More than 100 students living in fraternity houses near the University of Washington campus have reported testing positive for COVID-19, with hundreds of results pending. The Interfraternity Council, a student-led governing board for UW fraternities, said that at least 105 residents living in 15 fraternity houses have self-reported that they tested positive, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reports.
The university learned Saturday that some fraternity residents had symptoms of COVID-19, and public health officials noticed a spike in cases among people ages 18 to 20, according to university spokeswoman Michelle Ma.
Ma said more than 800 students have been tested since Monday in response to the Greek system outbreak. The university expects to have an updated case count early next week. The Interfraternity Council has asked fraternity houses to stop holding social events, Ma said.
Experts say the outbreak, along with cases among student athletes, is a troubling sign of what may be in store if colleges reopen in the fall. University of Washington leadership said this week they hope to reopen in-person, with larger classes held virtually, but that plans could change based on the virus's spread.
Daniel Leifer, a pediatrician studying dermatology at UW, estimates he saw about a dozen parties when walking by Greek Row in recent months. Students stood close together, and masks were nowhere to be seen, he said.
Dr. Charles Lockwood, the senior vice president of University of South Florida Health, has administered more than 300 coronavirus tests and is alarmed by the spike among young people.
Pediatricians say schools should strive to bring kids back to classrooms. Teachers unions are on the verge of revolt, in fear of infections. Local school districts are struggling with everything from technology to staging schools for socially distanced learning.
And Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is largely on the sidelines, saying the coronavirus back-to-school planning is a state and local issue.
No wonder parents across America are freaking out.
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Teachers increasingly are on edge and leaning on unions for help. “I'm being bombarded with, ‘How the hell are we going to do this?’” said Eskelsen García. “We're worried that school districts will give in to a politician or some business that wants their workers freed up to come back and work in a factory somewhere, and that then they will be forced to open unsafe schools.”
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Eskelsen García said there is “no national response to this, good or bad.” But she added that the infection rate data, needed for making decisions, will be different in localities across the country and DeVos’ help “never goes to a good place.”
DeVos' lack of reopening guidance has prompted some congressional skepticism. A bipartisan pair of House members, Republican Van Taylor of Texas and Democrat Josh Harder of California urged DeVos last week to issue “guidance and training” to educators on how to reopen schools.
