IOWA, USA — The following interview transcript has been edited for clarity
Local 5 News: Thousands of Iowa State students and their families are preparing tonight to move back into the dorms, but moving in is going to look a lot different next month than it has in past years.
Here to talk about how the university aims to keep everyone safe during a pandemic is Peter Englin, Associate Vice President for Campus Life.
We know the university has outlined and extensive move in process for students and their families. It includes on site testing, limiting who can help a student move in and when they can move in and more. But of course, we know a lot of people are going to be in the mix.
They're moving in and out of those dorms. How can you try to ensure that coronavirus doesn't spread?
Peter Englin: First off, we want to make sure that the spaces where folks are moving in each residence hall and each apartment has a unique characteristic. And so we've mapped each building to limit the numbers that are moving into that building at any one time to eliminate the possibility of folks not being able to practice the six foot of physical distancing.
So they'll arrive at Mead Recreation Center, they'll get their testing, they'll get their keys, they'll proceed to their check-in place. They'll be allowed to have two helpers, get their items up to the room. They're limited to one hour, and then they are to move their vehicles away and let the next set of students come in. So we're really requiring face masks, we're limiting physical distancing ... those are the two big strategies during the move in, coupled with the testing.
And so we'll also eliminate the possibility of roommates coming in on top of each other in the beginning. There's a 24 hour break between the testing process.
Local 5: What happens in the event that someone on campus, someone involved in the move-in or the move-out does have COVID-19 and 10 tests positive? That's probably gonna trigger a bunch more things, right?
Englin: Yes. And so we've held a building of 150 rooms for isolation. Those would be for the COVID-19 positive individuals. And we have a team of our folks with PPE ready to meet the student at the location they're at now, put their items together in the middle of the room. Our team will then help move the student and their items to isolation and then they'll be connected with our our health center, public health folks, who will then start monitoring and working with the student.
And so we've set up for an isolation case. We also expect that there'll be people that will be exposed to positive COVID-19. So we've also set up what's called quarantine in another building.
And so folks who have been exposed to COVID-19 or symptomatic for COVID-19, but yet to have a positive test, will have that opportunity and get them out of the general assignment population.
Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter.
Local 5: This has to have been quite a summer for you. I mean, this is really a detailed plan, planning for all kinds of eventual outcomes that had just never really been considered before.
What is the planning process for this been like? What has it done to the summer for everyone involved in this there at ISU?
Englin: This went back to January, when we start started to hear about what was happening internationally. We look to support our students who are part of the Study Abroad program. I mean, we've had about five months of experience. There's been about 130 people meeting daily since that time to talk through all the different ways in which we're going to support students on campus.
We've also been talking to our community partners. So the Mayor, City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, I mean, this is has been an Iowa State University ... Ames, Iowa collaborative effort to figure out how to do this as best as possible.
WATCH: Complete coronavirus coverage from Local 5 on YouTube