As of Feb. 14, 128 residential students are in COVID-19 isolation either in the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center or the newly introduced Glover Park Hotel Georgetown. Despite the recent surge in positive cases, students in isolation must continue their classes and other activities virtually. 

As students fill all available isolation rooms at the Georgetown University hotel, some have expressed frustration over subpar food quality and quantity, as well as confusing messaging about isolation protocols. Students isolating in the Glover Park Hotel Georgetown, which is located over a mile from Georgetown’s main campus, have voiced even stronger discontent about the university’s handling of food and water distribution. 

The Editorial Board urges the university to provide clearer communication about the testing and isolating process, improve conditions for isolated students by ensuring reliable access to food and water and create a new line of support specifically dedicated to meal distribution issues.

According to the university’s COVID-19 guidance website, students who test positive for COVID-19 receive a message from the Care Navigator team providing them with information about the isolation guidelines.

Although the university has updated its protocols so that individuals in isolation who test negative on the fifth day no longer need to isolate, its contradictory messaging about isolation testing protocols left students like Oliver Charaf (MSB ’24) confused.

“I received an email that I would be out on the 21st which is the fifth day after I tested positive. I was still testing positive so I had to stay in quarantine but then I was instructed that after I tested positive I should no longer test and stay until day 10,” Charaf told The Hoya. “This was a little confusing because it was not in accordance with the new CDC rules. They later followed up saying I could actually take a test and try to get out of here today, which was on day seven.”

Alison McLeod (COL ’24) told The Hoya she encountered a similar lack of clarity in the university’s isolation guidelines after she tested positive for COVID-19, specifically regarding the length of her isolation and how to access pain medication.

The university has acknowledged that its updated isolation guidance is more intricate, given that it follows individualized, rather than a universal, protocols. 

“The new protocols are more complex and nuanced than the previous ones,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “Previously, every person who tested positive isolated for the same length of time (10 days) as a standard, universal rule. Now, an individual’s isolation length is tailored to their specific circumstances and whether and when they meet a number of criteria.” 

This nuance does not excuse the consistently confusing isolation guidelines, and the university must create a more streamlined communication network between the COVID Care Navigators and students.

The university is also failing to meet basic needs of students in isolation.

Isolating students receive instructions with contact information to coordinate meals, allowing them to both request additional meals and inform staff of allergies or dietary restrictions, according to a university spokesperson. 

However, Charaf said he received food that contained allergens he informed staff about when he entered isolation. 

“I have a severe allergy to chickpeas and on multiple occasions got things like hummus and falafel,” Charaf told The Hoya. “I’m lucky I know what to look out for, but it is potentially very dangerous.”

This dangerous oversight is not an isolated incident. In a Feb. 17 article from The Hoya, Carly Finley (MSB ’23) also noted that despite informing the front desk that she does not eat red meat, she nonetheless received 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 told The Hoya in the article. 

As a result of the university’s neglect, many students have to rely on food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash to meet their basic needs. These additional costs pose an undue burden on students, who are forced to remain on the meal plan.  

Casey Rae Borella (COL ’24), who was isolated in the Glover Park Hotel from Feb. 10 to Feb. 15, experienced serious issues accessing water. 

“They only gave us one water bottle per day in the box. You could call downstairs for water but sometimes they just wouldn’t bring any,” Borella said.

Moreover, Andrew Dunn (MSB ’23), who has been at the Glover Park Hotel since Feb. 9, had serious issues with the irregular schedule of food delivery.

“I have gotten three boxes of food delivered: on the 10th, 11th, and 14th. This created a major issue as the mini fridge couldn’t hold the food from both boxes on the 11th, forcing some of it to go bad.” Dunn said to The Hoya. “Since the 14th, I have not gotten a food box each of the last 3 days.”

COVID-19 isolation is already physically and emotionally taxing. Confusing protocols and inadequate living services only make the experience worse. While coordinating and implementing isolation protocols for a large number of students is undoubtedly a difficult task, the university must nonetheless implement a new line of support to streamline the complaint process and provide more specific guidance for isolation protocols. Isolation must be conducive to basic student needs.

The Hoya’s editorial board is composed of six students and is chaired by the opinion editors. Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.