UC Davis student does not have coronavirus and can leave quarantine, Yolo County says
A student at the University of California, Davis, does not have the highly transmissible new coronavirus and can now leave quarantine, the university announced Saturday. His roommates, who had been put in isolation, also can return to their normal lives.
The student, who lived in UCD’s Kearney Hall, had been exposed to someone who had coronavirus and subsequently had come down with a runny nose and cough. He left the campus on Tuesday.
UCD officials said they would maintain an intensified cleaning program, and they stressed that students should continue regular handwashing and other good hygiene practices to thwart the respiratory illness. It causes coughing, fever and shortness of breath, and in 20 percent of cases, it can be life-threatening.
The news of the testing caused some anxiety among the nearly 40,000 students on the campus. Emmanuel Agubata, 18, was wearing a mask as he rushed to his midterm on his bike. Agubata lives on the third floor at Kearney Hall, two floors above the three students placed in isolation.
“I was definitely scared and nervous for my life and the safety of others,“ he said. “This has been an issue, and now that it’s more prevalent in my vicinity, it definitely has everybody up in arms.”
But another student who lives at Kearney, Angel Garcia, said Friday that he was a close friend of one of the students put in isolation and that his friend was in good spirits despite the upset to his school routine.
“He’s not freaking out,” Garcia said. “He’s focusing on his studies and his upcoming midterms. I’ve been giving him notes from class.”
Four students from Los Rios Community Colleges who were potentially exposed to the patient who was diagnosed with coronavirus at UC Davis Medical Center are self-isolating. The students – one from American River College, one from Cosumnes River College and two from Sacramento City College are medical professionals – and were exposed to the individual off campus before the person tested positive.
More formally known as COVID-19, the respiratory ailment has sickened more than 86,500 worldwide, and thus far, it looks like three to four of every 100 people die of the disease. On Saturday, a Washington state man became the first person in the United States to die of the illness. The man, in his 50s, had underlying health conditions, public health officials said, he had not traveled abroad.
Several coronavirus cases of unknown origin have been diagnosed within the last week, and public health officials are doing contact tracing to try and identify the sources of the infections. The nation as a whole is considered at low risk for getting the disease, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just moved toward broader testing for the illness on Thursday.
How to prevent the spread of COVID-19
- Prevention starts with practicing good personal health habits:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water.
- Stay home when you’re sick.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow. Throw used tissues away immediately.
- Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects.
- Practice what’s called social distancing, meaning that you put some space between you and others nearby to avoid spray of droplets from coughs or sneezes.
This story was originally published February 29, 2020 at 6:37 PM.
