LONG BEACH, Calif. — A total of 17 COVID-19 cases among on-campus students at Cal State University Long Beach students have been identified, as well as nine non-students who were known to have attended off-campus social gatherings and have been identified through contact tracing.

After the first five cases were identified, school administration announced that all on-campus residents would be put under a two-week quarantine and must undergo COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. The CSULB campus is now a quarantine ghost town.

First-year film student Dean Stavros said he is used to quarantining by now and laments that campus living is not what it should be in normal times.

"The hallways would always have people in them," he said. "Buildings would be busy, but right now the hallways look like a ghost town. The other day I was scared to see someone in my hall. I was like, 'Oh my god! Intruder! Oh, no. He lives here.'"

The school administration took swift action after the five students were found to be COVID-19 positive and now, in addition to the two-week quarantine, mandatory testing of the 328 students living on site is in progress.

Socializing is normally a big part of campus life, but that's now firmly discouraged by the school administration. The five positive cases are being linked to gatherings that did not observe health department guidelines for social distancing and mask wearing.

“Before the quarantine, I was social with people but still with quarantine protocols," said Stavros. “Corona protocols, like I was wearing a mask. If I was eating outside with people, I’d usually be at a respectable distance.”

Although it's a relatively small number of positive cases, Stavros agrees with the administration's decisive actions. "I’d rather be thwarted from doing whatever for two weeks, instead of living like I do now just for a few more days and then getting sent home for the rest of the year,” he said.

The names of the positive cases have not been released, observing privacy protocols, but there is growing frustration among the student body regarding some who refuse to play it safe during the pandemic.

“When my friends found out that they had to quarantine, they were pissed,” said Stavros. “They were like, ‘These people are dumb-a****.' I'm like, 'Yeah, you don't want that to be you.'"

Stavros said he is not surprised at the outbreak and having to go into quarantine yet again, and thinks it will probably happen again. In that event, he is just hoping he doesn't get sent home.