WKU prepares quarantine areas for students

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Western Kentucky University is coming up with a new way to tackle concerns over COVID-19.

WKU is setting up quarantining areas throughout campus to stop the spread of the virus.

WKU Housing and Residence Life has set up designated dorm rooms around campus that will act as quarantine rooms for people exposed to or diagnosed with the virus, according to University spokesperson Bob Skipper.

“We want to make sure that the students are taken care of, that if there is a problem, they are separated from the others so they can recover, and they won’t be passing it along to other people. That keeps other students, our faculty, and our staff from catching it. And it’s just part of our overall wellness program in our effort to make sure that everyone in our campus community stays as safe as possible,” said Skipper.

In addition, Barnes Campbell Hall will remain empty throughout the semester to provide extra space for students to quarantine if needed.

“We hung on to the building and just said, just in case this fall we were to need that to be able to isolate or quarantine, let’s go ahead a keep it. It was on the schedule to come down actually this summer it was going to start to come down and we just decided that this was probably the best option for us so that we had ample number of spaces in case we needed them,” said Reagle.

One student, Abigail Robinson, is excited to move back to the hill with such precautions in place.

“I think it’s good for them to set aside rooms for people who might catch COVID because there is not a lot of people that are able to go home and quarantine themselves so it’s good to still be in the community even if you have to be quarantined,” said Robinson.

If a student must quarantine in one of these rooms, food will be delivered to the student’s door.

When students move in, they will receive a restart kit that includes a face mask, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes.