Utah State University gave an order for a mandatory quarantine for 287 students who are living in Morgan, Rich, Jones, and Davis residence halls.

Sewage samples from the on-campus residence halls tested positive for coronavirus, so all the students who live there – must stay there.

Besides the mandatory quarantine for 287 students, there is also an order for COVID-19 testing for all of them.

Until the university authorities don’t receive back the testing results, no one can live the campus.

According to Amanda DeRito, director of the university, testing sewage samples is a way for an early alert for possible coronavirus infections among the students.

The earlier they detect the presence of the virus on campus, the easier will be to deal with the potential outbreak.

Sewage testing in Utah is not a new thing, as they test the sewage water on-campus since July 1.

However, none of the tests so far showed positive results to coronavirus, until this week.

DeRito said, “Wastewater sample testing began July 1 and are collected daily. This testing isn’t new to Utah, it started shortly after the pandemic began and has been successful in monitoring the spread of the disease. The benefit of testing the water is that we get a snapshot into what is happening on campus and can quarantine even before a student becomes symptomatic. It is also less invasive.”