NOT A GOOD START

More than 1,000 Cases of Covid Now Tied to University of Alabama

The contagion is spread across the university’s three campuses, and broke out when school began August 19.

More than 1,000 students and staff at the University of Alabama’s three campuses have contracted COVID-19 since classes resumed August 19. The university confirmed that 481 students studying at their Tuscaloosa flagship campus have tested positive and more than 150 have the virus on the school’s Birmingham campus. An additional ten students have tested positive in Huntsville. The outbreak is the largest cluster in any academic institution this school year. Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox said the spike in infections could stretch the city’s health care system and its local economy, which caters to the 38,000 student body.