Enhanced Health Precautions for Denton Hall Residents Announced

The Department of Resident Life sent the following email today to students living in residence halls:

The health and safety of our community is our fundamental priority. We are committed to ongoing work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

We write to you today, as we have seen a rise in positive cases in Denton Hall. We want to keep all of our residents updated on information, reassure you of the process and remind you of steps we must all take to help slow the spread of the virus on our campus.

As part of our protocol, all residents who tested positive are isolating. Anyone who was identified as a close contact with someone who tested positive was notified and placed in quarantine housing. You are receiving this notification to keep you informed even though you have not been identified as having close contact with anyone who tested positive. However, the prevalence of positive cases in our residence hall community compels us to take further action.

At the direction of University Health Center staff, in close consultation with the Prince George's County Health Department, we are implementing enhanced health precautions within Denton Hall. All residents of Denton Hall must restrict activities, practice enhanced physical distancing, and self-monitor for the next 14 days. This notice goes into effect at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, and remains in effect through noon Friday, Oct. 2.

We are taking these actions to mitigate the virus's spread and because we care for our community. We urge you to continue to diligently practice the 4 Maryland guidelines to keep yourself and other Terps healthy and well. Please wear your face covering at all times, maintain 6 feet distance from others, wash your hands frequently and monitor your symptoms daily.

As a reminder, all residence hall students are expected to get tested in the next three weeks at our large-scale testing event that started Tuesday and is running through Oct. 2. If you have not yet scheduled an appointment for testing at Maryland Stadium, please schedule your appointment at the COVID-19 testing Information website.

Terps, we are in this together and we will work together to continue to keep each other and our campus community safe and well.

For the latest campus updates and resources available, please visit the 4 Maryland website. Continue with your daily symptom monitoring at the KeepTerpsSafe Portal. If you experience any symptoms or have reason to believe you have been exposed to a person who has tested positive, please call the UMD HEAL Line at 301.405-4325 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. or the After-Hours Nurse Line at 1.877.924.7758 from 8 p.m.-8 a.m.