Fresno City College student’s coronavirus test results have come in, officials say

The Fresno City College student whose possible exposure to coronavirus forced a brief lockdown on part of the campus last week tested negative for the virus, college President Carole Goldsmith said Monday.

“Everyone at Fresno City College took a deep sigh of relief when we heard the news about this student,” Goldsmith told The Bee. “I am incredibly proud of everyone at FCC in how we handled the precautions we put in place.”

The student was visiting the Veterans Resource Center on March 16 when he got a message saying he may have been exposed to the virus while out of town that weekend. His message prompted a lockdown of two buildings, and was part of a series of events that ended with a campus closure, Goldsmith said.

As the college awaited the test results from the Fresno County Health Department, it had asked more than a dozen employees in the two buildings to self-quarantine.

Goldsmith said the safety and well-being of the college’s more than 30,000 students and 2,000 employees was priority.

“With Public Health Officials continuing to tell us ‘this will get worse,’ we will continue to follow the guidance of health professionals and provide instruction and student services in a new remote reality,” she said.

The campus remains closed to the public and all classes have been moved to online for the semester.