Universities Move Classes Online to Prevent Campus Coronavirus Spread

The number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed but remained below 50,000 for the fourth day in a row, as some universities and schools moved classes online to avoid campus outbreaks.

The U.S. on Tuesday reported more than 44,000 new coronavirus cases, up sharply from the previous day’s 35,112, but lower than recent peaks this month and in July, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Total cases in the U.S. approached 5.5 million, while the nation’s death toll neared 172,000.

Johns Hopkins’s data showed California had more than 8,000 new cases, Texas had more than 7,000 and Florida had over 3,000, Georgia had more than 2,000 while Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina and Tennessee all exceeded 1,000.

In all of those states, except for California and Illinois, the seven-day average of new cases is lower than the 14-day average, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data, suggesting cases are falling. Across the country, different states have enacted various restrictions to stop the virus from spreading.

The seven-day new-case average in the U.S. was 48,744, less than its two-week average of almost 50,810. The country’s seven-day average has been less than its 14-day average since July 26.

Colleges, still, have felt the impact of the virus on the start of the new school year.

The University of Notre Dame moved in-person classes online for at least two weeks after seeing an increase in coronavirus cases. “The virus is a formidable foe,” University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins said in a statement on Tuesday. “For the past week, it has been winning. Let us as the Fighting Irish join together to contain it,” he added.

The South Bend, Ind., college reported an additional 82 positive cases of 420 people tested Monday, the highest number of cases the school has reported and of tests completed in a single day by far. An additional 73 positive cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 222, according to a publicly available tracking system set up by the university. The cases have been linked to two off-campus parties on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, according to university officials.

The majority of students testing positive are seniors, mostly male, said school spokesman Paul Browne. The university welcomed students back to its campus this month and required them to submit a negative Covid-19 test within a week of arriving.

Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley Jr. said the school would hold all fall semester classes online, citing safety concerns for students and staff. That comes a day after University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said it was moving undergraduate classes online starting Wednesday, after a series of Covid-19 outbreaks on and around campus since starting classes last week.

Public schools in several states, including Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Georgia, closed to in-person learning this month after students and staffers tested positive for Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, sending thousands into quarantine and remote learning. Several superintendents working to reopen schools also tested positive, and at least one died.

Thomas Tsai, an assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management, said colleges and universities have put a lot of thought into testing for the virus, and he hasn’t seen that level of discussion for school districts on a national level.

“There’s one opportunity to do this well because once you open you want the schools to stay open as much as possible,” he said on a press call Wednesday.

In New York City, where the school year is scheduled to start next month, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s positivity rate for the virus was 0.24%, the lowest since the pandemic started, but that the city is “nowhere near” herd immunity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines herd immunity as when “a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease” to make it unlikely to spread among people.

Mr. de Blasio also said he didn’t have an estimate of how many New Yorkers have permanently left the city because of the pandemic. “It is way too soon to know what the long term” effect will be, he said.

The city’s seven-day average of new cases was 320. The mayor said 16 cases in Borough Park in Brooklyn were tied to a big wedding.

Outside the U.S. the virus continued to spread in several countries.

India reported 64,531 new cases, bringing its national total to 2.76 million, according to data from the Health Ministry. The cumulative death toll stands at 52,889, including 1,092 new fatalities.

Despite the continuing large number of new cases, the Indian government has eased many pandemic-related restrictions. The broader strategy to contain the virus continues to be enhanced testing and active contact tracing. In areas with high numbers of cases, some restrictions on movement will remain in place until the end of August.

The U.K., one of the worst-hit countries, is planning to introduce wider testing to curb the spread of the virus. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government is trialing a number of faster tests to speed up the process and plans to introduce them by year’s end.

Iran’s death toll from the virus passed 20,000 Wednesday after authorities reported that 153 people died over the past 24 hours. The country has the highest number of cases in the Middle East at more than 350,000.

Australia’s Victoria state reported 216 new cases and 12 deaths. New South Wales reported seven cases, but the state’s premier said she was concerned about the level of community transmission, especially in the southwest and west of Sydney, Australia’s commercial capital.

In neighboring New Zealand, six new cases were reported, five of which were linked to a community outbreak in Auckland that emerged last week. The New Zealand government said an additional 500 military personnel will help oversee official quarantine facilities for returning travelers, and police maritime borders. The latest outbreak ended a streak of more than 100 days with no locally transmitted cases in the country.

South Korea reported 297 cases, its largest single-day increase since March 8, when the country reported 367 infections. The recent rise is largely linked to big churches. South Korea’s prime minister said it is still too early to adopt the most stringent level of restrictions, as it would bring a “shock to the daily life of citizens.”

Pope Francis, meanwhile, said wealthier countries shouldn’t hoard coronavirus vaccines once they are developed. “It would be sad if the vaccine becomes property of this or that nation, if it isn’t universal and for everyone,” he said at his weekly general audience.

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