Overview

Boston College is working diligently to ensure all community members remain as safe as possible throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

To minimize health risks and make our campus as safe as possible, we have implemented health and safety requirements pertaining to quarantine and isolation for undergraduate students. Based on the latest guidance from local, state, and federal public health officials, these are the protocols Boston College will follow in the event that an exposure or infection of COVID-19 takes place for an undergraduate on-campus.

If a student has symptoms of COVID-19 or believes they have come in contact with who has tested positive for COVID-19, they should contact University Health Services at 617-552-3225.

For further questions, inquiries, or assistance regarding students currently in Quarantine or Isolation please email our Quarantine and Isolation Housing Team at QIhousing@bc.edu for questions pertaining to medical related matter and testing please email covidtesting@bc.edu. If you have general questions but not currently in quarantine and isolation please email reslife@bc.edu and your email will be directed to the proper individuals. Please note, at times of high volume there may be a delay in response and any emergencies, medical or otherwise should be referred to the Boston College Police Department at 617-552-4444. We ask that you limit calls to on-site isolation and quarantine locations so staff can best serve immediate student needs. 

Visit the BC Forward website for resources on protocols, vaccination, and FAQs related to the 2021-22 academic year.

 

Res Life Q and I Staff

The Office of Residential Life has a Quarantine and Isolation Team who is present at each location 24 hours a day to assist with student needs - in person or through phone/email.

Additionally, the Boston College Police Department maintains a 24 hour presence at all Quarantine and Isolation facilities while there are students present.

Quarantine vs. Isolation

Quarantine Housing

Students will be placed in quarantine if they are deemed a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This is usually determined by the Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC) based on reports from the individual who tested positive. This mandated quarantine will be no less than 8 days. Final approval for release from quarantine will be determined by the CTC in collaboration with University Health Services.

Apartment/Suite Style Housing

Students will quarantine in their residence hall room if all individuals in the space have been deemed a close contact to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 AND they live in a suite or an apartment. If not all individuals in the suite/apartment are deemed close contacts, those that have been deemed a close contact will be place into quarantine will be placed at Hotel Boston.

Traditional Style Housing    

Students in traditional style halls being deemed close contacts will be quarantined at Hotel Boston.

Students who are in quarantine may be placed in isolation if they receive a positive COVID-19 test during their quarantine period.

All students are expected to abide by the Massachusetts Travel guidelines and quarantine should they leave the state and return at any point during the semester. Students will be responsible for coordinating their own COVID-19 test if they depart the Commonwealth and return to campus but will be permitted to complete this travel quarantine in their residence hall room, regardless of location.

Isolation Housing

Students will be placed in isolation if they have tested positive for COVID-19 - with or without active symptoms. The amount of time spent in isolation will be dependent on the length of illness, presence of symptoms, and guidance by the CTC and University Health Services. Most students placed in isolation will complete their stay at Pine Manor College.


Students may also be placed in isolation if they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. If students are feeling ill or develop symptoms, they should contact University Health Services (UHS) at 617-552-3225 to schedule an appointment. UHS will provide details to students on if they will be placed in isolation or will wait in a designated campus area for their COVID-19 test results.

Specifics of Your Stay

Print

Protocols and Procedures

Protocols and Procedures

 

How are students contacted regarding quarantine or isolation?

 

  • Students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or deemed a close contact to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 will be contacted by University Health Services to inform them and to explain the guidelines for their isolation or quarantine period. Students will be contacted via their cell phone. It is important that students answer these calls, as they may not be from a phone number familiar to the student.

  • Students will then be contacted by the Office of Residential Life regarding instructions for their quarantine or isolation period. If students will be quarantining at Hotel Boston or isolating at Pine Manor College, they will also receive instructions for what to pack and arranging transportation. 

  • Students who are quarantining in-room will receive an email from Residential Life after the phone call with further instructions and information for their quarantine or isolation. Students quarantining or isolating at Hotel Boston or Pine Manor College will receive an email upon arrival to their location

 

Transportation

 

  • Students will work with Residential Life to be transported via Eagle Escort to Quarantine or Isolation. Students should remain in their room until they receive a call from the Boston College Police Department letting them know that Eagle Escort is ready outside. Students should proceed to the Eagle Escort van, minimizing their touchpoints on the way out.

  • Even if a student has a car on-campus, they will not be permitted to drive to quarantine or isolation.

Amenities and Packing List

Amenities Provided

  • All rooms in quarantine and isolation will include the following:    
    • Bed
    • Desk
    • Desk Chair
    • Dresser
    • Lamp
    • Microwave
    • Refrigerator
    • Towels
    • Linens for Bed
    • Wifi (Cable TV: Feel free to use your BC Xfinity Account to stream additional TV.)
  • Additionally, if students are in need of anything during their stay in quarantine or isolation, they should let the Residential Life Q and I Housing team know. On-site we are able to provide the following to make your stay as comfortable as possible:
    • Snacks
    • Drinks (Water, Powerade, Tea, Coffee)
    • Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Hand Lotion, Soap
    • Extra Blankets or Towels
    • Kleenex
    • Cough Drops
    • Fan
    • Medicine (must first ask UHS for medicine who will contact Residential Life)

What Students Need to Pack

  • While students are free to bring anything they will that they will need to quarantine or isolation, below are recommended items:
    • Clothes for ~10 days
    • Toiletries
    • Textbooks/School Notes
    • Computer
    • Chargers (for phones and computers)
       

Testing

  • For any questions on when students in quarantine will be tested, they should contact University Health Services at 617-552-3225 or email covidtesting@bc.edu.
  • Students who are in quarantine at Hotel Boston will receive a test on days 2, 5, and 8 of their quarantine. Students will receive an email the night prior to their test as a reminder. Residential Life and a representative from University Health Services will come to the student room to administer the test.

  • Students who are quarantining in their residence hall room will receive communication from University Health Services regarding when they will receive their quarantine tests. This is the only time that students are permitted to depart their rooms during quarantine. Upon receiving their test(s), students should immediately return to their residence hall room.

  • Students who have tested positive for COVID-19 will not be tested upon release from their isolation period. However, they will need to be cleared by both the Massachusetts Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC) and University Health Services (UHS). The CTC and UHS will clear students based on the date their positive test was administered and any potential symptoms.

Release from Quarantine or Isolation

  • The Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC) and University Health Services (UHS) staff will inform students of the date they may leave isolation or quarantine. UHS will also notify Residential Life that students are preparing to be released, and a staff member will contact students by 7:00pm the day prior to their release with checkout instructions and to coordinate transportation back to campus.  Shuttles back to campus start at 7:00am each day.

  • Students who are completing their quarantine in-room will be notified by the CTC and UHS when they are released from their quarantine period.

  • Students may quarantine or isolate at home or at the home of a relative/family friend so long as they follow proper MA CDC guidelines. If in quarantine, we suggest you wait until you get at least one negative result before you make your decision to go. Before you make solid plans to leave you must first contact our team at QIHousing@bc.edu and receive confirmation that your plan to quarantine elsewhere is safe and within our policies. 

  • NOTE:

    • Students must be picked up by an individual who you will be staying with. Transport by Ubers, Lyfts, taxis, the “T,” private car companies, commercial airplanes, and other forms of public transportation are off limits according to CDC guidelines for social distancing.

      • Students will need to inform Residential Life of the name of the person who is picking them up and the address of the location where they are going to isolate, as well as the make/model/color of the vehicle picking them up so that we can notify BCPD.

Dining

  • Students will order meals during their stay through the GET Mobile App with BC Dining. Dinner, breakfast, and lunch will be delivered each afternoon between 5:30-7:00pm. Students should select the orange “Quarantine & Isolation Meals” banner, then when adding their delivery address select ON CAMPUS and then in the drop down menu select their quarantine/isolation location and their room number. All rooms in quarantine and isolation come equipped with a refrigerator and a microwave. Quarantine and Isolation meals will be deducted from mandatory meal plans (where applicable). For students without mandatory meal plans, they will be responsible for paying for meals upon ordering them. If students have questions, or financial concerns regarding their meals, please contact our team at QIHousing@bc.edu.

Medical Monitoring and UHS

  • If students are in isolation they will be contacted once-a-day by a medical provider to see how they are feeling and for an update on their symptoms (please take your temperature twice-a-day).  If students are in quarantine and develop symptoms please call 617-552-3225 to speak with a provider in UHS and arrange further evaluation and testing.   

  • For students who need any medication (such as Tylenol or cough medicine) please contact UHS, and BC staff will arrange for the medication to be delivered to their room door. They may contact UHS 24-hours-a-day at: 617-552-3225. Press #2 (on the weekends) or #5 (weekdays) when prompted.

  • If students have an acute worsening of symptoms they should call 617-552-3225 and press #2 (weekdays) or #5 (weekends) when prompted to speak with a nurse 24/7. If we are concerned about severe symptoms, we will call an ambulance for transport to a local hospital for evaluation. If symptoms are not severe, then arrangements will be made to have students evaluated by a provider.

Conversation Partners

  • Each student who tests positive or is deemed a close contact for COVID-19 is matched with a Conversation Partner (CP) for the duration of their stay in QI Housing.  We find it important to be present to these students via Zoom for a 15 minute conversation each day during what we know will be a difficult time. They might experience not only a change in their physical health, but also that of their spirit.  We notice the ups and downs residents experienced each day including frustration, loneliness, fatigue, struggles with pre-existing mental health conditions, inability to focus, and lack of motivation, among other feelings.  Full time staff, Jesuits and graduate students from across the institution give of their time to be a part of this ministry to accompany students and answer their questions.

  • Conversation Partner matches and initial communication will occur through the students BC email address, so students should be sure to respond to their match when they hear from them!

Additional Resources

 

Academic Accommodations

 

  • We encourage students to work directly with their professors on any academic accommodations. If students are not able to connect with a professor or are having trouble receiving support, they can email qihousing@bc.edu to be connected with additional resources for academic accommodations.

 

Support Resources

 

  • For mental health concerns students may continue to access all UCS services both on-line and through telehealth by calling 617-552-3310 during regular hours.  In case of a psychological emergency after hours students can access the Psychological Emergency Clinician by calling the infirmary at 617-552-3225 and asking to speak with the “PEC”.

  • *Alone Together in Isolation/Quarantine: Join other BC students in a safe, supportive space to discuss your feelings & reactions to shared struggles including navigating uncertainty and social disconnection. Fridays at 1pm. Click here for details. 

  • *qtinebuddy.com: a free website designed by college students with a algorithm for people looking to connect over similar interests while in quarantine

  • *Lean on Me Boston College: is an anonymous peer support line, available 24/7 by texting 617-553-6655. The hotline is run by fellow Boston College students, who are there to listen and provide empathetic support through any mental health struggles, big or small, that you may be facing. We hope to provide an environment where everybody has somebody to lean on :) To learn more, visit www.flow.page/leanonmebc.

  • CDC Overview: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

  • CDC Contact Tracing: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/contact-tracing.html

 

 

Back To Top