Queen's U cancels in-person exams amid student concerns over COVID-19 surge

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Queen's University announced Sunday eveningit would be cancelling all in-person exams for the rest of the year.

Exam season continued last week, whilepublic health measures tightened in Kingston, Ont., andstrained local hospitals transferredCOVID-19 patients to less hard-hit regions.

Leading up to Sunday's announcement, students and some faculty expressed concerns about attending in person exams as cases in the region rose steadily with many suspected to be the omicron variant.

The university said in a press release all exams that can be changed from in-person will be and those that cannot will be rescheduled in the new year.

Exams scheduled for Monday and Tuesday will be delayed, so that faculty can make the necessary changes, except for thosealready set to be online, which will continue as planned.

The university said it was making these changes in response to a riseCOVID-19 cases within its student population.

Before this decision, third year psychology student Alexandra Kelly describedthe situation at the university as "completely petrifying."

Kellyis currently self-isolating after being exposed to COVID-19 andwas forced to miss two final exams while awaiting COVID-19 results.

Some students were reluctant to get tested as they were afraid of either missing an examor having their exams deferred as late as August 2022, she said. The university is moving up this timeline, according to an email to CBC.

Othersdidn't feel safe packed in to crowded exam halls, Kelly said.

"People just don't want to go home for Christmas and gift their family COVID," Kelly said.

A petitioncirculating online asking for changes to exam delivery garnered more than 5,000 signaturesin under 24 hours.

The petition's author, third-yearstudent Abby McLean, saysshe felt "relieved" to hear in-person exams would be moved online or rescheduled, but still"disappointing" Queen's did not make this decision sooner.

"I'm worried that with any issue that comes up like this in the future, that Queen's will just continue this pattern of not taking any action until they're forced to," said McLean.

WATCH | Queen's University should have cancelled in-person exams sooner, student says

Queens University should have cancelled in-person exams sooner, student says

3 years ago

Duration 0:41

Abby Mclean, a third-year Queens University student, says shes frustrated that in-person exams werent cancelled sooner after students raised concerns about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the city.

For Emilia Patterson, cancelling in-person exams right now is not enough because she alreadyisolatingin residence after being exposed to COVID-19.

She says while she thinks the university's decision will prevent additional cases, it "should have been done a couple of weeks ago."

"Too little, too late, to be honest," she said,"The damage has already been done in terms of like,COVID transmission and the cases rising."

Queen's tells students to get tested

Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Healthsays there are suspected cases of the omicron variant among the positive COVID-19 cases at the university.

As a result, the university and the health unit are encouraging all students to get tested before heading home forwinter break.

Students who are not high-risk contacts of confirmed cases and don't have symptoms should get a rapid antigen test. If they test positive they should isolate in-place for the next ten days, public health said.

If students have symptoms they must get a PCR test and isolate until they have results from the test. And if they have been identified as a high-risk contact they must get a PCR test and isolate for a full 10 days regardless of the test results or their vaccination status.

Students who have already leftshould also get tested. For those who can't leave, the university said support services will remain available.

Though in addition to cancelling in-person exams and increasing accommodations for students. Queen's is reducing the capacity limits at the library and the athletics centre.