West Virginia University students return to in-person classes

Students at West Virginia University returned to in-person classes Monday, after a three-week hiatus.

The university had halted in-person learning Sept. 7 when the campus encountered a significant spike in covid-19 cases. In late August and early September, there were several days the percent of covid-19 tests with positive results shot beyond 10%, according to the campus’ data dashboard. On Aug. 30, a day when there were 27 new cases reported, nearly 20% of tests came back positive.

WVU President Gordon Gee said case numbers have declined enough to justify a return to the classroom.

“The data drove our decision and I am so delighted all indications are we can safely return to in-person instruction,” Gee said in a university news story.

WVU joins others in the region that appear to be improving its covid-19 case levels. Cases at the University of Pittsburgh have steadily declined in the last two weeks, following high counts at the beginning of the semester.

At WVU, there were fewer days in the last two weeks where case levels were over 10% positivity. April Kaull, a university spokeswoman, said the university and Monongalia County health experts are closely monitoring the positivity rate. Isolation and quarantine cases among students have declined since the temporary pause began, she said. The local hospitalization rate is low and includes no students.

The university is implementing the same mitigation strategies as before, which include mandatory surveillance testing for certain groups, mask requirements and compliance with contact tracing. Kaull said the university is adding free community testing on campus for the foreseeable future as another strategy.

Since the beginning of the semester, around 120 students have been sanctioned for violating covid-19 mitigations, according to the university news article. Twenty-four students have been suspended and one student has been expelled as of Sept. 24. Kaull declined to say whether suspended students were sent home – but the student code of conduct says explicitly that they will receive no refund to tuition or fees.

Kaull said most of the students who have received sanctions are related to isolation or quarantine violations or violating state and city limits to social gatherings.