Fall semester classes at Oklahoma State University began Monday with the entire Pi Beta Phi sorority under quarantine after 23 members tested positive for the coronavirus.
Only one Pi Beta Phi member showed symptoms and none of her sorority sisters were allowed to leave the off-campus house, officials said.
“At this point, no members have been admitted to the hospital and anyone who is ill is experiencing minor effects from the virus,” said director Shawn Eagleburger, strategic initiatives of Pi Beta Phi, in a statement.
The sorority sisters who moved into the Pi Beta Phi house between Aug. 2 and Aug. 6 were all testing negative for COVID-19, Eagleburger said.
But when Pi Beta Phi launched a virtual recruitment drive to attract new armor, some of the sorority sisters kept them waiting.
“Eager to reconnect with friends, on August 11, a small group of members living outside the facility joined the chapter for a brief, informal meeting at the facility,” Eagleburger wrote. “On August 12, the chapter chair was informed that one of these members was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; the member later confirmed that she had tested positive. On August 14, members who have since experienced symptoms were tested; many test positive. ”
University spokeswoman Monica Roberts said the campus was bracing for this possibility of mass infections.
“This was expected,” Roberts told The Daily Oklahoman on Saturday. ‘If you bring back 20,000 students, there will always be more cases related to campus. We have been preparing for this for five months and have protocols in place to manage the situation. Our priority is the safety and well-being of our campus community and transparency in communication. ”
The lockdown at Pi Beta Phi came when Oklahoma saw an increase in new COVID-19 infections, averaging close to 800 new cases per day in the last four weeks, according to an NBC News analysis of available figures.
Among the infected last month was Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican and ally of President Donald Trump, who was criticized for his cavalier approach in the early days of the development crisis. So far, Oklahoma has reported 48,342 cases and 661 COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Nationally, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 was about 5.5 million and the death toll was more than 171,000 Monday morning, according to NBC News numbers. The US, which leads the world in both categories, has accounted for about a quarter of the 22.5 million cases and 776,000 deaths worldwide.
Most of the new cases and deaths in the U.S. have been in the Southern and Sun Belt states that reopened at the instigation of the Trump administration, as the numbers of new COVID-19 cases began to climb.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living said Monday in an updated report that there has been a “major spike in new COVID cases” that has now exceeded the previous peak level on May 31 and that 78 percent of their in Sun is Belt states.
While the death toll from coronavirus nursing homes has dropped, they are on the rise and 69 percent of deaths occurred in late July in Sun Belt states, the report concluded.
Other national coronavirus updates:
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The tensions between parents who want their children in class and teachers who are afraid of getting infected were seen in Arizona, where a school district outside Phoenix was forced to cancel classes on Monday. t more than 100 teachers conducted a search. “We have received an overwhelming response from staff indicating that they do not feel safe returning to classrooms with students,” said Gregory Wyman, superintendent of the JO Combs Unified School District, in a letter to parents on Friday. Wyman said he did not know when “instruction for individuals” would resume and that virtual learning was also canceled. The teachers’ action was in conflict with a 3-2 vote by the district board to reopen the classes. Teachers Association president Joe Thomas said the district did not consider reference sources, urging the Arizona Department of Health Services to trust schools to determine when they would reopen.
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Actress Sharon Stone revealed over the weekend that her younger sister Kelly Stone was hospitalized in the fight COVID-19 and blamed people who refused to wear face masks for her infection. “My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has COVID-19,” the “Basic Instinct” star wrote in an Instagram post. “This is her hospital room. One of your non-mask wearers did this. She has no immune system.”
- The twin shafts of light symbolizing the fallen Twin Towers and commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks will likely be lit. The 9/11 Memorial, which had canceled the annual event due to COVID-19 concerns, returned the course over the weekend following public outcry. “In the last 24 hours, we have had conversations with many interested parties and believe we will be able to share the tribute in a safe and appropriate manner,” said 9/11 President and Museum President Alice M. Greenwald. The “Tribute in Light” sends the beams up into the night sky from dusk on September 11 to tomorrow, September 12 in lower Manhattan. Once the hottest of hot spots in the nation, New York is able to flatten its coronavirus curve. Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported Monday that of the 56,891 tests reported Sunday, just 408, or less than one percent, were positive. There were also six dead.
Joe Murphy contributed.
