WINONA, Minn. — Winona State University has announced it will institute a self-imposed 14-day campus quarantine, following a spike in asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission in the surrounding community.
Tuesday's announcement comes as the number of positive COVID-19 cases has more than doubled in Winona County in recent weeks. As of Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health was reporting 622 total positive cases in the county since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with 17 deaths reported in Winona County since March.
“The university is not currently aware of any serious illness related to COVID-19 within the WSU community,” Winona State President Scott R. Olson said in a statement on the university's website. “However, we are seeing an increase in asymptomatic transmission, and we have a responsibility to our students, our employees, and to our community to respond accordingly. We recognize that the recent increase in cases is not only impacting our campus, but the entire Winona community.”
The quarantine will limit non-essential activities to reduce the number of people present on campus.
Most face-to-face classes will move online during the two-week quarantine; those courses requiring in-person instruction will add additional precautions. University employees who do not need to be physically present will be asked to work remotely.
According to WSU's COVID-19 dashboard, there were 97 confirmed cases at the school as of August 30.
“We are hopeful that these actions will flatten the growth in numbers,” Olson's statement said. “We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and take appropriate actions as needed.”
