The University of Washington announced on Sunday that at least 112 fraternity house residents north of its Seattle campus have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of students infected on Greek Row so far to 121.
The nine additional students who tested positive were close contacts of the residents, but do not live in the fraternity houses, according to a statement from The University of Washington.
The number of confirmed cases has risen steadily since the outbreak was first announced on June 30. At that point, 38 students living in 10 fraternity houses had tested positive. By July 3, at least 117 residents of 15 fraternity houses had self-reported positive test results.
“While we were pleased to see most of the houses had previously taken measures to reduce resident capacity by up to 50% this summer in response to COVID-19, those measures are not sufficient without vigilant, daily preventive measures, such as wearing face coverings, physical distancing and hand hygiene,” Dr. Geoffrey Gottlieb, chair of the UW Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases, said in a university statement.
The university said there are about 1,000 students living in 25 fraternity houses, with residents asked to quarantine or self-isolate in their houses if they test positive, show symptoms or may have been exposed. Greek houses are independent organizations, governed by national boards for each fraternity and sorority.
As of Sunday, 171 students, seven faculty members and 35 staffers at the university had tested positive for the coronavirus.
