Oh, I was a 17 year old freshman. My sister? A 17 year old freshman.
I realize it is fun to take your child to college (well usually, both my kids were just short of disasters), but it may not be possible this year. It sounds like some states are requiring residents to quarantine again for 14 days if they leave the state? Is that what MA is doing? If so a choice has to be made to either go and quarantine upon return or to send the student off by himself.
they are waiving the quarantine with a negative COVID tests within 72 hrs
you can take the test in your own state, get the negative result and go to MA to move in.
Tufts will announce their plan early this week. I think the 72 hr window makes it a lot easier.
Exactly, why is why I said sure thing. And then good luck finding one that you can get rapid test results. Such a mess.
@CottonTales you can take the test in your home state
Yes, but you are assuming you can get one scheduled and get the results in 72 hours or less. People I know that have taken tests have had 7 to 14 day turnarounds waiting for results. I am in a neighboring exempt state so I have no worries, so far. I also don’t have a student anymore but do have my only child in MA so I watch it for that reason.
@Luckyjade2024 I’m asking about the exact opposite. What if a MA parent needs to move their freshman into their dorm in PA, DE or MD? All of a sudden the 8 hour drive and overnight turns into a 14 day quarantine when the MA parent returns home.
7-14 days…wow that is crazy! you are most likely cured by then, even if you had it. I’m from NY, so I’m ok coming into MA for now. I just feel so bad for so many students coming from hotspots. I also have a few friends stuck in their home countries, and are not able to get back here. I am hoping colleges can help with a plan, or rapid testing etc.
can you take a rapid test when you get back home to MA? Also, is PA an exempt state?
I don’t know if MA tests asymptomatic people. I thought the states exempt from the quarantine stopped at NY/NJ, other than HI.
these are the exempt states right now:
Connecticut
Hawaii
Maine
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Rhode Island
Vermont
72-hour Testing Rule: The individual can produce, upon request, proof of a negative test result for COVID-19 from a test administered on a sample taken no longer than 72 hours before your arrival in Massachusetts.
from mass.gov
If you took a test prior to your arrival but have not received your negative result, you MUST quarantine until you receive the negative result. You may obtain a test at your own expense after your arrival in Massachusetts, but you MUST quarantine until you obtain a negative result. Use the COVID-19 testing map to find a site near you.
If a parent/guardian/family member is entering Massachusetts only to drop off the student and then immediately leaves the campus and the state, then they would meet the exemption of transitory travel. If they are staying overnight, then they are subject to the requirements of the travel order.
Testing varies greatly by state. Where we are if your are asymptomatic you can only get a test if you have had a known exposure to someone who has tested positive. Results are taking 7+ days. Good luck.
Here is the stupidity of it. I live in MA and will be leaving the state for 4 days before returning. If I get a test in MA the day before I leave, my result will probably come in while I am gone, but will be within 72 hours of my return, so therefore I don’t have to quarantine at all when I get home.
I think it is 72 hours from the date of the test.
@me29034 The definition of silly? If you drove to your child’s school, helped with move in, then drove right home, you’d need to quarantine for 14 days. If you became infected during move in, then managed to get a test the day after you got home, would you test positive? I don’t think you would. By the time your negative test came back you may be contagious…but your test would be negative…
Leaving dropping a child off out of it…if a Mass resident travels to one of the states not on the exempt list, does that resident have to quarantine for 14 days upon returning to Mass, no matter how long the person was in the ‘bad’ state?