FAIRFAX, Va. — George Mason University school officials said five students have tested positive for coronavirus, but the tests came back in pre-screening before they arrived. University administrators said the school is still on track to start face-to-face instruction on Monday.
Mason is testing students even before they arrive, and in some ways, finding five positive cases among students who were still at home might be seen as a success.
"We assumed we'd have some positives," Rose Pascarell, Vice President of University Life said."The goal was to manage that before they moved in. They'll come back once they're cleared."
Mason plans to have about 40% of its classes in person. But there will be fewer people in classrooms, half as many students in the dorms, and weekly random testing of both commuters and students living on campus.
"If we find we have an outbreak, or if we find it's unsafe, we will pivot to online learning," Pascarell said. "We're all very clear about that."
Daniel Heilman, 18, and his mom, Donna, arrived at George Mason a little nervous.
"Lots of hand-sanitizer, lots of face masks," Donna said. "Probably enough for all four years. Lysol, Clorox wipes, food in case the dining halls are closed when he's hungry."
Daniel's mom said the physics major from Newport News is a quiet teen. He'll be living alone in a dorm room, taking most of his classes online. And that worries her, too.
"I want him to have a good time and enjoy himself at school, not nervous and scared to meet people," she said
Scenes of big parties at other colleges, and sudden plan reversals back to virtual learning, have given students and administrators at Mason pause.
"You just have to take it seriously. If everyone does, I'm not really worried," freshman Parnia Pazooki said, noting her move in felt easy and safe.
Pascarell said everything she knows about this generation shows they have a strong sense of community and social justice. She said that makes her cautiously optimistic that Mason will pull this off.
The school said it has set aside 150 isolation and quarantine beds for students if they do test positive or come into contact with people who test positive.