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

Boeing’s Financial Woes Continue, While Families of Crash Victims Urge US to Prosecute

DON'T MISS

Police Tangle With Students in Texas and California as Wave of Campus Protest Against Gaza War Grows

DON'T MISS

Meet the Valley Republican Predicting a November Win Over Esmeralda Soria

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Construction Workers on 2018 Fresno Unified Project Still Not Paid

DON'T MISS

Slumping California Risks Losing World’s ‘5th Largest Economy’ Title

DON'T MISS

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Upward Bound: Edison High’s Garcia Headed to Johns Hopkins

DON'T MISS

Boxing Star Ryan Garcia Wants to Meet Netanyahu, Pledges Aid for Gaza Children

DON'T MISS

Fong Won’t Debate Boudreaux, but We Get Hot Topic Answers Anyway

DON'T MISS

Legislation Pandering to Tribal Casinos Is a Bad Bet for Fresno Cardroom Employees

UP NEXT

Ancestry Website to Catalogue Names of Japanese Americans Incarcerated During World War II

UP NEXT

Sacramento Bee Accused of Mangling the Facts About Fish Caught in Pumps

UP NEXT

Google Fires More Workers Who Protested Its Deal With Israel

UP NEXT

CA Lawmakers Reject Bill Cracking Down on Utilities Spending Customers’ Money

UP NEXT

What Do Supreme Court Justices Say About Homelessness?

UP NEXT

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson Pledged $10M for Maui Wildfire Survivors. They Gave Much More.

UP NEXT

Work Starts on Bullet Train Line From Las Vegas to LA

UP NEXT

Will CA Lawmakers Crack Down on Spending by Utility Companies?

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Safe After Suspect Breaks Into Official Residence, Police Say

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants to Make It Easier for Arizona Women to Get a California Abortion

Wired Wednesday: Construction Workers on 2018 Fresno Unified Project Still Not Paid

6 hours ago

Slumping California Risks Losing World’s ‘5th Largest Economy’ Title

6 hours ago

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

8 hours ago

Upward Bound: Edison High’s Garcia Headed to Johns Hopkins

Local Education /

10 hours ago

Boxing Star Ryan Garcia Wants to Meet Netanyahu, Pledges Aid for Gaza Children

10 hours ago

Fong Won’t Debate Boudreaux, but We Get Hot Topic Answers Anyway

10 hours ago

Legislation Pandering to Tribal Casinos Is a Bad Bet for Fresno Cardroom Employees

11 hours ago

About 1 in 4 US Adults Over 50 Say They Expect to Never Retire, an AARP Study Finds

11 hours ago

Biden Signs a $95 Billion War Aid Measure With Assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

12 hours ago

Ancestry Website to Catalogue Names of Japanese Americans Incarcerated During World War II

12 hours ago

Boeing’s Financial Woes Continue, While Families of Crash Victims Urge US to Prosecute

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft ma...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Boeing’s Financial Woes Continue, While Families of Crash Victims Urge US to Prosecute

5 hours ago

Police Tangle With Students in Texas and California as Wave of Campus Protest Against Gaza War Grows

CA District 27 Assembly candidate Joanna Garcia Rose
6 hours ago

Meet the Valley Republican Predicting a November Win Over Esmeralda Soria

6 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Construction Workers on 2018 Fresno Unified Project Still Not Paid

6 hours ago

Slumping California Risks Losing World’s ‘5th Largest Economy’ Title

8 hours ago

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

Local Education /
10 hours ago

Upward Bound: Edison High’s Garcia Headed to Johns Hopkins

10 hours ago

Boxing Star Ryan Garcia Wants to Meet Netanyahu, Pledges Aid for Gaza Children

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend