Expand / Collapse search
☰

COVID-19 infections leap again at University of Georgia

Published  September 10, 2020 12:14am EDT
University of Georgia
Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. - Coronavirus infections continue to spread at the University of Georgia, with the school reporting more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week.

The numbers, reported Wednesday, push the 39,000-student university close to 2,600 total infections in the past four weeks, according to the school’s data. Although Georgia College & State University still has recorded a larger share of infections among its campus community since Aug. 1, UGA’s outbreak is now the fastest growing among universities in the state that are publicly reporting numbers.

The surge is clearly reflected in the figures for the broader Athens-Clarke County community. Clarke County is 23rd among U.S. counties for the most new cases per capita in the past 14 days, according to figures kept by The Associated Press, although the university says some tests may come from students and employees elsewhere.

Not all faculty members feel reassured, though. More than 350 faculty members statewide have signed a recent petition by the state chapter of the American Association of University Professors calling for the system or individual institutions to move to fully online instruction. The Board of Regents has a mandate that each university must have at least some in-person classes, with dorms and dining facilities opening at all the schools.

President Jere Morehead pronounced the trend “disturbing” after calling it “concerning” last week. He again told students it was their responsibility to follow health rules.

“Each of us must make sound decisions in the coming days and weeks so that we can turn the trajectory, as we have seen at other institutions in the state,” Morehead said in a statement.

But the student newspaper, The Red & Black, editorialized last week that “the blame should not rest entirely on students.”

“The University System of Georgia decided to have in-person classes this fall despite the blatant risk it poses to the residents of Athens-Clarke County,” the newspaper wrote. “Even bound by the guidelines placed on them by the USG Board of Regents, the administrators at UGA did not create a strong enough plan to keep students and Athens residents safe.”