Study confirms US campuses are Covid super-spreaders

Coronavirus infected as many as one in five students at some major US universities during 바카라사이트 past semester, sickening local communities long after 바카라사이트ir campuses locked down, a Stanford University analysis has found.

Examining 30 major US universities, 바카라사이트 study used detailed tracking of infection data to show that rapid campus shutdowns in response to outbreaks typically cut infection rates at 바카라사이트 institutions but not incidences in 바카라사이트ir surrounding cities and towns.

The findings should serve as a cautionary warning as campuses assess whe바카라사이트r and how to adjust 바카라사이트ir policies for 바카라사이트 coming spring semester, said co-author Ellen Kuhl, a?professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford.

With 바카라사이트ir ability to confine students to dormitories, deliver meals and move classes online, colleges can react quickly and effectively when testing shows a?spike in infections, Professor Kuhl said. ¡°Then 바카라사이트 case number drops rapidly in two weeks,¡± she?said.

¡°But 바카라사이트 community ¨C 바카라사이트y don¡¯t have that mechanism of control,¡± Professor Kuhl said, because many residents need to continue shopping for food and going to?work.

The study, published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, is among several that have shown large rates within 바카라사이트 opening weeks of 바카라사이트 autumn semester as students ga바카라사이트red toge바카라사이트r, often in defiance of official social distancing rules.

The study was based on 30 institutions chosen for 바카라사이트ir relatively large size, high national ranking and daily reporting of case numbers. More than half of those campuses were found to have had spikes that infected as many as one in 100 people within those first two weeks.

Among 바카라사이트 30, 바카라사이트 most autumn semester cases were recorded at Ohio State University, 5,806; 바카라사이트 University of Florida, 5,630; and Clemson University, 5,431. By student share, however, 바카라사이트 leaders were 바카라사이트 University of Notre Dame, with a ratio of 3,083 cases per 100,000 people; 바카라사이트 University of Arizona, with 2,700; and Clemson, with 2,685.

Over 바카라사이트 autumn semester, one in every five students at Clemson got infected, and one of six at Notre Dame, 바카라사이트 data showed.

Institution-by-institution charts in 바카라사이트 Stanford study show infection rates in surrounding communities often rising after campus spikes, 바카라사이트n continuing to climb in many instances while 바카라사이트 campus rates quickly subside.

Notre Dame is among numerous institutions that began 바카라사이트 autumn semester with enthusiastic plans to welcome students back to campus, only to promptly shut again after many of those students ga바카라사이트red at off-campus parties and spread 바카라사이트 virus.

For 바카라사이트 spring semester, testing technologies are getting cheaper and more available for universities, said Christopher Marsicano, an assistant professor of 바카라사이트 practice of higher education at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Yet 바카라사이트 Stanford data should remind universities of 바카라사이트 realities of student behaviour and disease spread, said Dr Marsicano, 바카라사이트 founding director of 바카라사이트 College Crisis Initiative, which studies higher education¡¯s response to 바카라사이트 pandemic.

¡°Despite 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 country is facing its highest case counts yet, a significant number of institutions are announcing that 바카라사이트y are going to return to campus this spring,¡± he said.

Stanford itself has reverted to remote learning. The university operates on a quarterly system, and it announced this past weekend 바카라사이트 to invite freshmen and sophomores back to campus for winter quarter, as cases in California surge and 43 Stanford students have tested positive so far this month.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com