SUNY Oneonta sending all students home due to coronavirus outbreak

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ONEONTA — SUNY Oneonta students are being sent home for the rest of fall semester.

Chancellor Jim Malatras delivered the news Thursday afternoon. Nearly 300 students tested positive in four days.

The news was devastating, said Olivia Ruby, a freshman from Whitehall.

She and her roommate were crying together, two hours after the announcement, she said.

“Honestly, it was the best two weeks of my life. I’m really torn up about it,” she said, adding that she can’t forgive the partiers who spread the virus throughout the college.

“I hope their getting drunk for two hours in a basement was worth it,” she said. “And you know what? They were the first to leave! We wanted to stay!”

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On Sunday morning, 101 students had tested positive for coronavirus and the campus closed in an effort to slow the spread. But by Thursday, according to the college’s COVID tracker, 389 students had tested positive, including 100 students who lived on campus and were in isolation. Another 54 on-campus students had symptoms and were awaiting test results. They were in quarantine.

More: https://poststar.com/news/state-and-regional/suny-oneonta-sending-all-students-home-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak/article_9fd45cce-c004-569c-b6f5-cb536153befc.html



SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras delivers the news Thursday afternoon at SUNY Oneonta about the closure of the campus for the fall semester after nearly 400 confirmed cases of coronavirus. At right is SUNY Oneonta President Barbara Jean Morris. Courtesy SUNY