Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
As some colleges and universities in the region prepare to start classes, the University of Dayton extended its remote learning until Sept. 14 because of a jump in COVID-19 cases on campus.
As of Friday afternoon, UD, which has been conducting random surveillance testing, reported 380 confirmed cases. Most other area institutions have not reported any cases on their campuses because they either haven’t started classes or, such as Wright State University, are not randomly testing students. Cedarville University has reported one case.
Surveillance testing is not necessary at WSU because 70% of classes are online and a large number of students are commuters, said Seth Bauguess, university spokesman. Wright State’s campus footprint is significantly smaller as dorms are half filled, he said.
The small percentage of students who are on campus are encouraged to get tested if they feel ill, Bauguess said.
The rise in COVID-19 cases as students return to campus is not unique to UD, said Steven Burdette, the UD COVID-19 Medical Advisory Panel chair and director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program for Wright State Physicians and the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University.
Whether cases continue to increase at institutions across the country or in the region depends on students’ complying with the schools’ safety protocols.
