Follow up regarding Emergency Travel Order

This is a follow up to July 17's message, where we first released details about the Emergency Travel Order issued by the City of Chicago. Since then, several more states have been added to the city’s list and some of the guidance from the Chicago Department of Public Health has also changed. We want to ensure that all impacted students understand the choices they have related to these guidelines and moving onto campus. We also have added the City of Chicago’s new option that would allow these students to spend part of quarantine in their home state.

The city’s Emergency Travel Order went into effect on July 6, 2020, and provides that individuals found in violation of the Order are subject to city fines of $100 to $500 per day, up to $7,000. Since this announcement, the university has been preparing protocols for those who are moving to our campus from a state that is experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases, as well as our international students. The city will review and amend the list of impacted states every Tuesday, so we highly recommend you visit the City of Chicago website regularly to determine your travel plans. As of the date of this article, there are currently 22 impacted states on the city’s list.

We understand this may seem daunting, so we want to provide all incoming on-campus residents with some options to consider. These options are specifically meant for students coming from a state currently on the city’s travel restriction list and students coming from outside of the United States. However, any students who may be traveling to one of these states or outside of the United States prior to coming to campus must also comply with the city’s guidelines by choosing an option below:

• Option A: Arrive in Chicago at least two weeks before classes begin on September 9 and quarantine off campus, on your own or with family for 14 days. You may also conduct your self-quarantine outside of Chicago providing you follow these three instructions:
• It is in a location not covered by the travel restriction, and
• You do not visit a travel restriction state during or after the 14-day quarantine period and prior to your arrival on campus.
• You will need a method of documenting adherence to this guideline and will need to sign a certification that you complied with the Emergency Travel Order.
  
• Option B: Schedule your move-in to campus on August 16 (no exceptions to this move-in date) at no additional cost and quarantine for 14 days, as quarantining is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• We will make every effort to move you into your permanent fall unit. In the event that roommates or suitemates are both traveling from an impacted state, they will need to be separated during the quarantine period. We will do our best to place these students in a temporary space that is within close proximity to their permanent unit. Once their quarantine period has ended, they may move into their permanent unit.
• If you choose to quarantine on campus with us for 14 days, we will deliver meals and urgent mail to your room, provide access to WiFi and Philo TV streaming, etc. Students must stay in their rooms and not interact in-person with anyone else, including other students, for any reason except for urgent medical care and COVID testing during the quarantine period.
• Option C1 or C2: You may choose to keep your fall in-person schedule but live off campus, which means either deferring (Option C1) or cancelling (Option C2) your on-campus housing. You still must follow the City’s Order and self-quarantine for 14 days when you arrive in Chicago and before coming to campus. If you cancel your housing before August 16 you will not be charged a cancellation fee. You may also choose to keep all of your classes online for fall quarter and again consider deferring your housing to the start of winter quarter (as space permits).
  
• NEW Option D: Quarantine at home for seven days prior to coming to campus immediately followed by a seven day quarantine on campus. If choosing this option, the move-in date will be August 22 (no exceptions to this move-in date) at no additional cost. If choosing this option, please consider the following:
• Your accommodations will be similar to those outlined in Option B.
• You will need to be COVID-19 tested shortly after arriving on campus. Details about how DePaul will handle this testing will be forthcoming soon.
• You will need a method of documenting adherence to this guideline and will need to sign a certification that you complied with the Travel Order.

Before selecting your move-in option, please note that Option B submissions must be made no later than Tuesday, August 11 and Option D submissions must be made no later than Tuesday, August 18.

For students who already submitted their move-in in option and are still satisfied with their choice, please do not fill out the form again.

 Click here to select your move-in option.

If you are not able to select one of the four options above and must arrive on campus later from a restricted state, please note the following:

• You will need to arrive after the general move-in process in order to avoid any potential exposure to other students (after September 6 and by appointment only).
• You will still need to quarantine for 14 days in a location designated by DePaul Housing and follow all guidelines as described in Option B above before moving into your permanent fall location.
• You will not be able to attend in-person classes during the quarantine period and should therefore find out from your professors if attending online is an option while in quarantine.

Please email housing@depaul.edu if a later move-in appointment and 14-day quarantine is the only option you have. These will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Please adhere to the deadlines for informing Housing of your decision to move on campus early, whether it be for the two-week (Deadline of August 11) or the one-week quarantine (Deadline of August 18). If you had previously chose Option B and would like to now switch to Option D you may do so, but you must inform our office via email at housing@depaul.edu. Housing will NOT be able to accommodate any student moving in early who has not informed our office of their intentions to do so. 

Lastly, Housing cannot accommodate students moving in early who are not coming from a state on the city’s restricted list. If you have questions, please contact housing@depaul.edu.