More than 1,200 students test positive for COVID-19 at major university

"The rise we've seen in recent days is unacceptable."

ByErin Schumaker
August 29, 2020, 12:44 PM

As of Saturday, more than 1,200 students and 166 employees and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at the University of Alabama.

Positive tests among students have more than doubled since the university unveiled its COVID-19 tracking dashboard early this week. The dashboard, which includes case counts, positivity rates, isolation and space occupancy, is similar to what many state health departments use to report coronavirus data to the public.

"The rise we've seen in recent days is unacceptable, and if unchecked, threatens our ability to complete the rest of the semester on campus," University of Alabama president Stuart Bell said at a press conference this week. "Now is the time for action."

PHOTO: Baylor Garland, left, arrives to move in for his freshman year, assisted by his father Alan, right and mother, Teena, after they traveled from Eaton, Ga., at the University of Alabama campus on Aug. 15, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Baylor Garland, left, arrives to move in for his freshman year, assisted by his father Alan, right and mother, Teena, after they traveled from Eaton, Ga., at the University of Alabama campus on Aug. 15, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. More than 20,000 students returned to campus for the first time since spring break with numerous school and city codes in effect to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Vasha Hunt/AP

In recent days, students have shared photos on social media of crowds and lines outside of bars in Tuscaloosa, where the university is located. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox responded by issuing an executive order to close bars for 14 days, from Aug. 24 to Sept. 8.

"Based on my discussions with the University over the past 48 hours, the ever-increasing number of coronavirus cases on campus will create two major disruptions for Tuscaloosa if left unabated," Maddox said at the Monday news conference.

PHOTO: Rounders Bar, on The Strip, the University of Alabama's bar scene, sees limited patronage as bars were restricted to half capacity and early closing hours, Aug. 15, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Rounders Bar, on The Strip, the University of Alabama's bar scene, sees limited patronage as bars were restricted to half capacity and early closing hours, Aug. 15, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Vasha Hunt/AP, FILE

While many universities have opted for remote-only learning because of the pandemic, large outbreaks linked to colleges and universities have been increasingly commonplace at schools that encouraged students to return to campus. In addition to the University of Alabama, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Central Florida are among the schools reporting spikes in COVID-19 infections among students and staff.

Alabama had recorded at least 113,700 COVID-19 cases and more than 2,000 deaths linked to the virus, according to the state health department.

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