University of Maryland changes campus quarantine policy, responds to US House investigation

The University of Maryland at College Park will now allow residential students who test positive for COVID-19 to quarantine on campus, a policy change that comes three weeks after the House Select Subcommittee U.S. officials on the coronavirus pandemic announced an investigation into school isolation. Strategies.

Last month, the subcommittee sent a letter to UMD President Darryll J. Pines announcing the investigation into the university’s quarantine policy that required residential students who tested positive for COVID-19 and who have a permanent residence within 300 miles of the school are moving. campus during a five-day isolation period.

Three hundred miles of campus encompasses the state of Maryland and parts of Ohio, New York and North Carolina.

In a response letter sent to the subcommittee Friday, an attorney representing the university announced changes to the quarantine policy made in consultation with the Prince Georges County Health Department. The new policy came into effect on Wednesday.

Although some students may choose to do so based on their own judgment and the advice of their physicians or other health care professionals, UMD is not involved in the decision of where students choose to attend. isolate, the response letter states.

New guidelines on the university’s COVID-19 webpage state that students should notify their roommates of their positive test and that roommates should adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines regarding COVID exposure -19.

The Baltimore Sun has contacted UMD for comment.

The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio Republican, said the decision to require off-campus quarantine caused students an unnecessary financial and mental burden because they had to finance their own travel and accommodation.

Additionally, the committee highlighted more than $110 million that UMD received from the federal government through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021; and the American Rescue Plan.

Presumably, it is the students’ parents, not your university, who foot the bill, which raises the question of how [UMD] spent the federal coronavirus dollars it received, the subcommittee letter said.

The decision to quarantine students off campus stemmed from the university realizing there was an increase in COVID-19 cases each fall when students returned from summer break, the statement said. response letter. The letter also states that UMD provided students who had difficulty paying for off-campus housing with financial resources as needed and upon request.

UMD’s decisions were informed by the latest federal, state and local guidelines and requirements as well as advice from its own staff, the response letter said. It is important to note that the UMD campus is in a densely populated urban environment, so policies that might work in a more rural environment may not be suitable for the UMD campus.

The university is located in the city of College Park, an area consisting of approximately 34,000 residents according to the 2022 U.S. Census. Approximately 40,000 students attend UMD, according to data from the University System of Maryland.

To investigate this policy, the committee asked UMD to provide information on how relief funds were used. The funds were intended to be used to cover emergency expenses related to the coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, [and] health care…among other things, the committee’s letter states.

Of the millions of dollars received, UMD says it has given money to 16,718 students. Additionally, the university says it used some of the aid to offset lost revenue, expand virtual and hybrid courses, and fund COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

This story will be updated.