Report: UW-Madison students did not spread coronavirus to Madison, Dane County
(The Center Square) – The coronavirus outbreak at the University of Wisconsin-Madison didn’t go beyond the university’s dorm room walls.
A new Centers for Disease Control-backed study says there’s no evidence that coronavirus-positive students infected the rest of Madison or Dane County.
“Almost 14.0% of students living in residence halls tested positive,” the study states. “We did not detect evidence of transmission of the predominant viral lineages associated with [two] residence halls beyond these residence halls within Dane County. This suggests interventions likely succeeded in preventing subsequent transmission and further spread into the Dane County community.”
UW-Madison drove much of Dane County’s coronavirus testing and quarantine efforts in August and September of last year. The researchers looked at just what those quarantine efforts accomplished. Their study suggests the quick decision to quarantine students helped contain the virus.
“Across all residence halls, 5,820 of 6,162 students (94.4%) were tested during move-in week August 25-31, 2020,” the study explains. “Overall, 856/6,162 (13.9%) students living in the 19 on-campus residence halls had a positive [test].”
The study’s team notes that the two dorms they focused on, which they call Residence Hall A and Residence Hall B, accounted for most of the dorm room positives at UW-Madison, despite having just a fraction of students living there.
“Residence Halls A and B accounted for 68.5% of all residence hall cases , but only 34.4% of all students living in residence halls,” the authors wrote.
The new study contradicts claims from Madison and Dane County leaders last fall that UW-Madison students were a danger to the community because they were spreading the coronavirus.
“We all love our great University and what it brings to our community. Unfortunately, given the pandemic, congregating these students has significantly impacted the capacity of the public health system, local public health efforts, and may impact the health of our community.” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said in early September.
Parisi eventually asked UW Madison to send students home, and all but cancel the fall semester. The university did not take him up on his suggestion.
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