Against advice of experts, colleges oust students amid coronavirus outbreaks
College administrations have begun asking students to return home to avoid further spread of the virus on campus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci criticized the decisions made by the numerous universities as the “worst thing you could do.”
As cases of the coronavirus have risen on American college campuses, university administrations are asking students to leave campus and return home for the semester. Medical practitioners are advising against this option, as students coming back home pose the risk of further spread of coronavirus.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on NBC News and called the move by college administrations the “worst thing you could do” in terms of preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The student’s exposure to other infected individuals while within dorm proximity increases the risk of spread, especially to more vulnerable elderly populations.
“Keep them at the university in a place that’s sequestered enough from the other students, but don’t have them go home because they could be spreading it in their home state,” Fauci told NBC’s “Today Show” earlier in the spring semester.
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According to the Washington Examiner, North Carolina State University switched to virtual learning near the beginning of the semester and gave the order for students to leave residential living on campus.
East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and UNC-Charlotte have moved to online-only learning, postponing in-person classes.
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During a White House press conference, Dr. Deborah Birx advised students not to “return home if you’re positive and spread the virus to your family, your aunts, your uncles, your grandparents.”
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