Thread by @ConnorASheets

Multiple students under COVID-19 isolation at the University of Alabama told me they never saw a medical professional & UA did no contact tracing after they tested positive. But UA has officers patrolling isolation dorms' parking lots & entrances 24/7. al.com/news/2020/09/y…

UA freshman Caleb Overstreet said since his diagnosis he hasn’t “been contacted by anyone medically. I guess if I couldn’t breathe I’d try to find my way to the hospital ... They didn’t give me any instruction; they basically just stuck me here and haven’t been in touch since.”

UA freshman Cody Brooks: "I've had to personally contact everyone that I’ve been exposed to. When I tested positive, they didn’t ask me who I had been exposed to. I think it needs to be done sooner if it is being done, just because I had been exposed to so many people already.”

And students who've tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days say it's difficult to get someone on the phone via UA's coronavirus hotline. Some students feel like UA - which had >1,200 new student COVID cases in 9 days - is just warehousing them while the outbreak rages on.

Alex Thill, however, is a healthy UA junior. Late last month, UA quickly filled many apartments in his on-campus complex w/ students under COVID-19 isolation.

Ever since, Thill says police have continuously patrolled the parking lot of his apartment complex 24/7, stopping people and making sure they're not breaking isolation. It's unclear exactly what punishment students might face for leaving the premises.

UA freshman Cody Brooks said the person posted at the entrance to Burke West, the UA COVID-19 isolation dorm where he is currently living, is tasked with stopping students from leaving.

There's tons more detail in my story for @aldotcom, which covers everything from how & what students living in UA's isolation dorms are fed to how they manage their coursework. Thanks for reading. al.com/news/2020/09/y…