Last Updated on November 29, 2021 by YGK News Staff
On Friday, Queen’s University confirmed that there are four positive COVID-19 cases at the McNeill House residence. This comes as Kingston sees a record high of COVID-19 cases in the region.
Community Relations Manager Mark Erdman told YGK News that all students in residence are fully vaccinated and must wear a facemask in common areas.
As of Monday, an outbreak has been declared by KFL&A Public Health. Queen’s says that this status does “not change the already stringent practices that are already in place.”
While Queen’s used to separately list residence COVID-19 cases, the university says its removed the residence cases in favour of streamlining the process.
“All cases at Queen’s, including those in residences, are posted on our case tracker. At the start of the new term, with vaccination requirements in place and the return to in-person classes, the decision was made to streamline case reporting.”
Queen’s says it’s pleased that high vaccination rates in the community have been effective in protecting students. “We take the health and safety of our community seriously, and we are working quickly to ensure our students are aware of the new order. We have sent an email to all of our students today informing of the new Section 22 order, and shared that information through social media and online,” Erdman said to YGK News.
The Section 22 order, announced by KFL&A Public Health on Friday, limits indoor private gatherings to a maximum of 10 people. Non compliance can result in a fine of $5,000.
On Friday, 16 new COVID-19 cases were reported at Queen’s University this week. By Monday, new cases swelled to 20, making this the highest new case count since the previous academic year.
