The University of Notre Dame has moved classes online for two weeks after a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“The virus is a formidable foe,” University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins said Tuesday. “For the past week, it has been winning. Let us as the Fighting Irish join together to contain it.”
The spike came Monday after the University reported 89 new cases of the virus. Prior to that going into the fall semester the University had reported a total of 58 cases. The new cases had since been reported while students were on campus at the University.
Students will remain in dorms for the period with off-campus students instructed to remain home and not come to campus for the next two weeks.
“Our contact-tracing analysis indicates that most infections are coming from off-campus gatherings,” Jenkins said. “Students infected at those gathering passed it on to others, who in turn have passed the virus on to others, resulting in the positive cases we have seen.”
The 89 new cases were taken from a total of 418 tests taken, resulting in a positivity rate of 19.1%. Students had expressed frustration on social media in getting tested after contract tracers contacted them.
