UC Berkeley COVID-19 order prohibits solo outdoor exercise; students told to report violations

University of California, Berkeley students who were hoping to go for a solo run outdoors during a self-sequester COVID-19 mandate are out of luck.

An order designed to curb the virus prohibits students from exercising outdoors — even if they are alone.

The Daily Californian reported on the mandate and requests for students to report their peers for violations.

“Due to the 14 day incubation period of this virus, it is too early to be sure we have contained this current surge,” an email from UC Berkeley student affairs states, the student newspaper reported Monday. “We understand this extension is frustrating, but please understand this will help us mitigate further spread while protecting our community.”

Confirmed violations of the self-sequester mandate, which runs through at least Feb. 15, may result in disqualification from student housing or a suspension from the university.

A beefed-up security presence of UCPD is also patrolling the area to “ensure the health of our community.”

“Right now it is critical that you avoid gatherings — large or small — even with your residential household grouping, whether indoors or outdoors, and even if your most recent COVID test is negative,” the email continues.

Writer Maria Young noted that campus staff is “working with the city of Berkeley to determine whether outdoor exercise is permitted.”

Students who feel a need to access Counseling and Psychological Services may sent up “virtual counseling appointments.”