UNC Slams Brakes On Classes; Other Colleges Can’t Seem To Rev Up, Either
Meanwhile, videos of college students having parties are still cropping up. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House's top coronavirus adviser, say the parties are driving the spread of COVID.
CNN:
UNC-Chapel Hill Reverses Plans For In-Person Classes After 130 Students Test Positive For Covid-19
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill abruptly decided it will no longer hold in-person classes on campus after about 130 students tested positive for Covid-19 in the first week since classes began. ... Most students with Covid-19 have demonstrated mild symptoms, Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Robert A. Blouin said in a letter to the community. (Levenson, 8/18)
Politico:
Colleges' Best-Laid Coronavirus Plans Quickly Come Undone
UNC is hardly the only institution experiencing an uptick in infections within days of students returning to campus. Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., reported a cluster of 46 confirmed cases of Covid-19 through mandatory entry testing. Officials said 482 people have been tested and many still await their results. At Oklahoma State University, a sorority house is under quarantine after reporting 23 cases. (Quilantan, 8/17)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
COVID-19 Testing Sites Expand To Kennesaw State
Pop-up COVID-19 testing sites will open this week at Kennesaw State University’s two campuses, the Cobb & Douglas Health Department said. The testing is being done in conjunction with the agency and Community Organized Relief Effort, an international organization founded by actor Sean Penn that provides emergency relief to people affected by natural disasters. (Dixon, 8/18)
CNN:
Outdoor Classes Are Safer. How Can Teachers Make It Happen?
When students return to Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this month, they'll find a campus transformed by Covid-19. Masks are required outside of dorm rooms; fall sports are delayed. Many courses will be a hybrid of virtual offerings and in-classroom time. But one professor will be holding class outdoors as long as possible. (Smith, 8/18)
Partygoers are blamed for outbreaks —
AP:
Trump's Top Coronavirus Adviser Says Parties Fueling Spread
President Donald Trump’s top coronavirus adviser on Monday said friends and families holding parties are driving the virus’s spread in the community, issuing the warning as outbreaks at some colleges around the country are being tied to large gatherings. Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, urged people to wear masks and socially distance after visiting with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials, pointing to the gatherings as a particular concern. Arkansas’ Health Department on Monday reported 412 new virus cases and four more deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. (DeMillo, 8/17)
The Hill:
Viral Videos Show Returning College Students Partying Without Masks
Local officials have condemned viral videos of returning students attending parties without masks or physical distancing on university campuses around the country. The videos were taken at such colleges as Oklahoma State and the University of North Georgia. (Budryk, 8/17)
In other higher-education news —
Detroit Free Press:
U-M To Hire Experts To Guide Response To Sexual Assault Complaints
The University of Michigan Board of Regents will hire outside experts to help guide its response to sexual assault complaints, the board said in a statement issued exclusively to the Free Press. The move by the board is a direct response to an investigation into former Provost Martin Philbert's sexual misconduct while climbing the ranks at U-M from faculty to the second-ranking administrator, in charge of the day-to-day academic operations of the university. (Jesse, 8/18)
