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Health Experts Urge Returning College Students To Self-Quarantine

Students and parents move student's belongings out of Bragaw Hall at N.C. State University in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Thursday was the first day students began moving out of campus housing due to the continuing spread of COVID-19 clusters around campus. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Health officials are urging college students returning to the Triad to self-quarantine for 14 days. Many are coming back due to pandemic-related school closures across the country. 

Wake Forest Baptist Health infectious disease expert Dr. Christopher Ohl says that in addition to a two-week self-quarantine, college students who wish to be tested should wait at least five to 10 days from potential exposure, as it takes that long for the virus to show up in testing.

Ohl made his comments while delivering a COVID-19 update with pediatrician Dr. Callie Brown.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports their appeal to homebound students came as numerous universities have moved classes online.

The focus of their Facebook Live talk on Thursday was on children's safety.

Brown, who practices at Brenner Children's Hospital, urged parents to keep up with medical and dental appointments, saying that people have delayed bringing their kids in for treatment or vaccinations.

Ohl also said questions remain about how to safely celebrate Halloween this year, as it seems likely the coronavirus will still be an issue.

Wake Forest Baptist Health is inviting people to submit Halloween suggestions on their Facebook page.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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