Nearly 300 students who began in-person classes at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville last week are now quarantined after at least nine cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on campus. Also in quarantine are more than 25 employees.
"One student came back from lunch. She'd been in the classroom all morning with a group of students. She said you know I can't taste or smell anything. The instructor said okay you need to go get tested. So she goes and gets tested and of course, it comes back positive so that entire class and both instructors had to be quarantined for two weeks," said NEMCC President Dr. Ricky Ford.
Ford says students who are quarantined are continuing their classes online.
He says none of the nine cases originated on campus. While most of their students are commuters and are quarantined at home he says the college also reserved 18 dorm rooms for residential students who must quarantine.
Classes begin Monday at Meridian Community College. Dr. Tom Huebner, president of the college, says although there's no current outbreak it's critically important for students and employees to practice good judgment when they interact with others on and off-campus.
"We like many entities invested highly in plexiglass so we've got as many devices and barriers we possibly can between folks as well as the masks and so I think we've created an environment that has the potential to be as safe as possible but it all requires people to use good judgment," said Huebner.
Community colleges across the state are offering a range of options: in-person, online, and a combination of both. Huebner says he hopes their hybrid format will help limit the spread of coronavirus.
