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All residents and staff of Ernie Davis Hall have tested negative for the coronavirus, a Syracuse University official announced Friday. Students in the building are no longer under quarantine.

The university closed Ernie Davis and instructed residents to quarantine in their rooms Thursday after detecting a possible trace of COVID-19 in the facility’s wastewater. SU administered saliva tests to all residents and employees who work in the building and promised results in the next 24 to 48 hours. Those tests have since come back negative.

All Ernie Davis residents are free to leave the building and resume their daily activities, Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie, head of SU’s COVID-19 response, said in a campus-wide email.

“I recognize the anxiety that comes with living in the time of a pandemic and appreciate how our students quickly returned to their residence hall to be tested, self-quarantined at our request and complied with direction provided by public health experts,” Haynie said.

Ernie Davis dining hall will remain closed Friday night and reopen Saturday, according to an email sent to the building’s residents.

SU officials suspect that the virus’ presence in the building’s wastewater likely came from a resident previously infected with COVID-19, Haynie said. Current research suggests those recovered from COVID-19, while not infectious to others, may continue to shed the virus for weeks, he said.

The university’s wastewater testing program will likely continue to detect traces of COVID-19 throughout the semester, Haynie said. The program detected less prominent traces of the virus in Sadler Hall’s wastewater earlier today.

“We will act out of an abundance of caution to always prioritize and safeguard the health and well-being of our campus,” Haynie said.

Published on September 4, 2020 at 6:34 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan