After a drop in COVID-19 cases, UC Berkeley is no longer restricting students housed on campus to their dorm rooms. The requirement, which began Feb. 1, was lifted on Tuesday. Students can now leave their rooms, as long as they wear masks and continue to stay physically distant from each other. They can also go to Cal dining halls.
The policy change does not apply to those who are officially required to quarantine.
For the last two weeks, students living in residence halls were asked to stay inside their rooms, except to get food, to be tested for the virus or for medical care. Up until a few days ago, they were not even allowed to go outside to exercise. The university put those restrictions in place after a dramatic spike in infections among students in late January.
The university said in a statement on Monday that contact tracing showed "almost no cases of new spread between students affected by sequestration, a remarkable achievement within a congregate setting."
“Now that the self-sequester is being lifted, we wish to remind everyone that it’s still critical to limit in-person interaction to your household grouping, practice physical distancing, wash hands frequently, and wear face coverings,” the university said.
School officials are urging students to avoid gatherings, because the virus could be easily reintroduced to residence halls if precautions are ignored.
“Our hope is that if all residents continue to practice these important measures, we won’t have to revisit self-sequestration in the future,” said the statement.
As of last week, the UC Berkeley campus positivity rate was 0.7%, compared to nearly 2% in the city of Berkeley.
Campus residents are still required to undergo COVID-19 testing twice a week.