https://csumb.edu/health/coronavirus-information