Anxious tenants await new roommates from out of town

Seminole Grand is one of many apartment complexes that cater to students in Tallahassee. Photo courtesy Seminole Grand

Thousands of students are returning to Tallahassee for the upcoming school year, and that means apartment complexes around town need to be ready for the annual infusion of new tenants — especially this year, with the coronavirus pandemic spiking in Florida and Leon County experiencing a surge of new cases.

Lyneisha Lewis, a Miami native, is a junior electrical engineering major at Florida A&M. She will soon be joining her roommates, at Seminole Grand who have been living in Tallahassee throughout the summer.

Lewis is trying to make sure she is aware of the impact she may have on her roommates, FAMU students Raina Wilson and Shideley Larochelle.

Recently I’ve been scared of going back to Tallahassee to move into my apartment because coming from a city that has the most COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida and potentially putting my roommates at risk,” Lewis said.

Lewis intends to get tested 14 days prior to moving into her apartment with her new roommates. She is also making sure everything is disinfected before bringing it into the apartment and disinfecting the apartment before moving her things in.

Getting tested before moving into my new apartment with my new roommates is my first plan of action. It is something that needs to be done,” Lewis said.

Wilson is a junior environmental studies major at FAMU who never left  Tallahassee after spring break. She said that student housing is making the best decision by letting students still sign their leases and move in as long as they are taking precautionary measures to ensure everyones safety.

The only measure I would really put into place, is if only one of my roommates are feeling ill or like they are coming down with something. They should probably stay in their room and also monitor the different people that are coming over,” Wilson said.

Wilson is concerned about protecting herself knowing that she has a new roommate moving into the apartment come fall semester. She said she will try to distance herself knowing the amount of people she may be exposed to when her new roommate arrives.

One thing I will be aware of once my roommate moves in will have to be if they are having COVID-19 symptoms or if theyve been exposed to someone who has had it,” Wilson said.

Larochelle is a junior healthcare management major at FAMU who also stayed in Tallahassee with Wilson through the summer. Larochelle wasnt expecting students to still be signing their lease to move in. When she found out that she will be getting a new roommate she started to feel concerned.

Its kind of scary to have new people move in who have been in many of the most affected spots around the word, I feel like it is important that that apartment complex should take matters into their own hands and test everyone new that is moving in,” Larochelle said.

With a new roommate moving into the apartment for the fall some rules should be set between each one of the roommates, she added. Everyone should limit the number of visitors they bring over on a regular basis, she said.

There should definitely be social distancing inside of the apartment. Giving everyone their space and also try to keep everything clean and sanitized,” Larochelle said.