COVID-19 cases surge as students return to campus

COVID-19 cases from first two weeks of Spring 2021 exceed total Fall 2020 cases

Tyler Pugmire / News Editor

Two weeks into the Spring 2021 semester, after USD’s Residential Life increased the on-campus housing availability for students, COVID-19 cases at USD have spiked significantly. The first two weeks of the semester saw record case numbers, which showed a total of 169 cases from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. The largest number of confirmed cases was recorded on Feb. 3, which saw 45 cases in one day.

In an email sent out on Feb. 4 from the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students Donald Godwin Ed.D., he described that most of these cases have come from attending parties and other group gatherings while not practicing correct safety measures.

Because of the sudden uptick in cases, according to Godwin, USD has started talks with a hotel in Old Town, in the case that the current isolation housing in Maher Hall overflows and there is a need for more quarantine rooms. If things become “untenable” it is a possibility that students will be sent home, said Godwin in a written statement.

These cases are mostly coming from off-campus gatherings, and Godwin stated that there have been a number of reports related to Greek life, which does recruitment in the spring semester. There were no Greek life reports in the fall, he said. Students can be punished through the Office for Ethical Conduct and Restorative Justice for not following social distancing guidelines depending on the evidence presented and the student’s response, and can be removed from campus-provided housing if found guilty of violating said guidelines, among other potential penalties.

Cynthia Avery, Ph.D., assistant vice president of student affairs, said that the university anticipated a rise in cases due to the increase of students that would be living on campus, but expected it later in the semester. Paired with the new, more contagious strain of the virus, it seems as though an outbreak was bound to happen. 

Some changes that have come this semester include the removal of many chairs outside of the Student Life Pavilion and University Center, which were previously accessible for one person per table to eat a meal or study outside. It is still acceptable to eat outside during San Diego County’s purple tier ranking, and students are often found eating on the stairs outside of the SLP, being watched by social distancing enforcers.

As cases in the county decrease, ICU rates continue to decline, and vaccinations are distributed, it is unclear how USD will manage campus life if there is not a slow to the current spread. Classes will not return to campus until San Diego County is in the red tier and professors opt to come back to the classroom. All classrooms on USD’s campus have been ready to hold in-person classes since August.