Scenes of crowded entertainment weeks and bars in the first weekend have many college students returning to campus raising new safety concerns coronavirus pandemic and whether college football can be played this year. In Tuscaloosa, where bars must close this requirement by 11 a.m. this fall to help stem the spread of the virus, Uber driver Ray Allen told a columnist for The Tuscaloosa News that crowds simply move to houses like the nightclubs are close. Most students “could care less” about wearing masks, Allen said.
“I see it every night,” he said. “It’s an ongoing party.”
Vasha Hunt / AP
Throngs have gathered in an area near campus called The Strip, and athletic director Greg Byrne of the University of Alabama tweeted a photo that showed dozens of people, many not wearing face masks or staying away from others, waiting for a popular bar to arrive.
“Who wants college sports this fall? Of course not these people !! We need to do better than this for each other and our campus community. Please wear your masks!” Byrne said in a tweet Sunday.
In response to Byrne’s post, Mayor Walt Maddox tweeted: “Why? We are desperately trying to protect @tuscaloosacity – We are trying to have seasonal college football.”
Maddox wrote that police and firefighters should now come in early and “actively enforce” pandemic regulations. “It’s a disgrace that our officers who are thin across the City and who are working on exhaustion can not have a few hours of downtime,” Maddox said on Twitter.
Maddox said wearing a mask and exercising social distance is not much to ask for to protect yourself and others, CBS affiliate WIAT reported.
Tuscaloosa police released 12 citations for mask violations and arrested four people, but the problem was not limited to the University of Alabama: Photos on social media also showed large crowds and relatively few masks across Auburn University over the weekend.
Public health officials are concerned that crowds on college campuses, combined with reimbursement of classes in elementary schools through high school classes, will increase the spread of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
While some campuses initially teach online lessons and some collegiate athletic leagues have canceled fall sports, the Southeastern Conference – which includes Alabama and Auburn – went ahead with plans to play games in early September. 26. on Monday.
Universities have enacted rules designed to maintain mask wear and social distance on campus, and Alabama has a statewide rule that requires masks in public places. But the rules are ignored.
More than 104,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Alabama and at least 1,830 have died from the disease, which normally results in only mild to moderate symptoms, but is extremely dangerous for the elderly and people with other health problems.
Meanwhile, “CBS This Morning” lead national correspondent David Begnaud reports that four clusters of COVID-19 have been reported to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since students started dating two weeks ago, several videos have appeared online showing students at parties on campus or gathering in crowds. Now exposed or infected students are being moved into isolation.
One student with COVID-like symptoms who asked to remain anonymous told Begnaud that she had done her best to practice social distance.
“I wore a mask dry 24/7, I really have no idea where I could have gotten it,” she said. “It feels like the choices of a few really affect the overall student body.
.
