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COVID cases spike in Mt. Pleasant; health department limits gatherings

The Central Michigan District Health Department on Monday announced it has identified 82 cases of Covid-19 related to the return of students to the Mount Pleasant area.

The case count includes current students, former students, and anyone living in the community associated with cases related to the return of students.

The university is reporting just 54 new cases. That number only includes students, faculty, or staff members who are directly connected to CMU. 

Health department officials said in the week before classes started at Central Michigan University, there were just five new COVID cases associated with the university. Since then the county has seen a 350% increase of COVID cases. The majority of those cases were among 18-24 year olds.

The Central Michigan District Health Department issued a public health emergency order to limit social gatherings following its announcement of the case increase.

The order takes effect at 8pm on Monday, Aug. 24, and will limit outdoor events to 25 people in the Mt. Pleasant area. The order applies across Union Township. 

The order remains in effect until amended or rescinded.

In response, Central Michigan University President Bob Davies called for Greek organizations to suspend all in-person activities.

In addition to calling for a suspension of in-person Greek activities, Davies said in an email to the campus community that CMU will fine or even suspend individuals who host large gatherings, and will work with landlords to enforce limits on gatherings.

The university also announced it will partner with a private company to begin on-campus testing within the next week, for individuals who have been identified as symptomatic, and their close contacts.

Davies said in the email that CMU remaining open relies on “every member of our community accepting the responsibility to protect ourselves and others.”