UM Students Asked To Stay Home To Stop Spread Of COVID-19 Variant

ANN ARBOR, MI — The Washtenaw County Health Department recommends that all University of Michigan students living on or near the Ann Arbor campus shelter in place until Feb. 7 to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, including the faster-spreading variant called "B.1.1.7."

Students should remain at their campus-area addresses and not gather with others beyond members of their household, the department said in a news release issued Wednesday. Students should leave their residences only to participate in limited activities, the department added. The stay-in-place recommendation begins Wednesday.

“We are very concerned about the potential for this variant to spread quickly,” county health Officer Jimena Loveluck said in a statement Wednesday. “We are working closely with the university to take coordinated steps to control the current outbreak and understand the situation more fully. We also recognize that these are difficult actions and appreciate the university’s continued partnership. This stay-in-place recommendation will help us reduce the impact of the variant and COVID-19 in general as we investigate.”

Related: 17 Cases Of Faster Spreading Coronavirus Variant Confirmed In MI

County and university public health officials said they are collaborating closely on the recommendation, which is designed to limit the spread of the more easily transmitted variant, which takes longer to identify through the COVID-19 testing process.

Since the beginning of the winter term, 175 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among UM students, 14 of which inolved the B.1.1.7 variant, school officials said Wednesday.

“This recommendation is intended to slow any possible spread and give us a better understanding of the extent of the presence of B.1.1.7 variant on campus and to aid in containing any current spread," said Rob Ernst, associate vice president for student life at UM and executive director of the University Health Service. "We encourage all students to stay in place and only leave their residence for essential activities, including getting tested weekly for COVID-19."

The state reported its first case of the coronavirus variant on Jan. 16, when a Washtenaw County woman tested positive for it after she traveled to the United Kingdom, where the variant was widely identified, officials said.

Michigan announced on Saturday that three more people in Michigan tested positive for B.1.1.7, increasing the number of such confirmed cases to six. That number has since grown even more, Khaldun said.

Many of the cases are linked to the University of Michigan, which prompted the university to pause its athletics for two weeks.