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Coronavirus

Explainer: How rising COVID-19 cases could impact campus operations

Emily Steinberger | Photo Editor

Greek parties were the source of at least 20 new COVID-19 cases on campus.

By Mira Berenbaumsenior staff writer

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If COVID-19 cases at Syracuse University continue to rise, the university may need to adjust campus operations to follow state and local orders. 

SU announced the suspension of the Sigma Chi fraternity on Friday after Greek life members hosted at least three parties in off-campus neighborhoods in the previous six days. Those parties were the source of at least 20 new COVID-19 cases among SU students.

As of Sunday, SU reported 79 active cases among students, faculty and staff in central New York. The university also reported that it had 147 students in quarantine. 

Here is what you need to know about how SU might adjust its guidelines if cases continue to rise:



State guidelines

In August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that colleges and universities would have to suspend in-person instruction and limit campus activities if 100 people or more test positive for COVID-19 over a two-week period.

The two-week period is a set metric and resets every two weeks. SU’s two-week period reset Friday, and the university has since confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases. If SU were to confirm 80 new coronavirus cases before Feb. 26, the university would be forced to suspend in-person instruction and limit on-campus activities. 

SU canceled in-person classes for the remainder of the fall semester in early November after surpassing the state’s limit. The week before, SU avoided a shutdown by two cases, confirming 98 cases within the two-week period.

SU’s guidelines

SU submitted its fall semester reopening plans to the New York State Department of Health for review in early July. In this plan, SU outlined five different stages of shutdown corresponding to the number of coronavirus cases and exposures on campus. 

The first stage of shutdown — which SU has already surpassed — comes when less than 10 people have been exposed to COVID-19. In this stage, those who are identified as close contacts of someone who tests positive go into quarantine and those who have contracted the virus move to isolation. 

SU has also reached its metric for the second level of shutdown, when between 10 to 100 people have been exposed to COVID-19. At this stage, SU may quarantine certain floors or buildings to prevent the spread of the virus.

The third level of shutdown begins when SU identifies more than 100 students who have been potentially exposed to COVID-19. SU said it would begin a shelter-in-place order and move all classes online until the virus has been contained at this level.


More stories about SU’s COVID-19 protocol:

The fourth level of shutdown occurs with an outbreak exceeding 100 cases and “low-confidence” in the university’s ability to identify and contain all potential cases of the virus. In this stage, SU said it would move all programs online and restrict students to their dorms, floors and bathrooms. 

SU said it would enter the fifth and final level of shutdown if the virus begins to spread at a “significant rate” and there is “no realistic strategy to contain or control the situation.” At this level, SU would shut down campus operations immediately and would ask students living on campus to move out of university housing as soon as possible.

When SU suspended in-person learning during the fall semester, students were not required to immediately move out of university housing. 

Previous clusters and outbreaks

In early October, SU confirmed a cluster of COVID-19 cases after an individual traveled to Binghamton and spread the virus at a party on Walnut Avenue. At the peak, SU was monitoring 99 active COVID-19 cases in central New York.

SU was able to contain the cluster after shutting down several on-campus facilities including the Barnes Center at The Arch. SU also amended its coronavirus protocols to limit off-campus gatherings from a maximum of 25 people to five or fewer. 

In late October, the university confirmed a second cluster of cases associated with two off-campus gatherings — one at Orange Crate Brewing Company and another at an unrecognized Greek organization’s off-campus party. The two unrelated gatherings resulted in 21 COVID-19 cases. 

SU did not shut down any facilities following these two gatherings, though the five-person limit on off-campus gatherings remained in place. 

SU has yet to shut down any campus facilities or further restrict off-campus gatherings since cases have spiked. SU’s spring semester guidelines allow off-campus gatherings of up to 10 people.

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