COLORADO SPRINGS – A private liberal arts college in Colorado said Tuesday it is moving to online classes for the rest of the fall semester after hundreds of students went into quarantine because at least 10 students had tested positive for the coronavirus.
All Colorado College students are being urged to leave the Colorado Springs campus by Sept. 20, The Gazette reported, citing an announcement by Mike Edmonds and Robert G. Moore, the school’s acting co-presidents.
Students in some hybrid classes, international students and students in “dire need” can stay with school permission, Edmonds and Moore said.
“This is not how you – or we – envisioned our students starting their campus life, or this academic year,” their announcement read.
The announcement comes as college and university towns across the country consider renewed shutdowns because of too many COVID-19 infections among students.
At the urging of El Paso County health authorities, Colorado College had placed more than 500 students in three dormitories under quarantine since dorm rooms were opened to freshmen on Aug. 17 and to returning students on Aug. 24.
County health officials have said about 800 students were living on campus as of Aug. 25. About half of enrolled students started the school year remotely.
The latest quarantine went into effect on Saturday for two of those dorms. It lasts until Sept. 12, when students can leave campus, officials said Tuesday. Some of those students have left to quarantine at home.
Ten students who contracted the virus are in isolation.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some – especially older adults and people with existing health problems – it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The Colorado College officials said they will “study the situation, acquire the necessary testing capacity and establish cohort protocols with the intent to resume on-campus classes and activities” on Jan. 4. Cohort protocols involve keeping individual groups of students together as much as possible to contain the spread of the virus.
In Boulder, five fraternities at the University of Colorado’s main campus collectively face more than $10,000 in fines after weekend parties that violated social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines, The Denver Post reported.
The fines were detailed in an email sent to presidents and alumni advisers of 22 member chapters of the Interfraternity Council on the Hill by council president Adam Wenzlaff.
“The behavior of your fraternities over the last two weeks has been nothing short of outrageous,” Wenzlaff said. “The actions that have been displayed by a majority of our member chapters are completely indefensible.”
Boulder County health recommends limiting gatherings to 10 people with social distancing, mask-wearing and other protocols if people don’t live in the same household.
