Universities Fight COVID-19 With Stronger Measures
2020-09-13
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1Many colleges and universities across the United States have opened again after the summer vacation.
2But the school year looks different than it ever has before.
3Schools are taking new actions to fight COVID-19 infections on campus.
4Such actions include moving suddenly between in-person and online learning, punishing students for attending parties and testing local wastewater for the virus.
5The state of Arkansas' Department of Health reports that the number of COVID-19 cases in the state among 18-to 24-year-olds rose by nearly 17 percent in the first week of September.
6Dr. Jose Romero is the state's health secretary.
7He said, "We're clearly seeing what we believe to be a reflection of those cases in colleges and universities."
8The number of active infections at the University of Arkansas' main campus is close to 1,000. Most of those with the virus are students.
9The rise came days after the school moved to restrict on-campus events and off-campus parties.
10The school told students it would consider organizing or attending large gatherings without face coverings or social distancing to be a violation of student rules.
11In Tallahassee, Florida, officials at Florida State University tested more than 3,000 students and employees over a one-week period.
12Twenty-one percent of those tested were confirmed to have COVID-19.
13Shortly before the test period, pictures and videos of students attending parties had appeared on social media.
14In the images, the students do not appear to be following social distancing rules.
15Few are wearing face coverings.
16In a statement, university officials asked local businesses to help slow the spread of disease by restricting students from gathering in large groups.
17Another university in Florida, the University of Florida in Gainesville, is experiencing a similar infection rate.
18More than 21 percent of those who came to the student health center have tested positive for COVID-19.
19Some schools seeing rises in case numbers have temporarily moved classes online.
20On September 8, West Virginia University canceled in-person classes for undergraduates at the university's main campus in Morgantown.
21The classes will be online through Sept. 25.
22Dr. Jeffrey Coben is the school's Associate Vice President of Health Affairs and dean of the School of Public Health.
23He said in a statement that the temporary stop of face-to-face teaching would give the school time to watch the increasing number of cases.
24He noted that recent parties were a likely cause for the rise in infections.
25He said, "There is increasing evidence that crowded indoor gatherings, such as those that occurred over the weekend, can serve as super-spreader events."
26One small college in the state of Illinois, Bradley University, is requiring all of its students to quarantine for two weeks.
27Officials said that classes would also return to online learning for a short time.
28In order to test a lot of students at once, many schools are studying the wastewater from student living spaces.
29The tests can show whether there is any sign of the virus among the people living in a given building.
30The school can then ask those students to quarantine for a period of time.
31Ryan Schmutz is a student at Utah State University.
32He recently received a text message from his school saying that COVID-19 had been found in his building's wastewater.
33University workers quickly took him and other students to a COVID-19 testing center.
34Schmutz was then among 300 students who had to stay in their rooms for many days earlier this month.
35"We didn't even know they were testing," the 18-year-old student said.
36"It all really happened fast."
37Back at West Virginia University, or WVU, 29 students were recently forced to leave school because of COVID-19 related charges.
38School officials say the students took actions that could have put other students' health at risk.
39The university is considering taking other actions against the students, the WVU Today student newspaper reported.
40The 29 students received the order to leave the school after their organization held a party.
41The organization was not connected to the university.
42Members of the organization had been ordered to quarantine because of existing positive cases.
43The students received letters about not following school rules.
44They are no longer permitted to be on campus and they cannot take in-person or online classes, WVU Today reported.
45One of the strongest punishments against students happened earlier this month at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
46Eleven first-year students were sent home for gathering in a hotel room used for student housing.
47They were told they cannot return to school during the autumn term.
48The students and their parents are now fighting the severe penalty the students faced.
49University officials have said the students will not get their money back for the autumn term program they were taking part in, which costs $36,500.
50I'm Jill Robbins.
1Many colleges and universities across the United States have opened again after the summer vacation. But the school year looks different than it ever has before. Schools are taking new actions to fight COVID-19 infections on campus. Such actions include moving suddenly between in-person and online learning, punishing students for attending parties and testing local wastewater for the virus. 2High infection rates force move to online classes 3The state of Arkansas' Department of Health reports that the number of COVID-19 cases in the state among 18-to 24-year-olds rose by nearly 17 percent in the first week of September. 4Dr. Jose Romero is the state's health secretary. He said, "We're clearly seeing what we believe to be a reflection of those cases in colleges and universities." 5The number of active infections at the University of Arkansas' main campus is close to 1,000. Most of those with the virus are students. 6The rise came days after the school moved to restrict on-campus events and off-campus parties. The school told students it would consider organizing or attending large gatherings without face coverings or social distancing to be a violation of student rules. 7In Tallahassee, Florida, officials at Florida State University tested more than 3,000 students and employees over a one-week period. Twenty-one percent of those tested were confirmed to have COVID-19. 8Shortly before the test period, pictures and videos of students attending parties had appeared on social media. In the images, the students do not appear to be following social distancing rules. Few are wearing face coverings. 9In a statement, university officials asked local businesses to help slow the spread of disease by restricting students from gathering in large groups. 10Another university in Florida, the University of Florida in Gainesville, is experiencing a similar infection rate. More than 21 percent of those who came to the student health center have tested positive for COVID-19. 11Some schools seeing rises in case numbers have temporarily moved classes online. On September 8, West Virginia University canceled in-person classes for undergraduates at the university's main campus in Morgantown. The classes will be online through Sept. 25. 12Dr. Jeffrey Coben is the school's Associate Vice President of Health Affairs and dean of the School of Public Health. He said in a statement that the temporary stop of face-to-face teaching would give the school time to watch the increasing number of cases. He noted that recent parties were a likely cause for the rise in infections. He said, "There is increasing evidence that crowded indoor gatherings, such as those that occurred over the weekend, can serve as super-spreader events." 13One small college in the state of Illinois, Bradley University, is requiring all of its students to quarantine for two weeks. Officials said that classes would also return to online learning for a short time. 14Testing wastewater from student housing 15In order to test a lot of students at once, many schools are studying the wastewater from student living spaces. The tests can show whether there is any sign of the virus among the people living in a given building. The school can then ask those students to quarantine for a period of time. 16Ryan Schmutz is a student at Utah State University. He recently received a text message from his school saying that COVID-19 had been found in his building's wastewater. University workers quickly took him and other students to a COVID-19 testing center. 17Schmutz was then among 300 students who had to stay in their rooms for many days earlier this month. 18"We didn't even know they were testing," the 18-year-old student said. "It all really happened fast." 19Students sent home 20Back at West Virginia University, or WVU, 29 students were recently forced to leave school because of COVID-19 related charges. School officials say the students took actions that could have put other students' health at risk. The university is considering taking other actions against the students, the WVU Today student newspaper reported. 21The 29 students received the order to leave the school after their organization held a party. The organization was not connected to the university. Members of the organization had been ordered to quarantine because of existing positive cases. 22The students received letters about not following school rules. They are no longer permitted to be on campus and they cannot take in-person or online classes, WVU Today reported. 23One of the strongest punishments against students happened earlier this month at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Eleven first-year students were sent home for gathering in a hotel room used for student housing. They were told they cannot return to school during the autumn term. The students and their parents are now fighting the severe penalty the students faced. University officials have said the students will not get their money back for the autumn term program they were taking part in, which costs $36,500. 24I'm Jill Robbins. 25Jill Robbins and Greg Stachel adapted this story from reports in the Associated Press, West Virginia University Today, and Reuters. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 26For more information on words related to the coronavirus pandemic, please see this story: The Language of an International Health Crisis. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29campus - n. the area and buildings around a university, college or school 30reflection - n. something that shows the effect, existence, or character of something else 31positive - adj. showing the presence of a particular germ, condition, or substance 32super-spreader - adj. of an event. a gathering of people that results in many infections (of a person: someone who infects a higher-than normal number of others with a disease) 33undergraduate - n. a student at a college or university who has not yet earned a degree 34quarantine - v. to keep (a person or animal) away from others to prevent a disease from spreading 35penalty - n. punishment for breaking a rule or law 36What do you think of the actions the universities are taking to fight COVID-19? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.