SEATTLE – At least 80 students living in a dozen fraternity homes just north of the University of Washington campus have reported testing positive for COVID-19, the coronavirus disease, with hundreds of results pending.
The university learned Saturday that three fraternity residents had symptoms of COVID-19, and public health officials noted an increase in area cases among people ages 18-20, said UW spokeswoman Michelle. Ma. Since UW announced Tuesday that at least 38 students tested positive, the Student-Led Inter-Fraternity Council has reported 42 more positive results to the university.
More than 800 students have been evaluated at a site set up Monday in response to the outbreak of the Greek system, Ma said. The university expects to have an updated case count early next week.
Experts say the outbreak, along with the cases among student-athletes, is a troubling sign of what might be in store if universities reopen in the fall. Leaders at the University of Washington this week said they hope to reopen in person, with larger classes taught virtually, but that plans could change depending on the spread of the virus.
Daniel Leifer, a pediatrician studying dermatology at the University of Washington, said he saw more than a dozen parties walking down Greek Row in the past few months. The students were standing together, and there were no masks anywhere, he said.
It was troubling for Leifer, who recently completed a biosecurity fellowship at Johns Hopkins University and worked with the United States Department of State on her response to the swine flu while in college.
“I don’t consider university students to have fun and get to know each other, because that is everyone’s university experience. It just isn’t a safe campus, ”said Leifer. “Many plans to reopen the university are based on students with masks and social distancing. This crystallized to me that that doesn’t seem very realistic. “
University of Washington professor of epidemiology Janet Baseman said the outbreak reflects what was seen in long-term care facilities, with COVID-19 spreading widely in community settings.
Before the Greek Row outbreak, the university campus in Seattle reported 80 cases among students and staff.
“This is another reminder that we have our job for ourselves,” said Baseman. “We need to be really prepared, and we have time to prepare because now is the summer.”
In a letter to faculty and students this week, President Ana Mari Cauce and provost Mark Richards extensively outlined the steps, including expanded testing, follow-up contacts and creating isolation rooms, that the university would take to reopen in the fall if King County reaches third state state reopening phase by then. But, they said, “we may have to move to totally remote learning, as we did in the spring quarter, if the virus is spreading too fast in our state.”
Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled requirements last month for colleges and universities to reopen in person, including asking students and staff to report for themselves if they have had symptoms since their last visit to campus.
At a press conference with Inslee, Cauce said that UW had asked the sorority and sorority houses to reduce occupation by 50% and planned to decrease the number of students in the residences.
State and federal guidance so far has not taken much account of the nature of college life, Baseman said.
“What I see the least and think is really important is communication strategies for people of this age and trying to make sure they get the information they need for risk management and not just a set of rules,” he said. “That can be a really challenging way to communicate information to college-age students.”
According to the university, around 1,000 students live in 25 fraternity houses. Most sorority houses close in the summer, although some members rent rooms in fraternity houses.
Fraternity leaders at the University of Washington say students who tested positive or have symptoms are being isolated in their rooms, and authorities have asked that all students living in the houses be isolated. UW does not have the authority to impose quarantines on houses, which are independent organizations, Ma said.
The Interfraternity Council, a student-led board of directors, has asked fraternity houses to stop holding social events, Ma said. The university has received reports of informal gatherings in recent months, which it cannot stop, he said.
Public Health: Seattle and King County, which is leading the outbreak response, said it is not aware of any hospitalizations for the outbreak.
The university said it would not give the names of houses with infected residents to protect their privacy. The names of some fraternities have circulated online, and some say that more than a dozen cases were in a home.
But the presidents of the house and the Interfraternity Council declined to speak to the Seattle Times on Wednesday about the outbreak, as did the UW Office of Brotherhood and Brotherhood Life.
