As of Wednesday night, 22 affiliated and four unaffiliated university Greek chapter facilities have been issued quarantine orders by Public Health Madison & Dane County in coordination with UW-Madison. The Office of Student Conduct and Community has been emailing letters to inform live-in members of the quarantine directive.
Chapter facility residents received — and should expect to receive — a quarantine order if one or more live-in members from their respective chapter tested positive for COVID-19.
That information was publicized last night in an “FSL Facility Quarantine Update” email from Associate Vice Chancellor Mark Guthier and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Maggie Hayes. The update follows an initial letter that was shared on Sept. 4 to inform FSL community members of the rising concern. A mere nine chapters were asked to quarantine at that time.
Now, 22 out of 41 university-affiliated IFC and PHA houses have been issued quarantine orders. The previous statistic does not include the four unaffiliated university Greek chapters that have received quarantine orders as well.
The recently-implemented policy for mandatory testing has required more tests within a smaller time frame — new quarantine orders and related measures stem from the number of positive cases identified among FSL live-in members this week. Students who had been issued quarantine orders prior to Sept. 8 were granted permission to leave their respective chapter properties for required testing.
Students in Greek life are required to get tested by Sept. 11. The FSL testing site is located at the Fluno Center.
“The spread of the coronavirus is accelerating in the IFC and PHA communities, and similar increases are occurring in other off-campus residences as well as in on-campus housing,” Guthier and Hayes wrote in their update. “These developments not only jeopardize the in-person academic experience on campus, but they put the entire Madison and Dane County communities at risk.”
Additionally, Guthier and Hayes outlined measures that will be taken by the university in response to the FSL community update. Measures include getting testing at the Fluno Center by Sept. 11, entering isolation upon testing positive for COVID-19, complying with contact tracing efforts and restricting contact with individuals from outside your chapter facility — even if you have not been issued a quarantine order. The latter is not a mandatory requirement, but it’s a strongly recommended course of action.
The Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life has listed itself as a resource for live-in members who may need support service accommodations during the quarantine period. The office claims to be administering isolation spaces for Covid-positive members.
