13 Cal State Northridge students self-isolating after possible coronavirus exposure

Thirteen Cal State Northridge students are self-isolating amid concerns they may have been exposed to the coronavirus during an event in Washington, D.C., last week.

College officials on Monday said the students have not shown any symptoms after attending a conference where two attendees — who are not connected to the campus —tested positive for COVID-19. The students will self-isolate “out of an abundance of caution” for 14 days from the date of possible exposure as they monitor their health for symptoms of the virus, including fever, cough and shortness of breath, CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison said in a statement.

“The [Los Angeles Department of Public Health] and other health agencies monitoring this issue have stated that the risk of exposure for conference attendees is low, and LADPH is not recommending self-isolation of those who may have come in contact with these CSUN students,” the statement read.

The college did not specify what out-of-state event the group attended. It isn’t clear whether the event was the same one that 10 Cal State Long Beach students attended in Washington, D.C., that prompted them to self-isolate.

There are no cases of the coronavirus on either campus, officials said.

The announcements from the universities comes as the coronavirus continues to spread across California, with multiple cases in communities including Long Beach, Sacramento and San Diego. On Monday, health officials reported a second death, in Silicon Valley, from the virus.

The growing number of cases shows the the virus is spreading deeper into the state, and officials expect the numbers to rise well beyond 140 as more testing is done in the coming days. Universities have instituted stringent cleaning procedures, and some, including UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, San Jose State, San Francisco State, Santa Clara, Princeton and Vanderbilt, have even opted to suspend in-person classes and have students move to online learning.

“We will continue to see more cases of COVID-19,” L.A. County Public Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer said. “We continue to urge everyone to do their part: Stay home if you are sick and keep your children home if they are sick; plan for the possibility of school and business closures.”