HOUSTON – Baylor University ordered students living on certain floors of one dorm, Martin Hall, not to leave their floors for four days while the university conducts contact tracing and rapid COVID-19 testing.
“Since Thursday, we have seen an increase from five positive Covid-19 cases to 21 positives on these two floors as of Saturday,” Baylor university said in a letter to students, faculty and staff Saturday.
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Baylor University said these measures will enable the school to “tailor its response to the specific situation in Martin Hall without an immediate full quarantine.”
School officials will evaluate whether a stricter quarantine is needed.
“Please keep the residents of Martin Hall in your prayers while we ensure they are cared for and supported during this time,” Baylor University said in the letter.
Read the letter in its entirety below:
We wanted to inform the campus community that we have identified an increase in positive COVID-19 cases among residents on the 3rd and 4th floors of Martin Hall. Since Thursday, we have seen an increase from five positive COVID-19 cases to 21 positives on these two floors as of Saturday.
The University has notified all Martin Hall residents about next steps, which include requiring residents on the 3rd and 4th floors to reside in place and not leave their respective floors for the next four days. This action will do two things: (1) allow the University to complete contact tracing and institute daily COVID-19 rapid testing and rigorous assessment of any virus symptoms, and (2) enable the University to tailor its response to the specific situation in Martin Hall without an immediate full quarantine. We will evaluate the need for stricter quarantine if evidence suggests that such action is necessary.
A reminder that a “close contact” for COVID-19 is defined as being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, either with or without a facemask.
Martin Hall residents on the 1st and 2nd floors have been instructed to stay only on their floors and not visit the upper floors for any reason. They also have been instructed to contact Baylor Health Services on Monday morning to schedule a COVID-19 test.
As we continue to move forward into the second week of classes, we ask the campus community be extra vigilant with wearing your facemask, maintaining social distance, using proper hand sanitization and monitoring your daily COVID-19 symptoms. If you are a student and feel ill, especially if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, please contact Baylor Health Services at 254-710-1010 for testing. Please remember that even mild symptoms matter.
Additional helpful resources for the campus community include:
- For Students: Student Guide to be Safe and Healthy on Campus.
- For Faculty and Staff: Baylor’s Health & Safety Guide for Returning to Campus.
- All Baylor students, faculty/staff and contractors/vendors should follow these Baylor Notification Procedures for Individuals Presumptively Positive or with Positive Tests for COVID-19.
Please keep the residents of Martin Hall in your prayers while we ensure they are cared for and supported during this time.
The recent developments in Martin Hall do not impact our current plans for on-campus academic instruction and other activities. Let us all continue to put Family First and be vigilant in doing our part to keep our community safe and healthy this fall semester.