Hunter
09/04/20
A University of Iowa Health Care epidemiologist says he’s worried about University students spreading coronavirus as they head home for the long Labor Day weekend.
Jorge Salinas is an infectious disease specialist, and head of Epidemiology at UI Hospitals and Clinics. The Gazette reports during a news conference Thursday, he said he’s not so much concerned about students bringing back coronavirus and increasing the spread in Iowa City and Johnson County, especially among young people. What he’s most concerned about is students leaving an area with one of the highest rates of infection in the country and spreading it back home.
Salinas says he’s hopeful that the spike in cases once students returned to Iowa City has reached its peak. He said that the number of cases has decreased, but it’s still a cause for concern with numbers still in the triple digits daily.
The University of Iowa has stayed with their original plan of starting the semester on campus August 24th and going all-virtual after Thanksgiving, but Iowa State and UNI started classes a week early to get their semesters finished by the day before the holiday. To that end, they will be holding classes on Labor Day.