CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - The Illini Union Hotel on Green Street is temporarily closing to guests and serving as the university's quarantine center for the fall 2021 semester.

Louise Donahue graduated from the University of Illinois in 1976. Her 2020 reunion with her classmates was canceled due to the pandemic.

This year has been yet another hurdle because of the pandemic. Donahue had booked 43 rooms for her and her fellow classmates, but a worker at the hotel called her to say her reservations had been canceled. 

"She called me to tell me the rooms are all cancelled. I didn't know the reason at that point, but we found out later it was for students to quarantine," Donahue told WAND News.

The hotel is the new designated quarantine center for U of I students. Associate Chancellor Robin Kaler told WAND News the school didn't want to close the hotel, but had no other option for students now that housing is full this year.

"We had hoped to be able to reopen and use it as a hotel, use it as a hotel exclusively this fall with a Delta variant. We are making contingency plans, and we need to have that space available for quarantine isolation," Kaler said. 

Awais Vaid, the deputy epidemiologist at the Champaign Urbana Public Health District, said isolation in students is key to help curb the spread in Champaign-Urbana.

"It's very important for people as soon as they find out that they are positive and even if they are not yet or waiting for results, but they have symptoms, or they had a close exposure and in situations, you really want to avoid mixing with people, because you can easily spread that to others," Vaid said.  

Students at the U of I must be vaccinated, but Vaid said that does not mean they can't test positive. If they do, they will be designated to a quarantine center, like the hotel, free of charge. 

Robin Kaler said the safety of students, staff and community members is most important as they head into the fall 2021 semester.

"We said at the start of COVID-19 that the safety and security of our students, faculty and staff and greater community would be our number one priority. And so, and this is really what it's all about, making sure that we can keep our community safe, with this emerging variant," Kaler said. 

Students will continue to test every other day at the UIUC campus.