With two weeks left until Christmas, Queen’s University has announced a COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the school’s case tracker, there were at least 135 confirmed infections this week.
With in-person exam season in full swing and the emergence of the OMICRON variant, school officials are recommending students avoid social gatherings as well as any interactions without masking.
They are also being lenient when it comes to exam-writing and anybody who has been affected by the virus.
In a statement released Friday night the school said, “If a student has to miss a class, exam, or another academic requirement due to symptoms, COVID-19 illness, or a self-isolation requirement, timely academic consideration will be granted.”
In another statement from on Saturday the university stated, “in response to concerns raised by some Queen’s students regarding in-person exams, both the Faculty of Arts and Science and Faculty of Engineering have today updated their academic considerations process to include feeling distressed about COVID in the community.”
A message from the Faculty of Engineering reads:
“We have updated our academic considerations process to include feeling distressed about COVID in the community. We would like to reiterate that you must not attend in-person exams if you feel unwell, are symptomatic, have been in contact with someone who is symptomatic, or have been asked to self-isolate. In addition, if you are experiencing distress related to COVID in the community, you also have the option not to attend in-person exams. This applies to all undergraduate engineering students, including first-year students.”
There will be make-up exams for those students early in the winter term.
With many students set to travel home for the holidays, university officials say they are also working on a plan to make rapid testing kits available by early next week.
All students that are symptom-free and not a high-risk contact may use the tests within 48 hours of travel outside of the KFL&A region.
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