A New Jersey university has had to shut down after an off-campus event led to over 200 students testing positive for coronavirus.
Monmouth University shut down after a “super-spreader” event occurred two weeks ago, according to a letter released by the president of the university.
An off-campus “super-spreader” event has led to 125 confirmed coronavirus cases at Monmouth University in New Jersey.
The rise in cases was linked to a single event held about two weeks ago, as a result of extensive contact tracing. https://t.co/GYSagIDD9r
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 13, 2020
“It appears that this increase in cases among students was tied to an off-campus event hosted two weeks ago,” President Patrick Leahy said in the letter to students. “An overwhelming majority of the recent cases we have seen can be traced back to this isolated super-spreader event. Moving forward, we will need 100% cooperation from our campus community in order to resume our fall semester as planned.”
Before the 319 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the school reportedly only had 10 confirmed cases, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: More Than 20,000 Coronavirus Cases Have Been Counted At Colleges Since Late July: Report)
The university is now offering free testing and upgrading its contact tracing abilities, the president claimed.
Leahy was not clear on exactly what kind of event took place off campus, but students have told a local outlet that there have been an “abundance” of parties, according to the NYPost.