MILWAUKEE — Less than 12 hours after a quarantine was put into place at Marquette’s Cobeen Hall, a number of students called home for a pickup.
University officials made the precautionary move after it, and the Milwaukee Health Department confirmed a cluster of positive COVID-19 cases within the hall.
“I’ve got my laundry. I’ll have my grandma do that. I got my clothes. I pretty much packed as much as I could,” said freshman Matthew Salamone.
Salamone spoke with TMJ4 News as he sat, waiting on his grandmother. The decision comes after learning his residence hall will quarantine after a cluster of positive cases.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s real. We’re actually in this quarantine,” he said.
The Twin Cities native missed the end of his senior year of high school because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, it’s a similar situation as his freshman year of college is affected.
"We already got the brunt of COVID-19. We got the start of it. Now it’s like a continuation,” he said.
With the help of her mom and sister, Zuzu Argento is heading back to Chicago.
"I kinda saw it coming,” she said.
They’re leaving, but the university is urging students to stay. If they must leave, they should only head to a permanent address.
Inside Cobeen Hall, the university said its dining space will now only be available residents of Cobeen during the quarantine. Each resident will have to be tested.
Saturday, Wisconsin reported another record with more than 2,800 new positive COVID-19 cases in the state. 16 percent of tests statewide have been positive.
"We live here in the state of Wisconsin, we live close by. and personally, I think if the dorm is quarantined, it's best for them to stay there,” parent Tina Chacon said.
Chacon picked up her son Diego, who lives in a nearby resident hall.
“I live in Carpenter. If Carpenter was closed down, I’ll feel like that’s the right move,” Diego Chacon said.
Tina Chacon said she applauds the university's proactive efforts to keep students safe in the state currently with the second-highest rate of new positive cases in the country.
“If it warrants quarantining some of the residence halls, I think that’s the right thing to do to keep the rest of the Campus safe,” she said.
Many students told TMJ4 News they plan to return to the hall after the quarantine is over.