The University of Wisconsin-Madison has moved all classes online and have asked students in Sellery and Witte residence halls to “quarantine in place” for the next two weeks, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a message to the campus community Wednesday.
The move comes after a spike in positive COVID-19 cases on campus and a positivity rate of greater than 20% over the past two days, according to Blank’s message.
As of Thursday, 1,044 students and 26 employees at UW-Madison have tested positive for COVID-19 to date.
State and local inspections of dozens of bars and restaurants for compliance to coronavirus requirements found about half were following the rules in Minnesota.
Inspections were done at 167 establishments outside the Twin Cities metro in Scott and Carver counties and the cities of Mankato, St. Peter, Waseca, Faribault and New Ulm. Those inspections found that 88 bars and restaurants were following state COVID-19 requirements and 79 were not.
The Department of Health says the state has received more than 800 complaints of COVID-19 violations at restaurants and bars since mid-July and has referred more than 400 complaints to the appropriate agencies.
The Minnesota State High School League is sending letters to school leaders outlining fee increases as much as 300% in order to make up for losses caused by the coronavirus.
The league is shifting the financial burden almost exclusively onto its member schools, many of which have their own budget challenges from the pandemic, the Star Tribune reported. Schools will pay a new “COVID Installment’’ membership fee that varies by enrollment, with the biggest schools paying $11,000 for the school year and the smallest ones paying $1,000.
The league has shortened its sports seasons and budgeted for no state tournaments in the 2020-21 school year. Those tournaments have typically funded about 75% of the league’s annual budget, which is projected to shrink from $9 million to $5 million this year.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.