Thirty-nine on-campus cases of COVID-19 dated from Spring 2021 have been confirmed as of August 2021 at Fullerton College. The number of on-campus cases confirmed in August totaled 17, whereas July only totaled 3. As of June 25, the total amount of cases was 21 and by Aug. 27 the total reached 39.
The large campus of Fullerton College has made it difficult to determine why there are more positive cases on campus. McPheron continued to explain that Spring 2021 to Fall 2021 was the most uptick in the shortest amount of time seen on campus yet.
On Friday, Aug. 27, Fullerton College sent an email titled “COVID-19 Announcement: 6 new cases.” Students and staff have received increased email notifications of on-campus cases more frequently in recent weeks.
Fullerton College determined to keep in-person services closed due to the large increase in positive cases throughout the county. Fullerton College will keep the in-person services closed until the number of cases countywide goes down.
Fullerton College has several measures in place to keep the on-campus community safe.
Students are required to inform their professors if they test positive. Additionally, Fullerton College is conducting contact tracing of the on-campus COVID-19 cases. Those who test positive are subject to questions that include if they were social distancing and wearing a mask while on campus.
Students are also required to do a daily check-in at the Stinger’s Cafe when entering campus. First, students should download the Fullerton College app, then click the section “Daily Student Check-In.” It will then direct them to take a self-assessment. After answering the self-assessment questions, if the result is entry denied, then students cannot enter campus. If students are allowed to enter, they go inside the daily health check-in building and get their temperature checked.
Freebies are also included at the Daily Student Check-in Center, such as a set of reusable spoons and forks, reusable bags, sticky notes, and a variety of sweet pastries. Pablo Cendejas, a first-semester student, majoring in welding said this semester is his first time on campus. He felt “good” about coming onto campus in person. Cendejas added that the daily student check-in is easy to follow, although he was worried about the increase in Covid-19 cases on campus.
For more information on COVID-19 and on-campus cases, visit Fullerton College’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information website.
Edit: This article was edited for inaccurate information regarding the total number of on-campus covid cases in august.