Cerritos College has reported 39 COVID on campus among students and faculty as of Sept. 16, since the campus reopened for in-person learning.

President Jose Fierro and Vice President Felipe Lopez have reassured students and staff that these cases are no cause for concern.

Cerritos College continues to follow CDC and LA County health guidelines while continuing to enforce social distancing in classrooms. Students are required to submit to a health screening before attending class, and athletes are required to receive a COVID test weekly.

Cerrito’s wrestler Joseph Rodriguez expressed that he was not concerned about the cases on campus, as he is fully vaccinated.

“I’m vaccinated, and I think the school has it under control,” said Rodriguez. “It’s probably going to rise, a couple more cases, but I think the school has it handled.”

Communications major and cross-country athlete, Joe Munoz, is confident that students will be safe as long as safety measures are followed.

“I only come to campus for practice, and even then we are isolated,” said Munoz. “As long as I keep my mask on and keep my distance I think I’m okay.”

President Fierro said that the number of cases proves that their system for detecting cases is working.

“We are catching cases early on so there are no outbreaks on campus.” said the president. “The positivity rate is very low, but that doesn’t mean we should lower our guard. We will continue to do what we are doing consistently and continue to follow the guidelines.”

The cases appearing on campus come weeks ahead of the college’s vaccine mandate, where all students and faculty will be required to show proof of the COVID-19 vaccine on Oct. 1.

“There has been a lot of misinformation about vaccines. We need to look at things from the public health perspective, from keeping the community safe, so the community can continue to operate on campus,” said Fierro.

Students at the college and online have expressed their disdain for the mandate.

During the Cerritos College Board of Trustee’s meeting on Sept. 15, many of the public comments opposed the vaccine requirement.

“I feel it’s everyone’s decision whether or not to get vaccinated. I don’t think it should be mandated,” said Munoz. “I’m not vaccinated, and I have yet to get COVID.”