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Sorority and Fraternity Houses Self-Isolate After Members Test Positive for Coronavirus
AMES, Iowa — Living in a house with 50 other people can be a challenge, especially in the age of COVID-19.
A graph from the New York Times shows new coronavirus cases in the last two weeks. Ames, Iowa, is listed as the third metro area in the country with the greatest number of new cases, relative to its population.
It has now been two weeks since school started at Iowa State University. Sources at the university tell WHO 13 that multiple sorority and fraternity houses have decided to quarantine their members inside the houses after several of their members tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Greek houses are owned and managed by their national organization, not by the university. However, the university encourages members to quarantine if they test positive for the coronavirus.
“You should remove yourself from other people … you should have meals delivered. You shouldn’t be walking around the sorority or fraternity house. You should sit around and do your homework and do some studying and get ahead. Whatever you need to pass the time while you’re in that self-isolation period,” ISU Director of Sorority and Fraternity Engagement Billy Boulden said.
If the Greek houses were forced to shut down, Boulden says each house has its own policy on how to handle it.
“I know some chapters required members to submit a plan prior to moving into a sorority or fraternity house to say if you contract COVID, what are you going to do? Or if other people in the house do and we have to shut down the house, what are you going to do? And if folks didn’t have a plan, they didn’t let people move in,” Boulden said.
Some sororities and fraternities provided the option to allow students to cancel their housing contracts. WHO 13 sources say many members have canceled their contracts and opted to live in an apartment or at home if they live close.
