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Coronavirus cases among students and employees at Syracuse University have remained low over the weekend despite the emergence of at least two clusters related to off-campus gatherings last week. 

The university is currently monitoring 41 active COVID-19 cases among students and faculty in central New York. SU confirmed 21 new coronavirus infections on Thursday linked to two emerging clusters. Since then, the university has seen only 12 additional cases, three of which were reported on Sunday.

The clusters spread from at least two off-campus parties last weekend, one at Orange Crate Brewing Company on South Crouse Avenue and another that occurred at an unorganized Greek organization.

The university is also aware of multiple other large gatherings that occurred Thursday night and last weekend, Rob Hradsky, vice president for the student experience, and Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado said in a campus-wide email on Friday. SU is reviewing social media posts and videos from the gatherings to identify and begin conduct proceedings against any students involved.

The university has also instructed any students who were at Orange Crate last Saturday or who attended the party at the unregistered Greek organization last weekend to shelter in place and contact SU’s COVID-19 office.

Under New York state guidelines, colleges and universities that report 100 positive tests within a fixed two-week period must pause in-person instruction and limit on-campus activities for at least 14 days. As of Sunday, the university had recorded 43 new cases in the current two-week period ending Nov. 6. 

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SU announced the two clusters less than a month after its first confirmed COVID-19 cluster, which resulted in nearly 100 new cases in a two-week period. That cluster brought SU closer than at any other point during the fall semester to having to transfer classes online.

The cluster also comes amid a general uptick in cases in New York state and across the country. On Friday, the day after SU announced the new clusters, Onondaga County recorded 99 new cases, its highest single-day jump in cases since the pandemic began. 

The recent clusters could result in a campus shutdown before students are scheduled to return home for winter break, Hradsky and Maldonado said Friday. During the university’s last cluster of cases, SU suspended all in-person student activities with the exception of classes and intercollegiate athletics for a little over a week. 

The university also reduced the maximum number of students allowed to gather from 25 to five, a rule it has kept in place.

Students who hosted the parties will be referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, and several students will likely face suspension in the coming days for violating public health guidelines, Hradsky and Maldonado said. About 70% of the COVID-19 cases from the clusters are associated with students living off campus, according to university officials.

To contact SU’s COVID-19 office, call 315-443-6180.

Published on November 1, 2020 at 10:31 pm

Contact Maggie: mehicks@syr.edu | @maggie_hickss