SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diego State University reported at least 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. The total of positive cases among students since the first day of school is now up to 20.
The university says the most of the students that tested positive live off campus. Only three of the students were living on campus. Two of the students are in isolation on campus. The third student is isolating somewhere else.
In a letter sent out to staff and students, school officials say the majority of the students didn't interact with any SDSU employees or go to any of the shared campus spaces. One student did briefly visit the school bookstore.
San Diego State started the school year on Aug. 24, mostly with online classes. There are 2,600 students living on campus.
County officials confirm they have started outbreak investigations and are working closely with the school.
Over the weekend, SDSU announced they had hired security to patrol the campus from Thursday to Sunday, after hours, to monitor for any COVID-19 violations on campus.
Students told ABC 10News they think the school is doing the best they can in response to COVID-19. They say they are more concerned about things in housing off campus. Multiple students report large crowds walking to and from campus with no masks and parties with large crowds.
On Monday officials sent ABC 10News the following statement:
At this time, San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) has not designated any SDSU cases as part of an outbreak. Including regular calls and consultation, SDSU continues to work closely with the HHSA, and has also partnered with them to support county-wide contact tracing efforts [newscenter.sdsu.edu].
As a reminder, SDSU has not had any students who tested positive for COVID-19 attend any of the limited number of in-person classes, and is not considering transitioning those remaining in-person courses to 100% online at this time.
Regarding the residence halls, SDSU has developed extensive plans to respond to any cases of COVID-19 in our campus community, including isolation and quarantine protocols [housing.sdsu.edu].
Additionally, there are many essential services of the university, including residential, research and service activities, which cannot be suspended nor can be done remotely, and the university would not close. Further, SDSU Flex [sdsu.edu]allows for instruction to vary across in-person, hybrid, and virtual delivery, such that the institution can be responsive to any increase in cases in San Diego County or within our campus community. SDSU is not planning to close or transition additional services to 100% virtual based on a predetermined number of positive cases. Instead, services and courses that are in person may be moved to virtual learning depending upon guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well the San Diego County HHSA.
