UC Davis faculty member and student test positive for coronavirus, remain at home
A faculty member and a student at the University of California, Davis have tested positive for the coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, according to an announcement from the school’s chancellor.
UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said the faculty member was traveling in Europe and developed symptoms March 19 after returning. The faculty member has been home since returning to the U.S. and has not been on the campus near Sacramento since March 5.
May also said the faculty member has informed department colleagues at the university of the COVID-19 diagnosis and was self-isolating at home.
The UC Davis student tested positive for the coronavirus after returning home from a study abroad program in Spain, according to May. He said the student had been there since last summer, except for a brief visit to UC Davis in early January. The student also was self-isolating at home.
“We wish them both a full and speedy recovery,” May said in his written announcement posted online Friday. “It is likely that more cases will be confirmed in our community.”
He reminded the campus community that it’s crucial to continue practicing social distancing and following the county, state and federal public health guidelines. He also reinforced the importance of avoiding private and public gatherings of any size outside of family or household, with the exception of leaving the home for essential needs, like groceries and health care.
It’s OK to get out for a walk, he said, but maintain a safe distance of 6 feet from others.
In late February, a test confirmed that another UC Davis student who lived in UCD’s Kearney Hall and had been exposed to someone who had coronavirus, did not have COVID-19. The student left the campus that week, and his roommates, who had been put in isolation, returned to their normal lives.
