SAN DIEGO — San Diego State University reported 13 cases of coronavirus among students Monday afternoon, a record in cases for a single day of reporting at the school. Campus officials said all but three cases were from students living off-campus.
The three on-campus cases, according to the university, live at Zapotec residence hall, Villa Alvarado Apartments and South Campus Plaza North.
According to the university, one of the students visited the campus bookstore before quarantining.
This is the first reported instance of on-campus students catching the virus since the university began keeping records of cases.
Since 2,600 students moved in on Aug. 18, 21 students have tested positive for the virus. 45 total community members were reported to have tested positive since the start of the pandemic.
According to SDSU, none of the students who tested positive were attending the small number of in-person lab classes.
For the first two weekends of the semester, News 8 crews witnessed multiple parties and large gatherings throughout the College Area. One house, in particular, hosted two large gatherings with 30 to 40 people on both weekends.
In an interview with News 8, campus officials said a private security company was hired by the school to enforce health guidelines issued by SDSU.
The university said the security company was patrolling the streets before Friday, but large gatherings were still seen off-campus and on-campus near Paseo Place.
San Diego State said students who violate health codes, both off and on-campus, could face penalties ranging in severity from a warning all the way to expulsion.
A statement about disciplinary measures from the school reads, in part:
"In regards to the facial covering mandate, which requires anyone on campus -- indoors and outdoors -- to wear a facial covering at all times with very limited exceptions, students in violation of this policy are subject to individual student code of conduct violations. For any off-campus gathering, both organizational violations as well as individual violations will be issued. The university takes any violation extremely seriously. Consequences range from an official warning to expulsion. The university asks that any community member who becomes aware of a potential violation among students report the situation using the COVID-19 Incident Reporting Form.
For those living on-campus, the university has put into place an extensive range of proactive measures. If violated, these are also subject to student disciplinary action, as noted above."
The university also said the large gatherings reported last weekend are being looked at by Student Life and Leadership.
For all the cases reported by SDSU, communications have been forwarded to students about the infected individuals’ condition and living situation.
Regarding testing data from the Student Health Center, no data has been provided by the university since last week when there were just 18 student cases reported.
