The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign’s Shield testing program has provided large amounts of real-time data about on-campus testing results and any emerging trends, and its experts recently noticed a concerning upward trend of positive COVID-19 cases among undergraduate students.
The university attributes the problem to a number of students participating in large parties and gatherings this past weekend, as well as individuals who ignored Champaign-Urbana Public Health District guidance to isolate when they tested positive and to quarantine after they had been in contact with someone who tested positive. More than 100 students and several organizations are facing student discipline for their actions, and two students have been suspended.
To break the cycle, for the next two weeks the university is intensifying discipline efforts and swiftly removing individuals who have created this risk for the campus and the community. Beginning today, the university is increasing staffing to monitor large gatherings, parties and other unacceptable behavior in University Housing and in the Campustown area. Party hosts will face immediate suspension. University Student Affairs has created a confidential web form for university faculty members, staff and students to report unsafe activity or behavior.
Today, in collaboration with CUPHD, the university is launching Shield Team 30 to more quickly identify and contact undergraduate students who have tested positive. Students who refuse to comply with quarantine or isolation directions will face immediate suspension.
For the next two weeks, the university expects all undergraduate students, for their own protection, to significantly restrict in-person activities. From now through Wednesday, Sept. 16, undergraduate students should avoid gathering in small or large groups under any circumstances. They should only leave their residences for essential activities including taking twice-weekly COVID-19 tests, attending class, purchasing groceries or food, going to work, engaging in individual outdoor activity, attending religious services and seeking medical attention.
The data for the week of repopulating the campus, Aug. 16 to Aug. 24, closely matched the Shield predictions. But after this initial increase in returning students who tested positive, the numbers did not go down as predicted.
Due to unsafe behavior by a number of undergraduate students, Shield testing data has identified more than 400 new positive cases since the first day of instruction, Aug. 24, and about twice as many individuals are currently in quarantine. In the past few days, the number of positive cases has increased at a rate that is on track to double the number of cases every week. If that trend continues, the university would experience 75-100 new cases each day and would expect to have as many as 8,000 positive cases over the course of the semester. Some of those would be severe enough to require hospitalization. Assuming each of those people has an average of three to five close contacts who would need to be quarantined, the result would be 300-400 people added to quarantine every day.
“With a quick, decisive course correction, we are confident our program will succeed,” Chancellor Robert Jones said. “We believe taking swift action to identify and remove students who refuse to follow safety guidelines is the right decision. We have been encouraged that the vast majority of our students have been compliant, and we believe this effort will require noncompliant students to make the choice to either comply or leave campus.”
The emerging trends and the subsequent recommendations will be discussed at a news conference today at 3:30 p.m. that journalists can access via this Zoom link.
The following leaders will be available to answer questions:
- Robert J. Jones, chancellor
- Andreas C. Cangellaris, provost
- Danita Brown Young, vice chancellor for student affairs
- Martin Burke, associate dean for research at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine
- Nigel Goldenfeld, physics professor
- Sergei Maslov, bioengineering professor
- Becky Smith, epidemiology professor
- Awais Vaid, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District epidemiologist
- Ali Mirza, student member, University of Illinois Board of Trustees
- Alexis Perezchica, student body president