Despite zero to no hospitalizations from COVID-19, the nation’s college campuses are sending students back home, weeks after they returned from a nearly four-month summer break which started early when the pandemic lockdowns began.
Andrew Bostom, M.D. has been tracking hospitalizations and COVID-19 positive test results from a number of college towns throughout the country and posted the results on Twitter. Among 26,000 students on 29 campuses who have tested positive for the virus, none have been hospitalized. One student in Kansas did receive hospital treatment for an inflammatory response related to the virus. PCR COVID tests used as a screening tool have also been under scrutiny for producing a number of false results.
Gettysburg College is one college that sent students home days after arriving. President Robert Iuliano announced the college wanted to “de-densify.” According to the announcement, there have been 64 positive cases in the past 8 days. The college placed 150 students in quarantine because of contact tracing.
Other colleges and universities that have sent students home include North Carolina State College, Colorado College, James Madison University, and California State University, Chico. Washington and Jefferson College sent 26 students home for violating COVID-19 guidelines. On September 7, Michigan Radio reported 79 percent of the Graduate Employees’ Organization, representing graduate students at the University of Michigan, approved a strike. The union is demanding more details on contact tracing, a right to work remotely, freezes on rent, and housing protections.
–Staff reports