Five Students Test Positive in Ireland

Source: Babette Fasolino

Five Marist students tested positive for COVID-19 before returning to the U.S. from Ireland over spring break.

The unexpected results created a significant obstacle to an otherwise successful trip. All five students have since returned to the U.S. after quarantining for a little under a week.

Over 20 students traveled to Ireland over spring break as an attachment program to two different courses in literature and communications. The groups traveled to Ireland together, spending a few days in Dublin before splitting off to different parts of the island. The two groups would both return to the capital city before their planned return to the United States.

The trip was originally scheduled to run over winter break but was postponed due to COVID restrictions at the time and the rise of the Omicron variant.

As required by the U.S. government, all travelers entering the country – regardless of vaccination status or citizenship – must receive a negative COVID test no more than one day before departing by air, per the CDC.

The two Marist groups went to take their tests on Saturday before departing Sunday morning. They received the unforeseen results back later in the day.

There were four positive tests in the literature group and one in the communications group.

“The thought of quarantining in a foreign nation with no friends or family nearby was very unsettling,” said Luke McLaughlin ‘22, who was on the communications trip.

“No one was feeling sick, and everyone was vaccinated per Marist Abroad policy,” said Caitlin Paul, a Marist Abroad coordinator who served as a chaperon for the literature trip.

The students that tested positive had to return to the hotel to begin their quarantine, while Paul had to work through the craziness of canceling and rebooking flights for everyone on the trip.

Everyone who tested negative could fly back as scheduled, but did wear masks in public settings as instructed by Health Services when returning to campus.

“We were very lucky because Marist has a Dublin campus, so the director of the first-year program, Shane Duffy, was there to check on the [quarantined] students every day,” said Professor Babette Fasolino, who led the communications group.

The students were quarantined for just under a week before being allowed to return to the U.S.

Besides a turbulent end, the trip was successful and “the experience of a lifetime,” said McLaughlin. “I had never been to Europe before this trip and although it was an academically focused excursion, most, if not all, of what we had planned on our itinerary was captivating, educational and fun.”

Editor’s Note: A photo appeared in the print edition that may have given the impression that those pictured were students who tested positive for COVID-19. This was not intentional.