New Hampshire health officials have recently said that a cluster of coronavirus cases has been linked to a frat party at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).
On Sunday, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services said that it has been investigating a potential outbreak tied to a Theta Chi event last weekend.
UNH officials said over 100 people, including students, attended the August 29 fraternity party, while only a few wore masks.
The university officials said 11 people associated with the party have been tested positive for COVID-19, the infection caused by the new coronavirus.
UNH President James W. Dean Jr. said, “Let me be clear: this is reckless behavior and the kind of behavior that undermines our planning and will lead to us switching to a fully remote mode.”
This is probably the latest cluster at campuses across the country, many of which are linked to frat parties.
It has become tough for colleges and universities as preventing such large parties during the pandemic has proven difficult.
Last month, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Notre Dame have sent their students home for online classes after they reported a few cases days into the semester.
Meanwhile, Northeastern University and New York University have suspended students who were found to have participated in mass gatherings that violate coronavirus safety protocols.
Earlier in the summer, there were clusters of coronavirus cases in the University of Washington, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Mississippi, which were all linked to frat parties.
UNH said it would “pursue student conduct charges against the organizers and people who went to the party, and that the Theta Chi fraternity has been suspended.”
However, Dean Jr. said in a message to the campus community that the “overwhelming majority” of students have still been abiding by safety measures.
As of Sunday, New Hampshire reported more than 7,440 coronavirus cases. More than 90% have recovered, while 248 cases are still active. In the United States, the virus has affected more than 6 million and killed over 193,000 people.
