ADRIAN, Mich. — Adrian College reported Tuesday that 139 of its 1,850 students, more than 6% of the student body, have tested positive for coronavirus.
Those students have been isolated or quarantined, per CDC guidelines, according to Adrian College's President Jeffrey R. Docking.
At the same time, the Lenawee County Health Department reported 555 confirmed cases in the county Tuesday, an increase of 31 cases compared to Monday.
Of that total, the health department says 256, or close to 48%, are active cases, meaning patients are monitoring symptoms at home or are hospitalized.
Docking said the 139 Adrian College students who have tested positive for the disease are either asymptomatic or are showing mild symptoms only.
The health department added the most recent cases in the county are among individuals who are between 18 and 24 years old, with the most notable increase occurring in the last week of August.
Many of these cases are associated with students returning to colleges and universities in the area, according to the health department.
Meanwhile, the health department and school officials are working together to address the outbreak.
Adrian College is now allowing faculty to go online if they chose to so for the next two weeks.
"Certainly, some classes don't lend themselves to online instruction, including science labs and many others. But many classes can be taught online, so in an effort to flatten the curve, we will be teaching many classes online," Docking said.
The president added they plan on reopening the school with regular in-person classes as soon as possible.
Adrian College required students and staff to receive a coronavirus test no more than seven days before arriving at the campus for the fall semester.
Although the school required students to take the test before the start of classes and asked them to bring the results with them to check-in, testing was available upon check-in for students who were unable to get tested beforehand.
Students could have also documented 14-day isolation if they chose not to take a test.
Adrian College Student Health Center Director Emily Kist said if anyone was positive for COVID-19 during check-in, they would be connected with the student health center and informed to self-isolate in a designated dorm room while symptoms would be monitored for 14 days.
You can read more about the college's preparedness plan here.
Additionally, according to the health department, Siena Heights University has reported two positive COVID-19 cases; both active cases.
Due to the timing of when results are referred to the Michigan Disease Surveillance System, not all Adrian College COVID-19 cases are reflected in Lenawee County’s count Tuesday.
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