Hofstra Students Voice Concern Over Covid-19 Testing Protocol
By: Sarah Emily Baum and Athena Dawson
(Oct. 24 2020) — When Ross Dunsky, a senior film major, discovered a friend tested positive for Coronavirus, he knew he needed to be tested as well. The next day, he began showing symptoms and put himself in a voluntary quarantine in his off-campus home.
But the damage was done. The student that infected him also infected others in his residence. “I was the last domino to fall,” Dunsky tells the Clocktower.
The actual number of students infected by Dunsky’s friend is uncertain, in part because he says he was never reached out to by contact tracers, and he wasn’t contacted by Nassau County case investigators until ten days into his quarantine. The county declined to comment on specific cases at this time.
As for the university, Dunsky says he had trouble figuring out exactly what he was supposed to do. “I spoke to someone from the Student Health and Counseling Center who said: ‘This isn’t the last you’ll hear from us,’” he tells The Clocktower. But he didn’t speak to them again after that call. That was in September.
“I think they did their best,” Dunksy says. “It’s just so easy to fly under the radar.”
Dunksy’s comments mirrored many students’ sentiment of confusion or concern surrounding Covid-19 testing protocol at Hofstra, as well as inconsistent reports of enforcement and follow-up. Reporters spoke to 24 students that said they had answered “YES” to the mandatory daily questionnaire but hadn’t received a phone call from the SHACC in response.
A separate survey on social media asked students if they had faced any disciplinary actions for not answering the questionnaire. But of the 34 students who had missed the survey at least once, not a single one reported facing any sort of repercussions. Senior Jacob Ferrandi tells The Clocktower he never even got his initial test results from the school back in August.
“I feel like efforts should have been shifted to focus more on testing, instead of things like plexiglass and temperature kiosks,” Ferrandi says.
“The daily health survey is one tool to help the university stem the spread of Covid-19,” says Karla Schuster, a spokesperson for Hofstra. “We continue to emphasize that students who feel sick should stay home and/or not attend class, and contact [Student Health Services] immediately so a clinician can determine, through telephone triage, if they should be tested.” Schuster declined to comment on specific students’ experiences, citing privacy laws.
As of the most recent reporting period spanning Oct. 10 to Oct. 23, the university reported 4 positive cases on and off-campus among the student body, excluding fully remote learners. No positive cases among staff and faculty were reported. The statistics include the 265 tests administered on campus during this time period, with 27 test results pending as of the writing of this piece.
Some schools, such as Northeastern, New York University and the University of Illinois have instituted mandatory testing for all students on a routine basis as often as twice per week. While Hofstra’s procedures don’t meet that level, Schuster notes the university’s precautions still surpass guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control. Moreover, Hofstra’s surveillance testing protocols put it among the minority of colleges going to such lengths. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology found that only 20% of universities planned “to test their communities regularly to some extent” as Hofstra does.
Prior to returning to campus, students were required to get testing if possible, according to Hofstra’s website. At least 117 positive Covid-19 have been connected to the university since March, according to the Coronavirus dashboard compiled by The New York Times. The rate of positive tests at the university, like that of Nassau County, is largely remaining at a consistent low compared to rates from the pandemic’s start.
Experts also note that exact counts can be difficult to produce because of asymptomatic carriers and a lack of widespread, consistent testing for all. Therefore, even with testing protocols in place, some students are still concerned about the spread of the virus at Hofstra and their ability to access testing.
One such student is junior Zoe Shippenberg, who took her free test from the SHACC at the start of the school year. Then, she had a potential exposure scare. She said she exaggerated the presence of symptoms because fearing she wouldn’t be eligible for another test otherwise. Following a triage phone call with the SHACC, they still determined her ineligible for a test; she hadn’t crossed the “close contact” threshold with a confirmed positive case. It was only after her mother called the university to complain that SHACC provided her with secondary testing. It came back negative.
“I had to do the absolute most to get tested,” says Shippenburg. “I cannot imagine how many students have been put in my situation since the school reopened or who will be put in my situation in the weeks to come.”
