Chambana Sun

To curb the spread of an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the University of Illinois, the Champaign-Urbana campus has ordered students to limit person-to-person contact with each other for 14 days unless it’s for essential activities.

“They're doing what they think they need to do to keep students in the classroom, which I believe is very important,” Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) told the Chambana Sun. “I think the remote learning and Zoom meetings don’t provide as good a learning experience and aren’t as effective.”

According to information obtained by the Chambana Sun, a letter went out to students on Sept. 2 listing essential activities as taking twice-weekly COVID-19 tests, attending class, purchasing groceries and food, going to work, engaging in individual and outdoor activity, attending religious services and seeking medical attention.

“They're trying to get their hands around it to prevent the spread,” Caulkins said. “It may seem harsh to an 18-year-old or a 19-year-old on campus. I put this in the realm of businesses telling people they have to wear a mask to enter. We honor their wishes. I can see how this is viewed as somewhat of a draconian measure to some people, but the kids are there to learn and that’s the number one purpose of going to school. So, I’m not upset by the university asking students not to hang out in large groups for two weeks.”

Despite being aware that they were coronavirus positive, students allegedly had been attending large gatherings and avoiding safety precautions the university has put in place, such as contract tracers and an app that excludes positive cases from accessing campus buildings, according to media reports.

“The university’s guidelines show that this is something that isn’t going away,” Caulkins said. “The good news is that if young people get COVID, they're going to get a lot less severe case of [the virus]. At least, that's what the numbers are telling us. The problem is the spread of it from the community to the university and back to the community. They’re also concerned about university employees. It takes a huge cadre of employees to run the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus.”

The Illinois Department of Health reports 262,744 coronavirus cases statewide and 8,314 fatalities as of Sept. 15.

In Champaign County, there have been 4,059 positive cases and 20 deaths.

“Maybe this measure will help keep students on campus,” Caulkins said. “At some other schools, they are closing the campuses down and sending kids home with no refunds, no tuition. I hope it doesn't come to that at the University of Illinois, and I would hope that students understand this is a very temporary two-week hiatus, so to speak, but they can still learn and still have a campus life.”