Greek Row parties tied to ‘substantial increase’ in coronavirus, WSU officials say
Police in Pullman, Washington issued several warnings to people hosting parties without adhering to social distancing or face covering mandates near the Washington State University campus over the last two weekends, Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins told McClatchy News.
Now authorities have traced a “substantial increase” in COVID-19 cases in the community to “gatherings” around Greek Row, the university said in a news release.
WSU announced that 30 cases among people ages 20 to 39 were linked to students living off-campus in the College Hill area on Aug. 22, according to Phil Weiler, a spokesperson for the university. One of the cases involved a student living “in a house on Greek Row,” the Seattle Times reported.
“When we announced earlier this summer that we were pivoting from face-to-face learning to virtual instruction, we explicitly asked students to remain at their permanent addresses and not come back to Pullman,” Weiler told McClatchy in an email. “Unfortunately, not everyone heeded that request.”
Whitman County has a total of 212 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Aug. 24, according to the county’s public health website. The county’s “current risk of spread” based on a 7-day case average is “high,” meaning the community spread is greater than two cases per day. There is at least one “uncontrolled congregate outbreak” and two or more “controlled congregate outbreaks,” Whitman County Public Health says.
“We have been working closely with chapter leadership at WSU sororities and fraternities for several months to address COVID-19 concerns,” Weiler said. “For the most part, we have seen good cooperation among the student leaders.”
Pullman police responded to about a dozen parties the weekend of Aug. 22 and issued warnings to the individuals hosting the gatherings if they broke the nuisance party ordinance, Jenkins told McClatchy. That means attendees were not wearing masks, abiding by social distancing guidelines or the number of attendees exceeded gathering limits, according to Jenkins.
Jenkins said authorities will become more strict with enforcement if the gatherings continue.
WSU announced it would move from face-to-face instruction to a “distance delivery model” on July 23, the university said in a release. Anyone on campus must wear a mask, keep gatherings under 10 people and adhere to all other state directives, according to the release.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Greek Row parties tied to ‘substantial increase’ in coronavirus, WSU officials say."