Macalester College announces plans to bring back 'smaller' group of students to campus housing this fall

St. Paul’s Macalester College says it will only bring in a small group of students to campus housing at first when the fall semester begins this year.

For the first 7.5 weeks, the college announced Tuesday it will only bring back a smaller group of students to campus housing, at which time they will be tested for COVID-19.

Then, after a two-week “quiet period” ending Sept. 16, the students will be tested again. During the quiet period, members of the Macalester community will be asked to “minimize their in-person interactions both on and off campus.”

Any student who plans to return to campus is asked to self-quarantine for two weeks before arrival as well.

“Flexibility this fall will be key,” the college said in its new guidelines. “It is possible that, despite our best attempts to welcome people back to physical campus in person, evolving circumstances may necessitate that we change course. We will continue to update the plan as conditions evolve.”