NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Iona College in New Rochelle. NY announced last night it was moving to online classes only for the next two weeks after a coronavirus outbreak with more than 60 confirmed cases.
At this time, the outbreak is confined entirely to Iona’s student body with no indication of spread to the larger community, and nearly all cases have been traced to a single event.
Iona College is coordinating closely with County and State health officials, and has implemented strict protocols for contact tracing and quarantines.
UPDATE 10/13: We are at 69 positive cases. 8 teams have at least one case, there is a judicial review process, the water polo rumor is false, said Iona College Spokesperson Diana Costello.
10/11: COVID-19 Update from President Carey
Late last week, Iona’s surveillance testing identified an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases among certain athletic teams. We immediately accelerated aggressive, widespread testing of all teammates and potential contacts. More than 800 tests were quickly performed. As of tonight, we have identified a total of 58 cases.
Contact tracing is being conducted in close coordination with state and local health officials. All isolation and quarantine protocols are being executed. Anyone who had exposure to a positive case will be contacted as part of contact tracing. At this point, contact tracing indicates that the virus was transmitted through a single, isolated event, and is not indicative of a broader spread on campus. We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely.
We have always said we would act from a place of caution when it comes to matters of health and safety. While our positive test number does not approach the New York State threshold forcing colleges to move to virtual instruction, we are acting decisively to protect our community. Iona will move to a virtual setting for two weeks, starting Monday, October 12 through Monday, October 26.
The following will go into effect immediately:
• Classes will continue online as scheduled.
• Students who do not live in Iona College residence halls will not be allowed on campus.
• Students may not gather or congregate indoors.
• Chartwells (Vitanza, LaPenta and Starbucks) will continue to be open for to-go services via the Boost mobile app and take-out only.
• Any in-person events will now be held virtually. Additional details will be provided.
• No visitors will be allowed on campus or in residence halls.
• Residential students will not be permitted to visit students in other resident halls.
• All students who have tested positive must isolate in their rooms for 14 days from the date of their positive test.
• Anyone who was exposed to a positive case will be contacted and asked to quarantine for 14 days based on the date of exposure.
• For any students in isolation or quarantine, food, laundry and other support services are being coordinated by the College.
• Students in isolation or quarantine who can safely get home without taking public transportation may do so. Any student who chooses to go home must notify Residential Life.
• Student services will continue to be available online during this period, including Counseling, Tutoring and Advising. Library Services will continue to be available with further information forthcoming.
• Class registration will continue online.
• COVID-19 testing will continue to take place on campus at the Arrigoni Center.
• Employees may continue to work on campus unless they are already teleworking.
We recognize the challenges that isolation and quarantine present for students. Staff will be reaching out with activities to stay engaged, as well as other supports and programming. For residential students who are not under isolation or quarantine, additional outdoor spaces are being created to relax, complete school work and provide an opportunity to be outside in safe and socially distant spaces.
Iona’s rigorous testing and monitoring procedures were developed to identify and respond to positive cases as quickly as possible. In addition to the negative pre-arrival test each student and employee was required to submit at the start of the semester, between 250 and 500 students have been required to go for randomized testing each week. Iona has received more than 5,000 test results from students, faculty and staff to date. Iona’s Task Force will continue to assess the data daily, providing regular updates and guidance as we move forward. The COVID-19 testing dashboard will be updated daily.
This news is unfortunate. I want to thank the vast majority of our students, faculty, staff and coaches who continue to demonstrate how seriously we take our pledge to take care of Gaels here at Iona.
Sincerely,
Seamus Carey, Ph.D.
President, Iona College
I’m with you there all over the halcyon park area no respect for home owners in area I’m ready to move after over 40yrs
Coligni ave whose idea was to rent all this collage kid first they ruined other people’s property and two they have big parties 50 or more with out mask so sad they had to put this collage kids to ruined families that live next to them we are so tired of this kids that don’t care at all we knew this school was going to be positive they should test all this collage kids they don’t even care about there families