OUTBREAK

Wisconsin College Students Are Making People Sick

The school is threatening to take “drastic action” if cases in two quarantined dorms don’t drop.

About one out of five students living in two dorms at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has tested positive for the coronavirus—but they’re not the only ones getting sick. “There’s real clear evidence that the outbreak that’s happening among students has bled into the community more broadly,” Malia Jones, a UW epidemiologist, told the Wisconsin State Journal. “Cases have really shot up in [Dane County], even not counting all the students.” As a result, university officials are threatening to take “drastic action” if the two-week quarantine at the dorms doesn’t work because some of the 2,200 students aren’t following the rules. The school suspended in-person learning last week.