LANSING, Mich. — Thursday, Michigan State University leaders announced that the school will be undertaking new measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Although a vaccine for the disease could be on the horizon, at a minimum estimates say that it will be months before doses will be available to all. Until that time COVID-19 remains a threat, and students returning for the spring semester will be asked to take extra steps to stop the spread.
Students living on campus or coming to campus or any university-controlled property at any point during the spring semester will be required to have received an influenza vaccine. Those students will be asked to verify they have received the vaccine before coming to campus in January. Influenza spread can lead to situations where COVID-19 becomes harder to treat, such as flu patients taking up needed hospital beds.
The university is also asking that students who are returning to East Lansing from outside communities quarantine upon their arrival. During quarantine, students are to remain in their local residences and leave only for life-sustaining activities, such as seeking medical care, purchasing food or groceries or exercising outdoors. The quarantine will be for 10-14 days, and students are asked to continue monitoring for symptoms for the remainder of the semester.
Finally, there will be mandatory COVID-19 testing for students, with saliva scheduled to begin on Jan. 4. MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. said that more information on how to comply with testing will be provided to students in the coming weeks.
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