Ohio State is asking on-campus students traveling from COVID-19 hotspots to arrive in early August and will require them to quarantine upon arrival.

Ohio State is asking on-campus students traveling from COVID-19 hotspots to arrive in early August and will require them to quarantine upon arrival. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Former Managing Editor for Multimedia

Ohio State students from states with a seven-day average positive COVID-19 testing rate of 15 percent or higher will be asked to come to campus early to quarantine for two weeks before classes start.

In line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and a recent travel advisory from Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio State plans to provide temporary on-campus quarantine housing, including meals, for no additional cost for students with housing contracts, according to an email sent to students by University Housing. Students are asked to arrive on campus Aug. 8 or 9 to complete the 14-day quarantine before the first day of classes on Aug. 25.

Students with housing contracts were sent a survey link to complete by Wednesday at 5 p.m. so the university can track locations from which students come. Students may be housed with another student during this time, and visitors are not permitted, the email states. 

States that currently have a seven-day average positive COVID-19 testing rate of 15 percent or higher include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi and South Carolina, according to the Ohio Department of Health.