Elon University suspends Greek Life events and some sports after COVID-19 cases surge
Elon University is increasing COVID-19 testing and suspending Greek Life events and some sports after a surge of cases on campus over the weekend.
The private university in Alamance County reported more than 150 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, with a high of 61 new cases on Saturday, according to Elon’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Nearly all of Elon’s cases this year have been among students, and the majority live off campus.
As of Tuesday, there are 466 students in isolation or quarantine, the highest level of the semester.
The university said it is looking at plans to test most of the student body and to “aggressively use quarantine and isolation” for students who test positive and their close contacts who may have been exposed. On Friday, Elon added more rooms to its quarantine space in local hotels and is looking to expand that.
COVID-19 spreading among students
The recent cases are due to small gatherings where students aren’t wearing face masks or practicing physical distancing, according to the university. Most are connected to previously reported clusters of cases among several sororities and fraternities.
Earlier this semester, several Elon students were kicked off campus for throwing parties.
The university is still offering in-person classes and has students living in dorms. Elon has said there’s no evidence of virus transmission in classrooms and little spread among students outside of the clusters.
Elon is operating under “high alert” status, which is level three of four and is used when there are “many cases, including community spread with some undetected cases,” according to the university’s COVID-19 plan. It requires the campus to “limit everyday activities to increase safety” and provide widespread surveillance testing.
Level four is “very high alert” status, which means there is “widespread uncontrolled outbreak with many undetected cases” and the campus must “take strong measures to limit all contact.”
New safety measures
Elon put in new rules over the weekend to prevent further spread of coronavirus. These “social hiatus measures” will be in place until further notice, according to the university.
▪ Students are not allowed to gather in social settings with more than five people, indoors or outdoors.
▪ Elon suspended all sorority and fraternity in-person meetings, events and activities.
▪ Students won’t be practicing or playing games for “high-risk, high-contact” club sports and or intramural sports. And practices and games will be immediately suspended if there are any positive cases in a low-risk, low-contact club sports.
▪ Dining halls are only offering grab-and-go food service.
▪ Students can’t have visitors in residence halls and they can only be in their own dorms.
Elon is also asking students to limit all non-essential travel to and from campus.
“The recent increase in cases serves as a powerful reminder of how critical it is for all members of the campus community to use face coverings and practice physical distancing,” Elon spokesperson Owen Covington said.
Additional COVID-19 testing
Elon does regular weekly random testing, but in response to the latest spike in coronavirus cases the university is ramping up testing to include up to 5,000 students this week. Elon has about 7,000 students.
“The goal of this expanded effort is to identify positive cases that are undetected and isolate those cases to block transmission of the virus,” Covington said.
The additional testing began Monday in Alumni Gymnasium, where students administer their own anterior nasal swab PCR tests. The university notified students via email that they were selected for testing and they can make an appointment online. The university contacted students connected to clusters first for testing, but it will expand to the entire student population.
Elon students were required to get a COVID-19 test before coming to campus this fall.
This is the largest testing effort since Elon began the semester in August, according to Jeff Stein, vice president for strategic initiatives and chair of Elon’s Ready & Resilient Committee.
“Personal behavior is the key to reducing the number of cases on campus,” Stein said in a statement.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 11:49 AM.
