UC San Diego said 245 of its students have tested positive for the coronavirus since the winter term began on January 4 – the kind of surge the university has avoided in the past with a major testing and education campaign called ‘Return to Learn’.
University data shows that 109 of the students live at UCSD, which has one of the most comprehensive testing programs for the virus in academia. The other 136 students live off campus in the San Diego area. UCSD also said 61 of its employees tested positive for the virus.
Eighty-five percent “of the students who were infected on campus went home for the holidays and are positive on the test during the incubation period after their return,” says Dr. Robert T. “Chip” Schooley, a professor of medicine who helps run Return to Learn.
‘Our interpretation is that they contracted the virus in the community during the break. Going home during a raging pandemic is a dangerous thing. The case on campus is now dropping to pre-break levels as we work through the infections that have returned through the winter holidays. ”
About 7,300 students are currently living on campus, which the university hopes to increase significantly by early February.
Less than 40 students tested positive for the virus last fall when students moved to campus dormitories.
Robbins writes for the San Diego Union Tribune.