According to the Butler County General Health District, there are 704 confirmed cases of COVID-19 “connected to on and off-campus Miami University students,” with many coronavirus test results still pending.
That surge occurred between Aug. 24 and Sept. 2. There have been no hospitalizations so far.
Even though Miami is currently hosting classes online and first- and second-year students don’t officially move to campus until the week of Sept. 14, the health department says “most of these cases can be traced back to off-campus gatherings that defied standards for both size of gathering, maintenance of social distancing, and mask wearing.”
“We currently have a significant number of students living off-campus in the Oxford community and, even though our first- and second-year students have not returned to campus yet, we have seen a spike in COVID cases among our students living off campus,” said Miami University President Dr. Gregory P. Crawford during Gov. Mike DeWine’s COVID press briefing on Thursday.
“In a short time frame, this surge of cases really demonstrates the aggressive nature of this virus,” he said.
The sharp uptick also has larger implications for Butler County, where the school is located — and for the state’s number of infected persons between the ages of 18 and 22.
Gov. DeWine announced Thursday that Butler has once again moved into the Red zone of the state’s Public Health Advisory System, indicating a very high exposure and spread of COVID-19, with recommendations for those in that county to limit their activities.
From Aug. 19-Sept. 1, Butler County saw a total of 841 cases, which includes those at Miami — that means 19% of the county’s total confirmed cases of the pandemic have occurred in the last two weeks.
And, in about the same timeframe, the state’s number of COVID cases in those ages 18 to 22 has moved from its all-time high of 18% to now 35-40% of all cases.
This chart shows weekly case data for younger age groups from March to August. The 18-22 age group has jumped to 35-40% of all cases. To our friends in college, we ask you to be careful. You might not get seriously sick, but you can spread the virus to someone who could. pic.twitter.com/gxgiKvmhTr
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) September 3, 2020
DeWine noted that those in the younger age groups tend to have milder symptoms, but that they can still spread the virus to someone who may get very ill.
“The good news is, when you’re seeing those cases that means there is testing. It means the university is being aggressive in going after this problem,” said DeWine of the general increase in COVID numbers for that age group and related to college campuses.
Off-campus parties at the University of Cincinnati have been linked to 78 cases of the coronavirus, and the University of Dayton has 639 active COVID cases as of Sept. 2. At Ohio State University, 1,052 students have tested positive between Aug. 14 and Sept. 1.
President Crawford said Miami has increased its testing capacity to be able to test 3,000 individuals each week in a “wide-net” strategy to identify those who may be asymptomatic, in addition to its diagnostic testing and contact tracing.
Both the university and the Butler County General Health District are recommending students avoid gatherings this Labor Day weekend, and if they do gather, to keep events small and outside, with masks and social distancing.
“The spread of this disease is driven by behavior. How we behave this weekend will determine how fast this virus spreads,” said Butler County Health Commissioner Jennifer Bailer. “Not all infected people show symptoms. Any of us could be spreaders of the disease without knowing it. Each of us has a role to play in slowing the spread and making things better.”
This echoed Gov. DeWine’s larger message for all Ohioans this weekend: to take precautions to avoid a surge in COVID cases like what was seen statewide after the Fourth of July holiday.
“What we do this weekend will really determine what our fall is going to look like,” he said.
This article appears in The Meaning of Monuments.