Why Is This College Reopening During ‘Near-Exponential’ COVID Surge?
Just two weeks after going remote because of a COVID-19 spike, the University of Wisconsin Madison is resuming in-person activities, despite what Gov. Tony Evers described as a “near-exponential” increase in coronavirus cases in the state.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced Wednesday that the 45,000-student school would return to classroom instruction and reopen some dining, recreation, and library functions. The next day, Wisconsin reported the highest number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state since the pandemic began.
There were 528 hospitalizations and 2,392 new positive tests in Wisconsin Thursday, the state’s second-highest one-day case count ever. According to a recent internal FEMA memo, case rates among 18- to 24-year olds in the state were five times higher than any other age group—and counties with UW campuses had some of the fastest-growing outbreaks.