MADISON — Second semester at UW-Madison is now in full swing, and Dane Co. health officials say COVID-19 cases are now rising.
According to our partners at WISC-TV, health officials say 40% of positive cases over the last two weeks are tied to the university, whether that be students or faculty.
Part of this is due to an increased testing effort, campus leaders say. Currently, the university is performing more than 6,000 tests each day. The school says they’ve posted back-to-back days of over 100 positive tests.
“The frequent testing gives us the ability to pick up cases earlier than you’d expect than we could in the fall, and it allows us to be proactive,” said Professor Ajay Sethi to WISC-TV. “When we see a spike, it’s an opportunity for us to just be a little more vigilant, a little more careful. Just for this period, we’ll make it more habit forming- then we’ll start to see those cases come down.”
The school says students could now face punishments for not complying with tests, also, ranging from losing opportunities to study abroad to suspension.