BATON ROUGE - With thousands of college students returning to campuses, they must now adapt to a host of new safety protocols to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Masks, hand-washing and hybrid classes are now the norm. At Baton Rouge General, doctors shared warnings in hope that caution might prevent more closures and mass quarantines.

"All the interactions that happen there make dorm rooms a place that's much more likely for kids to spread infections," Dr. Jacob Wood said.

Wood says dorms are petri dishes and have been long before COVID.

This advice comes urgently, after Wood says he and his three children came down with the virus. One of his daughters was exposed on LSU's campus.

"Everybody's fine. We were obeying all of the things that are recommended, and it still happened. So we have to find that balance between not being fearful but still being responsible," he said.

Wood says parents should anticipate that their child will at least be exposed and possibly test positive, but it's important not to panic.

"Most college kids are probably going to get exposed to it at some point, so don't get too scared or too fearful about the disease. On the other hand, don't be so nonchalant that you spread this thing around," he said.

Both parents and students should be familiar with university protocols. Wood says knowing what to do after being exposed to the virus is a key component to staying safe.