UC San Diego said 245 of its students had tested positive for coronavirus since the beginning of the winter quarter on January 4 – the type of outbreak the university prevented last fall through a major testing and education campaign called “ Return to Learn ”.
University data shows that 109 of these students live at UCSD, which has one of the most comprehensive testing programs for the virus in academia. The other 136 students are living off-campus in the San Diego area. UCSD also said 61 of its employees tested positive for the virus.
Eighty-five percent “of the students on campus who are infected have returned home on holiday and test positive during the incubation period after their return,” said Dr. Robert T. “Chip” Schooley, a professor of medicine who is helping run Return to Learn.
“Our interpretation is that they acquired the virus in the community during the break. Returning home during a violent pandemic is a dangerous thing. The campus case rate is now decreasing to pre-break levels as we resolve infections that have returned from winter break. “
About 7,300 students currently live on campus, a number the university expects to increase significantly by early February.
Less than 40 students tested positive for the virus last fall, when students moved into campus dormitories.
Robbins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.