A Virginia college is in the throes of a large coronavirus outbreak after resuming in-person classes, but a school official said reckless students are at fault.
Christopher Newport University in Newport News had 129 students and six employees that tested positive as of Wednesday, with an average of 171 students quarantined each day last week, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
The university’s vice president of student affairs, Kevin Hughes, said students are the reason for the outbreak.
“What is happening on our campus right now is a stark reminder that individual behavior can have a profound and lasting impact,” Hughes said in a letter to students and staff Monday, The Virginian-Pilot reported. “When you socialize with little concern, and in some cases reckless disregard, for who it hurts, everybody is impacted.”
University spokesperson Jim Hanchett said the coronavirus surge is leveling off and 56 students will be able to stop quarantining by Friday.