Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
San Diego State University Closes Classrooms Over COVID-19
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
September 3, 2020

Share

SAN DIEGO — San Diego State University on Wednesday halted in-person classes for a month after dozens of students were infected with the coronavirus.

There have been 64 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 among students since school began last week, said Dr. Eric McDonald, head of epidemiology and immunization for the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

The 200 course offerings, including lab classes, that were taking place in-person will move to virtual learning. The decision will be reassessed after the four-week period. On-campus housing will remain open.

“Before the end of the four weeks, we will reassess,” SDSU spokeswoman Cory Marshall said.

The university, the third-largest in the state, has more than 35,000 students but only 2,600 students have been living on campus since the fall semester began Aug. 24. All of the students on campus were enrolled in the limited in-person classes. Most of the university’s classes were being held online.

There have been 64 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 among students since school began last week, said Dr. Eric McDonald, head of epidemiology and immunization for the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

Some, but not all, of the infections were linked to other cases at the university, McDonald said.

“We have identified one group of cases that do meet our definition of an outbreak,” McDonald said, referring to students living in off-campus apartments.

Ten Staff Members and University Contractors Also Have Tested Positive for COVID-19

“Those individuals are isolated, and their contacts are quarantined,” he said.

More cases were expected, he said.

Ten staff members and university contractors also have tested positive for COVID-19.

The university said in an email to students and faculty that 15 of the 64 cases were from its on-campus population.

The school also has suspended all athletic events for two weeks beginning Thursday.

Colleges around the country are struggling to control the spread of the virus, prompting leaders in college towns to raise alarms.

Many campus outbreaks have been linked to parties and socializing at bars and fraternity and sorority houses. San Diego State recently hired a private security company to ensure students were following social distancing rules and wearing masks on campus.

California State University, Chico, abruptly halted its limited number of in-person classes this week after confirming that 36 students and staffers were infected.

Officials said the outbreak occurred despite numerous precautions, including requiring students to take mandatory training and limiting university housing to single-room accommodations for about 750 students — roughly one-third of the typical occupancy. Like other campuses in the Cal State system, it was only offering about 10% of classes in person.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

DON'T MISS

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

UP NEXT

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

UP NEXT

As Trump Declares Border Emergency, CA’s Targeted Immigrants Lie Low

UP NEXT

Dangerous Winds Return to Southern California as New Wildfires Break Out

UP NEXT

Trump’s Executive Orders: Reversing Biden’s Policies

UP NEXT

Gusty Winds, Extreme Fire Weather Return to Southern California

UP NEXT

Trump Wants to Deport Immigrants Accused of Crimes. CA Sheriffs Could Make It Easy

UP NEXT

Trump Returns to Power After Unprecedented Comeback, Emboldened to Reshape US

UP NEXT

Trump to Release Records on the Assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King

UP NEXT

Governor Newsom Negotiates Mortgage Relief for LA Firestorm Victims

UP NEXT

Homes Were Burning and Roads Already Jammed When Pacific Palisades Evacuation Order Came, AP Finds

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

2 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

2 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

3 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

3 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

3 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

5 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

5 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

6 hours ago

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

6 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was ...

1 hour ago

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
1 hour ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
2 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
2 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
2 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
2 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
3 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

3 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend