To combat the spread of the novel coronavirus amid a surge of cases in the student population, San Diego State University issued a stay-at-home order for students living on campus.
The order was announced Saturday, a day after the university reported an additional 120 COVID-19 confirmed and probable cases were linked to the student population on and off-campus.
SDSU said the order will take effect beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday and last through 6 a.m. Tuesday. It urges on-campus students to stay in their current residences through the Labor Day Weekend, except for essential needs like for medical care, getting meals and to get to work.
The university also issued an advisory for students who live off campus in the College Area, asking them to abide by county and university advisories to stay at home.
SDSU said "violations of this order may result in disciplinary consequences." It did not detail what those consequences are.
Since the start of the fall term on Aug. 24, the total number of confirmed and probable cases on the campus is at 184.
None of the cases under investigation are related to on-campus educational activities such as classes or labs. No SDSU faculty, staff, visitors or vendors have been reported as having tested positive since the start of the fall semester.
“Testing alone and testing once isn’t enough," SDSU president Adela de la Torre said on Friday. "We need to have an environment that allows students to understand we want them to be proactive in testing, we want to work with the county, and we want to have the opportunity to use educational messages that our students need to listen to, to change their behavior. And if we aren’t able to do this, the plague of parties we see around campus will not stop."
