More than a thousand students at the University of Alabama have tested positive for the coronavirus since lectures there restarted two weeks ago, writes CNN.
On-campus classes in the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA began on August 19 this year. Until August 18, a total of 158 university students had already been infected with the COVID-19 virus. Since the first day of lecture, the number of infections on campus has been increasing rapidly. A total of 1,201 students have now been tested positive. No students have yet been hospitalized with the virus.
According to the University of Alabama, the rapidly increasing number of infections since the inception of classes is not due to the physical education the school offers. “Our source and contact research has not shown that infections have occurred through physical education,” says the rector of the health sciences department at the university. “We remain satisfied with the measures that were put in place before the lectures started.”
Students at the University of Alabama are required to wear a face mask and keep their distance during lectures. They follow a combination of virtual lessons and physical education. Following the corona outbreak, the president of the university, Stuart Bell, has the students in a brief called upon to wear a mouth mask and to keep their distance both on and off campus.
University and mayor are tightening up measures
Bell previously called the rising number of infections “unacceptable”. He announced that the police in Tuscaloosa will monitor restaurants and halls of residence to ensure that corona measures are enforced. In addition, the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox, ordered all cafes in the city to close for two weeks on Monday.
The US has been the hardest hit by the corona virus worldwide. The country still registers thousands of infections every day. In total, nearly 6 million Americans are now infected with the virus. The number of American deaths stands at more than 180,000.
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