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Indiana University at Bloomington on Thursday urged students living in fraternity and sorority houses to move out, citing an “alarming” rate of positive Covid-19 tests that marked the latest outbreak in the US Midwest and at a college campus.
The university said on Twitter that positive tests for coronavirus were exceeding 50 per cent in some Greek houses, higher than in dorms, and told fraternity and sorority members to “re-evaluate their current living situation”.
“Based on an increasingly alarming rate of positive test results from continued Covid mitigation testing, IU Bloomington and its public health experts believe Greek houses are not safe given the pandemic conditions,” the school tweeted.
Indiana University, a campus of some 40,000 students, said it lacked the authority to manage the privately owned houses, but hoped Greek organisations and landlords would work with students to help them make new arrangements.
Some students responding on social media accused the school of unfairly blaming the Greek system. Others said administrators should have expected outbreaks where a number of people were living in close quarters.
Major universities have grappled with thousands of students returning to campus for the fall semester, with some imposing online-only learning. New cases have spiked at some colleges that have allowed students to return to class.
Hollywood star tests positive
New coronavirus infections have fallen nationwide for six weeks in a row but surged in the Midwest. Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota are reporting the highest percentage of positive tests, over 20 per cent in each state.
Hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists descended on Sturgis, South Dakota, in August for an annual rally and health experts feared that could further spread the virus. On Wednesday, a Minnesota health official said a motorcycle enthusiast in his 60s who had shown up there died of Covid.
Among those who have tested positive in recent days are British actor Robert Pattinson, 35, bringing an abrupt halt to production of his film The Batman as Hollywood struggles to regain its footing following a pandemic shutdown.
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