24 Hours Into the Semester, U of M-Flint Has First COVID Case

Classes had barely got off and running at the University of Michigan Flint campus when the first positive COVID-19 cases was found.

In a email sent out to students and staff by Mike Hague, Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance and Chair of UM-Flint Reopening Committee, it was revealed that a person has  tested positive for the virus “during a routine health screening at the Riverfront Residence Hall.” The email was sent Monday evening.

According to The Michigan Times, Jennifer Hogan, Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy at UM-Flint, said the individual was tested approximately four to five days ago as part of standard protocol during the reopening of Riverfront.

Classes had just begun on Monday and the positive case make the first for U of M-Flint. In the email, it was stated that according individual’s account, the individual had no close contact with others. The individual is currently quarantined inside the First Street Residence Hall, a building the reopening committee kept empty for a situations just such as this.

Crews from Facilities & Operations working on disinfecting and cleaning the areas that the individual may have come in close contact with. Those spaces have been taken out of service at this time.

Hogan commented, “During this time, our committee has also been … really working around what are the best protocols that we can put in place from a public health perspective … What you saw today was the careful planning of processes that would happen in any situation where a person tested positive for COVID-19."

University of Michigan-Flint began the fall semester with the majority of courses being taught remotely, with a few in-person classes taking place on a limited basis.