Students move in at Eastern Washington, proof of vaccination, negative test required
If student tests positive there is an isolation dorm that they can quarantine in for 10 days or they can go home for the same number of days. At the last check, one student had tested positive.
CHENEY, Wash.– Eastern Washington University had its move-in day Thursday.
EWU says it has about 960 students moving into campus housing this week.
All students are required to show proof of vaccination and have to take a rapid COVID test before moving in. They can either provide the negative result or be tested at the university’s drive-thru site.
“I find it a little odd even though I showed proof of my vaccinations that they still require to be tested 72 hours prior, but I get that they want their safety. Especially since the rise in cases of COVID recently,” Eastern Washington incoming freshman Nathan Contreras said.
If students fail to show proof of vaccination or didn’t submit a waiver, they could be fined $250. But officials say they want to avoid giving out fines and work with students first to meet the requirements.
EWU says it doesn’t know how many students didn’t show proof of vaccination or a waiver just yet.
Despite the new protocols, incoming freshmen are excited about their new experiences.
” I haven’t been out of the house, I’ve been with them(parents), and I don’t know I Covid’s been pretty rough, because you can’t really do much, so it’ll be nice getting out,” Eastern Washington University incoming freshman Maci Kgorsbik said.
“Being away from home, finding something new, learning, getting back into school it’s been a while with the pandemic being a senior when all of that was going down–missed a lot,” Eastern Washington University incoming freshman Dylan Mastroianni said.”I’m most excited to meet new people, that’s a big priority–meet new people,” Contreras said.
EWU says it put together a COVID response team to make sure they can have a safe start to the school year.
“We feel like we’ve got all the protocols in place that we need, and testing is part of that and verification of their vaccines,” Eastern Washington University director of counseling and wellness Tricia Hughes said.
EWU will have surveillance testing available to students and employees throughout the quarter.
RELATED: Move in day is looking a lot different this year at Gonzaga University
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