By Mary Claire Molloy – Special to the Bloomington
IU recommended students living in all 40 Greek houses return home due to an alarming spread of COVID-19 among the Greek population.
In an email sent to students Thursday afternoon, IU said that some houses have over a 50% positivity rate. Testing results from August 31 show a 20% total positivity rate within Greek housing.
A complete list of houses in quarantine, along with the number of cases and the positivity rate from recent mitigation testing can be found here. Acacia Fraternity reports the highest positivity rate at 87.50%, with 14 live-in coronavirus cases. Alpha Chi Omega has a lower positivity rate, but the most live-in cases: 35.
IU “advises all students living in these environments to re-evaluate their current living situation,” per the email. However, the university has no authority to force students out because the Greek houses are privately owned by parent organizations, housing corporations or landlords. IU writes that they expect national organizations to work directly with students and families to make decisions about next steps and living situations.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
