A private Illinois university announced on Tuesday that it is quarantining all of its nearly 6,000 person student body after a COVID-19 outbreak on campus.
Officials at Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois, said they have linked the 50-case viral outbreak to off-campus parties, according to CBS. Students will continue taking classes online during the two-week period. (Related: West Virginia University Suspends In-Person Classes, 29 Students Over COVID-19)
Illinois university quarantines entire student body due to coronavirus outbreak https://t.co/Jh9SBW29UF
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 9, 2020
“Although it may seem extreme, this move to temporary remote learning and a two-week, all-student quarantine allows us to focus on the continuity of the educational experience for all of our students while giving us time to gather data on the full extent of the spread of the virus and assess the best way to proceed as a community,” Bradley President Stephen Standifird said in a message to students, per the report.
“We would not engage in the two-week quarantine if I did not believe it was possible for us to complete the semester on campus successfully, but this only happens if we collectively change our behaviors moving forward,” Standifird added.
Bradley’s response mirrors that of other universities pausing in-person instruction while linking outbreaks to students violating social distancing policies. (Related: As COVID-19 Cases Surge On Campus, University Of Illinois Blames Students)
“If we do not see progress during these two weeks, it will impact the rest of the semester, potentially causing us to go remote for the rest of the calendar year. We will continue to provide updates and will make decisions about the resumption of face-to-face classes by Monday, Sept. 21,” Standifird told the local CBS affiliate.
There have been over 51,000 reported cases at 1,000 universities nationwide, according to The New York Times.