More than 100 UW students test positive for COVID-19 in Greek Row outbreak
Jul 6, 2020, 7:02 AM | Updated: 10:16 am
Students at the University of Washington are on campus for the last day of in-person classes on March 6, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
As of Sunday, at least 121 University of Washington students have tested positive for COVID-19 in connection to an outbreak on Greek Row, UW News reports. Of the 121 cases, 112 are fraternity house residents. The remaining nine are close contacts, but do not live in the houses.
Capacity at the fraternities was already limited for the summer in response to COVID-19, and residents are now being asked to quarantine or self-isolate whether they’re showing symptoms or not.
COVID-19 outbreak in fraternity houses on UW’s Greek Row
Confirmed cases as reported to the UW Environment Health & Safety Department are listed here and verified with UW Medicine or a public health agency when possible. The count may not include all cases among members of the UW community as it only includes official and not self-reported cases. So far, UW EH&S reports a total of 213 cases across all three campuses, with 203 at the Seattle campus.
The Interfraternity Council had previously reported Friday that at least 117 residents in 15 houses self-reported that they had tested positive.
There is a testing site set up within walking distance of Greek Row that UW News says has conducted close to 1,300 tests as of this past weekend. Testing is also available throughout Seattle at drive-up locations, at Hall Health on campus, and at nearby UW Medical centers.
Gov. Inslee issued a proclamation on June 24, 2020, to allow higher education institutions to put necessary protocols in place to allow safe in-person instruction, providing health guidance for four-year universities and colleges, public and private, as well as two-year colleges and private career schools.
Higher education implementing protocols to return to in-person instruction
The UW had said it is expecting to return to limited face-to-face instruction in the fall, while acknowledging that there have been some students and staff who have remained on campus since March.
“We commit to faculty, staff, students, and their families that safety will come first,” UW President Ana Mari Cauce said about the planned return.
