UT Martin Students in Isolation as Semester Begins

MARTIN (August 17) – The fall semester began at UT Martin Monday and the campus is already dealing with positive COVID-19 cases. There are reportedly 50 active cases in students and five active cases of staff members who are under quarantine, according to information released by the University of Tennessee at Martin.

The university has many plans in place to help these students who are living on campus continue their classwork while in quarantine.

Students who have tested positive and live on campus are being encouraged to stay on campus during their isolation. Those students were moved to a designated isolation room in the on-campus housing facilities. Students will have meals and groceries delivered to their room and all laundry is handled for the students.

All isolation rooms are furnished with a mini-fridge, microwave and television. The student, once placed in an isolation room, will not be permitted to leave. The students will continue their classes online as all classes this semester have been formatted to be in-person and online.

During this time the parents of students who test positive and are in isolation will receive regular updates on the students’ recovery process.

All students who were in close contact with a positive COVID-19 person need to quarantine for 14 days.

By the end of this week, UT Martin plans to have started new protocols for all staff members. All employees will be asked to complete an online survey regarding their recent health each day before starting work. If the survey is completed and the employee shows signs of feeling unwell or possibly having COVID-19, they will be asked to work from home.

The university is adding an active daily case count to the UT Martin website that all students and local residents can access.