PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The University of Pittsburgh announced on Sunday that they'd issued a shelter-in-place order for students on its Pittsburgh campus due to a spike in positive COVID-19 cases on campus.
The order, which was initially scheduled for Thursday, was moved up and went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
"This action is being taken to respond to a significant increase in positive cases among students over the weekend," university officials said in a statement. "There have been at least 40 confirmed cases since Friday, which we suspect are linked to gatherings that took place over the Halloween weekend."
Due to rising cases in Allegheny County and among our Pitt community, the Pittsburgh campus is moving to the Elevated Risk Posture and all students should begin sheltering in place tonight at midnight. More details are available here: https://t.co/GSZWzQoo9i pic.twitter.com/7FTfAZiTTR
— University of Pittsburgh (@PittTweet) November 8, 2020
During the two-week shelter-in-place period, officials said students should only leave their dorm rooms or apartments to attend class, labs, pick up food, exercise, study in the library, work, and shop for essentials.
The university asked that group work for classes and student activities be held virtually.
Campus dining will be available via takeout only, and residence hall lounges, recreation rooms, and kitchens are closed, officials stated.
According to Pitt's COVID-19 dashboard, as of Nov. 6, 52 students and nine faculty/staff members are currently isolated. Since Aug. 1, 369 students on the main campus and 27 faculty/staff members have tested positive for the virus.
Other universities like Hood College in Maryland, Assumption University in Massachusetts, and the University of Arizona have all issued a shelter-in-place in recent months to combat growing cases of COVID in and around their campuses.
