“I turned on my phone after the test was over to have a voicemail from a nurse at my orthopedic surgeon’s office saying, ‘I need to talk to you about your COVID results and your surgery,’” said the graduate, Sydney Donovan, in a virtual interview with Denver’s NBC-affiliated news station KUSA-TV.
Donovan was required to take a diagnostic COVID-19 test two days earlier in preparation for an upcoming medical procedure, the outlet reported.
“I was completely asymptomatic,” she noted during the interview. Donovan estimated roughly 20 others sat for the exam alongside her, according to KUSA.
Due to concerns about virus transmission, law school graduates across the country have petitioned their state courts to invoke diploma privilege, an authorization that would allow them to practice without taking the lengthy in-person examination.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Wisconsin was the only U.S. state that permitted law school graduates’ entry to the bar by way of diploma privilege. Between April and July, Supreme Courts in Utah, Washington, Oregon and Louisiana passed provisional orders granting diploma privilege to graduates during the pandemic.
The Colorado Supreme Court rejected graduates requests for diploma privilege ahead of the July exam, but issued a series of requirements in efforts to lower transmission. The court mandated all test-takers wear face masks, remain six feet apart, and undergo temperature checks before entering exam rooms.
The University of Denver said its team of contact tracers started reaching out to others who may have been exposed to the virus during last week’s test soon after learning of Donovan’s diagnosis. In a statement obtained by several Colorado news outlets, the administration said her tests results were reported to them later on Wednesday. The university confirmed its statement to Newsweek.
“In circumstances when a community member or visitor to campus informs the University of Denver that they have tested positive for COVID-19, the University initiates a contact tracing protocol so that anyone who may have been exposed to the virus is promptly notified,” the university said.
“Safety and security of the DU community is the highest priority. We are ever mindful to balance the confidentiality of health information with the transparency needed to mitigate exposure risks and maintain compliance to regulations and University policy.”
The University of Denver is preparing for students, faculty and employees to return to campus for the upcoming fall semester. Its administration released details about the university’s virus mitigation protocols midway through July. As of July 15, the administration reported seven confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 were identified at the university since early April. At the time, it said none of the individuals who tested positive worked in the same buildings or belonged to the same facility management groups.
Donovan told Newsweek the university’s Sturm College of Law (SCOL) contact tracer did not reach out everyone who took the bar exam on its premises last week. She said only those estimated 20 people assigned to her exam room received notice about possible COVID-19 exposure.
“Sturm College of Law SCOL’s Contact Tracer sent an email late on Wednesday alerting a group of students that they had been in the ‘general vicinity’ of someone who had tested positive for the ‘virus that causes COVID-19,’” Donovan said in comments sent to Newsweek by email.
“Most concerning, the email told applicants that ‘it is not necessary that you self-quarantine at this time but you should be vigilant with symptom monitoring.’ This advice was given despite applicants spending roughly sixteen hours in a single room, over two days, with about twenty other people.”
She said failing to alert others who took the exam at University of Denver was “problematic,” given that “applicants who were not seated in the same room were still exposed to each other throughout the two days of testing” during breaks and hallway run-ins.
Newsweek reached out to the University of Denver for its response to Donovan’s comments. This story will be updated with any reply.
Correction 08/03/2020 1:23 p.m. ET: This story was corrected to better reflect the Colorado Supreme Court’s order requiring use of face masks, social distancing and temperature checks during statewide bar examinations. A previous version said use of face shields were also required. The court’s order permits individuals taking the exam to wear face shields at their discretion, as long as they also wear a mask.
Update: This story was updated to include Donovan’s comments and the University of Denver’s confirmation regarding its statement.
