By Sabrina Edwards
With COVID cases worse now than they were when Michigan first shut down, many are assuming with the upcoming gatherings, the surge will only worsen.
The week of Oct. 19 through 25, Grand Rapids Community college reported four student cases and two employee cases. That brought the total case count up to 45 for students and seven for staff as of last week.
Grand Valley State University currently has 79 active cases. The school reported 18 cases tied to faculty and staff, 10 on-campus cases, and 51 off-campus cases tied to the surrounding counties. Their average seven-day new case rate is at 8.43 currently.
Michigan State University has dramatically decreased the number of positive cases, with the school reporting 13 positive cases over the week of Oct. 19, which is lower than half of the 53 cases reported in the previous week. MSU currently has one student in isolation and two in quarantine.
With many K-12 schools having to go virtual, or stay virtual, due to increasing cases, health officials recommend against traditional trick or treating due to the risk of spreading the virus.
Halloween is traditionally a party weekend for many college students, which could lead to a large spike at many universities across Michigan if students don’t follow the Center for Disease Control’s recommended guidelines.
“Indoor gatherings pose a special risk, as people are confined in smaller spaces, less able to physically distance, and risk poorly ventilated areas, which can promote spread,” wrote Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, in an opinion piece for The Detroit Free Press. “Droplets from talking, laughing, coughing, sneezing or just simply breathing can more easily spread and be shared — posing a risk to the health of those within the confined space if the droplets contain the virus. This isn’t unique to the COVID-19 virus and explains why, around the world, we see a surge in flu cases annually during late fall and winter.”
