U. of Wisconsin Mandates Coronavirus Testing for Some Students

According to a report by the Wisconsin State Journal, students living in two large residential buildings at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will be required to undergo a coronavirus test in response to a recent upswing in the number of positive test results.

The report claims that nearly 300 members of the campus community have tested positive for the virus in the past week. The spike may be the result of large social gatherings that took place around Halloween.

UW-Madison spokesperson Meredith McGlone said that the university in implementing various measures to ensure that the virus does not continue to spread. One such measure involves mandating testing for residents of on-campus buildings that have seen an increase in positive test results.

“We have this modified testing process to use when needed, so that when we see a rise in cases in a residence hall we can quickly identify any clusters and take focused action, hopefully avoiding building-wide quarantines,” McGlone said. “We’ve been expressing concern for several weeks now, along with local and state leaders, about the continuing spike in COVID-19 cases in Dane County and throughout Wisconsin. It is unfortunately not surprising that we are also seeing an increase in positivity rates on campus, although our rates continue to be below the surrounding community.”

Breitbart News reported in October that members of the student government at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, voted to remove a “racist” statue of Abraham Lincoln that is prominently displayed on campus. The students argued that the statue should be removed because it was donated by newspaper owner Richard Lloyd Jones, who was controversial for his stances on a number of issues.