Press releases | UW and the community
June 30, 2020
Several dozen students living in fraternity houses north of the University of Washington campus have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. This is troubling and reminds us that outbreaks can increase rapidly, said Dr. Geoffrey Gottlieb, chairman of the UW Communicable Diseases Advisory Committee, which is involved in the outbreak response.
As of June 30, at least 38 students living in 10 fraternity houses have tested positive. Public Health: Seattle and King County lead the response, in coordination with the University, and are currently reaching out to affected students. Positive case numbers will be updated here.
All Greek houses are independent organizations, governed by national boards for each fraternity and brotherhood.
“While we were pleased to see that most homes had taken steps to reduce resident capacity by as much as 50% this summer in response to COVID-19, those steps are not enough without daily and vigilant preventive measures, such as use of face covers, physical distance and hand hygiene, ”said Gottlieb.
The Student-Led Interfraternity Council and the UW Office of Brotherhood and Brotherhood are coordinating with UW Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), UW Medicine and local public health officials to ensure that Greek residents and others who frequent houses actively participate in containing the outbreak.
UW Medicine has established a testing center on campus within walking distance of Greek houses. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for students living in Greek houses or nearby apartments to take the test.
Leaders of the affected fraternities report that students who have tested positive or have symptoms similar to COVID are isolating themselves in their rooms, and none have been hospitalized or have reported severe symptoms of the virus.
Currently, there are about 1,000 students living in 25 fraternity houses in the neighborhood north of campus. Household residents are asked to quarantine or isolate themselves, which means those who have tested positive for COVID-19, those who have symptoms, and those who may have been exposed but show no symptoms. they remain in their homes. .
“What is happening north of campus offers lessons for students as they consider their return to campus this fall. If everyone does their part to stay safe, we can continue to interact with each other and with our studies in the university environment by wearing face covers and staying physically distant, ”said Gottlieb. “If we don’t, measures like the ones now required at Greek Row will be inevitable. I have a feeling that all students want to return to a certain sense of normalcy, so I urge everyone to follow public health guidelines so that we can do that. ”
Students who live in or near Greek homes should contact the UW Department of Health and Environmental Safety ([email protected]) if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or suspect that they have been infected.
As a reminder, public health officials offer this guide during the pandemic:
- Use a face covering in public spaces
- Keep 6 feet away from other people, whenever possible. Outside is better than inside
- Wash or disinfect your hands frequently
More information is available on the University’s COVID-19 website.
(Note: This post has been updated to reflect how many fraternity houses are affected. For updated case numbers related to this outbreak, see here.)
Label (s): COVID-19
