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Most of the new student coronavirus cases Syracuse University reported Monday resulted from students who traveled outside the area during Labor Day weekend, SU officials said Tuesday.

SU reported 10 new COVID-19 cases among students Monday, with 68 students in quarantine. Seven of the new cases are among students within central New York.

Monday’s update was the greatest increase in the student coronavirus cases since the university began updating its COVID-19 dashboard on Aug. 2, said Rob Hradsky, vice president for the student experience, and Marianne Thomson, dean of students. It was also the single largest increase in quarantined students since reporting began.

SU students who traveled outside of Syracuse on Labor Day weekend exposed others to the virus when they returned to campus, Hradsky and Thompson said.

“As members of the campus and broader Syracuse communities, we have a moral and ethical obligation to take every step possible to protect and safeguard the health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and neighbors,” they said. “None of us wants to be responsible for even one person getting sick, much less an outbreak.”

SU began its second round of mandatory pooled saliva testing last week and has already identified traces of the virus in the wastewater of two residence halls this semester.

Hradsky and Thomson reiterated that students who violate SU’s public health guidelines can face disciplinary consequences, including suspension or expulsion. Visiting an SU facility after exposure to the virus, traveling to a coronavirus hotspot state and not quarantining upon return, and hosting a guest from a hotspot state who hasn’t quarantined all constitute violations to SU’s health guidelines, they said.

SU has placed at least 23 students on interim suspension for violating health guidelines since students began returning to campus.

“We want you here,” Hradsky and Thomson said. “You want to be here. Your families want you to be here.”

Published on September 15, 2020 at 6:45 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21