This week’s outbreak at several fraternity groups at the University of Washington hints at how difficult it is to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, especially when college students return to campus this fall. In particular, students are enthusiastic around other youth after a few months. Lockdown and living at home.
As of Thursday, 105 students living in Yuai House this summer tested positive for the virus. The County Department of Health confirmed 62 of these cases, as well as the four students who visited the friendship association but did not live in them. The number is likely to rise, as about 1,000 people are being tested, including students who have visited fraternity but did not live there.
Public Health-Seattle & King County Public Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin calls the outbreak “extremely concerned,” and worries that young adults may spread the disease to more vulnerable groups. Said.
UW Outbreak We emphasized the risk of returning students to school if they do not adhere to the rules of the Department of Health regarding physical distances and wearing masks. Just a few months before the start of the fall semester, state-wide universities are safeguarding students this fall with carefully written messages to understand the reasons for physical changes to the campus and COVID. I’m fine-tuning how to keep it. 19 is very dangerous.
“I’m worried about what’s going to happen this fall,” Duchin said. “I was a lot of sociable, it could take a lot of risk and I didn’t wear a mask very often… so doing it would give you a lot of COVIDs without precautions.”
Governor Jay Insley’s spokesperson Tara Lee said the governor’s office will continue to evaluate “what is safe and what can be done” regarding the possibility of college and university reopening. ..
UW Principal Anamari Course said the university is trying to develop some sort of honor code that encourages students to say something if their fellow students do not follow health recommendations. ..
Other universities are struggling to get the right message to their students. Washington State University is semester-based and will be one of the earliest universities in the state to begin its fall semester on August 24, and this week students will need to follow health guidelines when they return to campus. I warned you. The message “shall consider other arrangements for your education in the fall,” the student said.
“They are keen on social interactions, but they have the power to offset. Students want to do the right thing,” said Phil Wyler, vice president of marketing and communications at WSU.
With UW, most students are asymptomatic and no one is seriously ill.
On the plus side, the university will “learn a lot about this in terms of residential crowds, social gatherings, and face-to-face obsessions,” he said. “I think the lesson of the dorm system, the Greek system, is that we have to make a really strong effort to keep people safe.”
According to Gottlieb, medical professionals believe that the virus is a relatively densely populated home, and because of the crowded social networks between the homes, the virus has taken root and has spread rapidly to Greek law. “If possible, in the coming days or weeks, we’ll be able to see exactly what led to this… and where to intervene in the future,” he said.
Police at the University of Washington have observed a gathering of 10 to 15 people in a fraternity home over the past month, but the same because members of the same household are allowed together under Governor Jay Insley’s home order. People living in fraternity UW spokesman Michelle Ma said in an email.
The Greek column is off campus and is guarded by Seattle Police. However, it is unclear how or how the police will be involved in the dissolution of the fraternity party. “House parties aren’t necessarily a violation,” Ma said. “In order for SPD to work, we need to create a fault, such as a noise violation, after a certain amount of time.”
Kira Mauseth, a clinical psychologist and senior instructor in Seattle, says college students aged 18-24 are in a phase of life that is intensively exploring and defining their social and emotional connections with others. Says it is particularly difficult to control. University. And after months of lockdown and a sense of physical distance, “they’re desperate to connect,” she said.
In addition, the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is involved in complex decision-making and planning, is not fully developed until it reaches the mid-20s, Mauses said. Adults in college tend to take risks without being completely aware of the danger. And they also believe that, as people of all ages often do, illnesses happen to other people than they do, she said.
Like UW, WSU’s sorority and fraternity are off-campus, privately owned and operated. In other words, “universities can’t dictate what happens in their homes,” said WSU’s vice president and student dean Jill Clayton. Pullman police officers are responsible for that part of the campus and work with students residing in the area to ensure compliance with the Whitman County Health Directive. As of Thursday, southeastern Washington was in Phase 3.
The Pullman Campus also reduces the number of students who can live in university-owned dormitories and improves physical distance. Most double rooms are converted to singles and some triples are converted to doubles. The number of students accommodated on campus has dropped from 6,200 to just under 4,000, and some students applying for residence are informed that the university does not have sufficient capacity and therefore needs to find another location. Receive the letter to live.
Willer said the staff met with a landlord in the Pullman area earlier this week and said “it was common knowledge that the community was competent.”
Most universities in the state plan to teach face-to-face and online hybrid classes this fall to maximize actual distance and classroom space. However, Eastern Washington University has decided to bring everything online for the fall quarter.
The University of Seattle begins the fall semester two weeks early, ends just before Thanksgiving, and doesn’t resume until January. Students also do not have to return to Pullman or any of the other four campuses until January or beyond, as WSU will conduct online the last week of the semester after in-person instruction until Thanksgiving.
