University Of Miami Reports Nearly 100 Coronavirus Cases

CORAL GABLES, FL — With the start of in-person classes at the University of Miami on Aug. 17, school officials are reporting nearly 100 cases of the coronavirus between the university's two campuses.

"I am concerned about it and I've asked for a meeting with the University of Miami to see what they're doing about it," Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told reporters on Tuesday.

The mayor said he will attempt to find out whether students are being allowed to freely congregate. "This is what young people do," he said. "What measures did the University of Miami take to kind of curtail what young people do?"

While the percentage of fatalities among young people is low compared to other segments of society, Gimenez said young people are not without risk.

"It's not zero," the mayor warned. "Also when they go back home, they're running the risk of taking that infection back to their parents."

School officials said they conducted 1,846 tests within the university community between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, according to data compiled by the school that was posted on a public database.

As of Wednesday, the university reported 96 positive cases during that period. A total of 69 students were placed in isolation after testing positive by Student Health Services over the previous week.

Another 94 students were placed in quarantine based on possible exposure to someone who tested positive for the virus.

School officials said one faculty member has been hospitalized with the coronavirus over the previous seven-day period. No students were hospitalized during that period, according to the university.

The first cases of coronavirus were reported at a residence hall on campus, university officials said.

“It would have been unrealistic to assume that there would be no cases of COVID-19 this fall on our campus or anywhere else in the world," University of Miami President Julio Frenk said in a statement released this week. "What we can accomplish if we all work together is avoiding the type of broad outbreak that would require us to shut down campus.’’