Multiple COVID-19 positives among UK fraternities leads to re-testing of some students
Students in University of Kentucky fraternities and sororities have registered a positivity rate of 3 percent — higher than the overall general student population of 1.1 percent — leading to a re-testing of students in Greek life organizations, the university said Friday.
Of the 49 UK students currently in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, 30 reside in two fraternity houses. Beginning Sunday, the approximately 5,500 UK students in Greek life organizations will be re-tested for the coronavirus.
Data collected from the university’s initial testing phase revealed the higher positivity rate among Greek life students, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said. He added that the university’s playbook left room for the possiblity of re-testing among student groups where social distancing might be a challenge. Blanton said that did not just apply to fraternity and sorority students. The university plans to test other student groups after the fraternity and sorority re-testing.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department has reported 136 COVID-19 cases among UK students since Sunday — bringing the total since March to 376. The University of Kentucky’s public dashboard, which has the number of cases through Tuesday and only includes the positive tests from UK’s student-testing initiative, has recorded 238 cases since Aug. 3 with an overall positivity rate of 1.1 percent. The initiative aims to test all on-campus students within seven days of arrival and concludes on Saturday.
After an on-campus student tests positive, they can choose to stay in an isolation hall or can isolate at home. Off-campus students are asked to isolate in their residences.
UK President Eli Capilouto said in a statement that the re-testing of this group of students was part of the university’s second phase of student testing. The initial phase of testing all on-campus students will conclude Saturday. The students in the fraternity houses will continue to isolate in their respective houses.
“It’s important that we address this issue of students in our fraternities and sororities quickly, thoughtfully and with care,” Capilouto said. “Our preparation and planning thus far have enabled us to understand issues as they arise and have given us the capacity to address them. That’s what we are doing in Phase II of our plan.”
Fraternity and sorority students will be able to get tested in four walk-up lanes at a testing site between the William T. Young Library and The 90 dining facility. Testing Sunday will last from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Continued testing at that location will be Monday through Aug. 30 from 8 a.m. to noon.
Capilouto said in the release that the re-testing was not an effort to blame students and that a combination of factors likely contributed to the higher positivity rate among Greek life organizations.
Greek life and other student organizations on campus are based on the idea of coming together as a group, Blanton said when asked what some of the factors that contributed to the higher positivity rate.
“Students in fraternity and sorority life are not the only group where gathering is common with organizations based on coming together as a group,” Blanton said. “That poses a challenge. You might be more likely to have that positive trend line there.”
In addition, the university’s dorms have been able to de-densify and provide students with more space, Blanton said, but the university is seeing that some Greek houses have more “communal living” than some of the residence halls. UK is going to look “more deeply” at the challenges that those tighter living quarters might pose to social distancing.
Students in Greek organizations are stepping up and are also looking for ways to get around this challenge, Blanton said, and pointed to the university’s Interfraternity Council announcing Thursday that it would move its rush activities online this fall as opposed to a previously planned hybrid format.
The re-testing announcement comes on the same day that sorority recruitment was slated to begin. Sorority recruitment was already slated to be a largely online format, and the sorority and fraternity leaders are meeting on how the higher positivity rate and re-testing might affect recruitment activities. Sorority Bid Day is scheduled for Aug. 31 — a day after the intial re-testing initative is supposed to end.
Positivity rates and other data gained through contact tracing to determine what student groups will get re-tested next.
Blanton said the university will look at “what are other trend lines? What are other groups who would normally gather and as a result might be at more of a risk of potential exposure? Right now, (fraternity and sorority students) is the one that popped out first.”
COVID-19 postivity trends among employees will also be monitored as well, Blanton said. Employees can be voluntarily tested by the university currently and more than 600 employees have been tested. So far, fewer than five have tested positive, so that “has not been a trend line yet, but we’re going to go where the data takes us,” Blanton said.
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 3:48 PM.