STORRS, Conn. (WTIC and AP) — University of Connecticut officials have evicted several students from on-campus housing after learning of a crowded dormitory room party with no mask-wearing or social distancing, which violated the school's coronavirus rules.
School officials notified the campus community of the disciplinary actions and investigations in a letter Tuesday night. Students began returning to campus last Friday, all were tested for the virus and all were supposed to limit their contact with others during their first 14 days back on campus.
Video of the party was posted on social media.
“Students were not wearing masks, closely assembled, and endangering not only their own health and wellbeing, but that of others at a time when UConn is working to protect our community and resume classes in the context of a deadly global pandemic,” said the letter sent by Eleanor Daugherty, associate vice president and dean of students, and Pamela Schipani, executive director of residential life.
Temporary disciplinary action was taken against an undisclosed number of students and they were removed from student housing pending a school investigation, they said.
Many colleges have changed course and moved all undergraduate classes online as schools struggle to contain outbreaks and students continue to gather in large groups without masks or social distancing.
UConn officials, however, said there is no outbreak at the Storrs campus and the students' actions were not representative of the entire student body, most of which has been following the coronavirus protocols. About 5,000 students are on campus.
As of Wednesday, UConn has received more than 5,000 coronavirus test results for on-campus students. Eight tested positive and are being isolated. Three off-campus students also have tested positive, along with two faculty and staff.
In other coronavirus news:
TEST RESULTS
During the month of August, the median time for results from a COVID-19 test to be delivered in Connecticut was one day, with 75% of tests returned in two days or less, according to Gov. Ned Lamont's office. That's in contrast to other states where there have been backlogs, resulting in lengthy waits for results.
The state has surpassed 1 million tests, the second-largest total number of tests conducted in New England, following Massachusetts, according to Lamont's office. In a written statement, the Democratic governor said the state needs to keep its testing efforts going, especially as schools reopen. The state has various testing programs underway that target specific groups of people considered to be more at risk.
A recent Associated Press analysis found U.S. testing for the coronavirus is dropping even as infections remain high and death tolls rise, a trend officials have attributed largely to people's frustrations over having to wait hours to get a test and days or weeks to receive the results.