Prognosis
Covid Cases Jump by a Third as College Students Return to Classes
- Campus openings linked to 37% rise in coronavirus cases
- Schools, communities seen failing to coordinate policies
Photographer: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
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College campus re-openings in the US led to local increases in Covid-19 cases of more than a third, according to a study that highlights the importance of vaccination as fall classes approach.
The increases were greatest among campuses that drew students from areas of the US with high transmission, according to the study published Monday in the online journal PLOS One. Re-openings led to about 11,000 additional cases per day during fall of 2020, according to the survey of almost 1,400 colleges. That translates to a 37% jump in cases compared with the period before campuses reopened.