After a surge in positive COVID-19 cases on campus, students isolating in two different locations on and off campus face difficulties receiving adequate food.
Between Feb. 8 and 9, over 80 undergraduate students tested positive for COVID-19; by Feb. 12, the number of COVID-19 cases increased to 205 throughout the Georgetown University community. With an increase of community members in isolation, students have expressed frustrations over receiving adequate access to necessities like food from university officials.
The increase in cases filled all available isolation rooms at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center and prompted the university to acquire additional isolation rooms at the Glover Park Hotel Georgetown, located 1.5 miles from Georgetown’s main campus, according to a Feb. 9 email to community members.
Some students, including Spencer Woodall (MSB, SFS ’24), who was in isolation at the Glover Park Hotel, say they did not receive enough food or water throughout the isolation period.
“I was told that we only get 3 boxes of food per week, which to my memory is 4 boxes a week less than my previous quarantine in the Georgetown hotel,” Woodall wrote in an email to The Hoya. “The boxes only include 3 bottles of water each, which means only 9 bottles a week. This is most concerning to me as I only drink water, and it’s not very helpful to people who need fluids because of COVID.”
The university provides students in isolation with multiple meals and snacks that meet dietary restrictions, according to a university spokesperson.
“In both the on- and off-campus hotel and residence hall isolation scenarios, students are provided with three meals per day as well as snacks and beverages (including water),” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Students in isolation are always allowed to request additional meals and make requests for meals to accommodate allergies or dietary restrictions.”
Other students say they received meals that violate their dietary restrictions. Carly Finley (MSB ’23), who has been in quarantine at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center since Feb. 8, specified her dietary restrictions when she checked in at the front desk before beginning her quarantine period.
Despite listing that she does not eat red meat, Finley said the university delivered foods with red meat.
“The next day I was brought a roast beef sandwich … it’s pretty much a coin toss, some days I am brought a bag that says ‘No Beef’ on the outside, and some days I’m not,” Finley wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Either way, I pretty much don’t eat any of it except if it’s a turkey sandwich, a croissant or a snack like pretzels and hummus.”
Rakhi Parikh (COL ’25), who follows a vegetarian diet, tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 13 and isolated in the Glover Park Hotel.
Parikh said that after receiving an initial box of food when she arrived, no one delivered her food until 4 p.m. on Feb. 14, and the food that did arrive was very limited.
“That box was all gluten-free vegan, even though the night before it was like normal vegetarian,” Parikh said in an interview with The Hoya. “I guess for the boxes they just combine all dietary restrictions into one which is unfortunate.”
Students can drop off meals at the front desk for friends quarantined in the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, an option those at the Glover Park Hotel cannot rely on because of the significant distance from campus.
“I have to rely on my friends to bring me food to the front desk because the meals are just gross,” Finley wrote. “For people who can’t afford to DoorDash every meal cause they’re already paying a fortune for a meal plan, it really sucks feeling like you have to burden your friends to bring you like 2 meals a day because you can’t stomach the food they give you.”
The university resumed public health measures Feb. 12 as they were during the fall 2021 semester, including expanding operations to include indoor dining at full capacity.
