Worries of outbreaks as university COVID numbers rise

As of Monday night, 82 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the region around Central Michigan University. All have been tied to students returning to Mount Pleasant for classes.

That has state officials worried.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer told reporters Monday that she is in regular contact with university leaders across the state.

“I’m concerned,” she said. “There’s no question that anytime we’re congregating, it is inherently riskier behavior. We also know that that age range is where we’re seeing a lot of our growth [in infection numbers].”

This all comes as students are pouring back into Kalamazoo ahead of the start of the school year.

Classes at Western Michigan University resume next week followed by Kalamazoo Valley Community College the following week and Kalamazoo College on September 14. All three plan a mix of in-person and virtual classes.

Cases of COVID-19 have been rising significantly among people age 20 to 29 over the past few months making them the age group with the largest number of infections overall. Nearly 16,300 people in that age range in Michigan have contracted the virus out of the total 97,660 cases so far this year.

You can read more at MLive.