McMaster open for business as student awaits COVID-19 test results
Published March 2, 2020 at 4:14 pm
McMaster University said Monday (March 2) that it will be business as usual on the West Hamilton Campus as a student awaits the results of a COVID-19 test.
McMaster University said Monday (March 2) that it will be business as usual on the West Hamilton Campus as a student awaits the results of a COVID-19 test.
The student is currently in self-isolation and the university undertook a thorough cleaning of the first floor of the Burke Science building, where the student is said to have visited in recent days.
The University announced on Friday (Feb. 28) that they were working with Public Health after a student reported flu-like symptoms following a trip to Italy in mid-February.
The undergraduate student, who lives outside Hamilton, sought medical attention after returning from a trip to Europe during reading week, the university says on their website.
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Italy is in the midst of a serious outbreak of the virus with more than 1,600 confirmed cases.
“People need to monitor their health, especially if they have travelled to affected areas,” says Lisa Morine, McMaster’s director of Health, Safety and Risk Management.
“We also can’t over-emphasize how important it is that people appropriately wash their hands to help keep themselves healthy. If you are feeling unwell, stay home and take care of yourself.”
The student was on campus Tuesday, February 25th and visited the Burke Science Building, the university says.
While health officials have said that regular cleaning should suffice, as a precaution, McMaster undertook extra cleaning on level one and all public spaces.
“It is important that people have the confidence that the area is clean,” said Roger Couldrey, McMaster’s vice-president Administration. “We would rather err on the side of caution until we receive confirmation about the student.”
If the student does test positive for the virus, public health officials will be responsible for contacting those who need additional information or other follow up that may need to occur.
Over the weekend, Ontario health officials announced four more cases of the new coronavirus in the province, bringing the total diagnoses in Canada to 24.
All four of the patients had recently travelled overseas, so the province said it appears the virus is not yet spreading locally.
“However, given the global circumstances, Ontario is actively working with city and health partners to plan for the potential of local spread,” the ministry of health wrote in a statement.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
UPDATE:
The university has been notified that the student’s test result was negative and shows they do not have the coronavirus.
“It is such good news for our student,” said Roger Couldrey vice-president, Administration and chair of the university’s crisis management team. “But the virus continues to be a worldwide concern and the crisis team will continue to meet to ensure that McMaster is prepared and shares information and resources with our community.”
Updates will continue to be posted on McMaster’s COVD-19 webpage, the Daily News and the university’s social media sites.
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