Residents of Fraternity House at Georgia Institute of Technology are under lockdown due to an outbreak of the new coronavirus reported among its members.
The college, often referred to as Georgia Tech, confirmed on Saturday 33 new COVID-19 cases, at least 17 of which were linked to one Greek home on campus. In a statement shared alongside Georgia Tech’s latest daily virus update, school officials noted that a “cluster of Greek residents” lived at the same off-campus address that had previously tested positive for respiratory disease.
The college conducted diagnostic tests on all residents of the affected fraternal home and designated the space “an isolation location,” according to Saturday’s statement.
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“Residents who do not test positive will move to quarantine elsewhere until they can safely return to normal activities,” the statement added. Georgia Tech said it will report individuals who may have been exposed to the virus through contact with fraternal, according to state health requirements. It also asked those who recently spent time with every resident of Greek houses to undergo virus testing, provided by the college at no cost to students, faculty and staff.
Georgia Tech did not name the fraternity as the name that reports most of this weekend’s new incidents. Earlier updates from the administration confirmed other COVID-19 infections associated with Greek housing, and whether those cases originated from the same residence is not clear.
The stay placed under lockdown appears to be the fraternity of George Tech’s Sigma Phi Epsilon, who detailed a “spike in details of COVID-19” in its own independent statement, released on Saturday. It confirmed residents of fraternal house have been in isolation since mid-last week, several days after the organization hosted rush hour activities for potential members.
“Over the past several days, we have dealt with a spike in COVID-19 cases among our members,” the fraternity wrote on Instagram. “From three days ago, our home was locked to non-residents, and we worked closely with our Alumni and Volunteer Corporation, the officer of Fraternal and Sorority Life, and George Tech Administration to test all other members of our chapter and this positive isolate members, in accordance with requests from the administration. “
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In Instagram posts shared prior to the start of Georgia Tech’s fall semester last Monday, Sigma Phi Epsilon announced recruitment events scheduled to take place between August 15 and August 17. The fraternal offered virtual and personal rush activities, it said on social media.
Overall, at least 251 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported to the Georgia Tech administration since the pandemic began in March. The college confirmed about 150 of those cases among students and staff around March and July.
Georgia health officials have confirmed a resurgence of positive cases diagnosed nationwide throughout the summer, and a handful of school districts currently control local outbreaks reported since students began returning to classrooms earlier this month. Fulton County, where Georgia Tech is located, has confirmed the highest concentration of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Newsweek reached Georgia Tech and the executive board checking their Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity for comments, but received no response in time for publication.
