The University of Wisconsin-Madison is canceling in-person classes and putting two residence halls under quarantine.
While making the announcement on Wednesday, Chancellor Rebecca Blake pointed to a COVID-19 positive test rate that topped 20 percent the last two days.
All in-person classes are canceled through Saturday, with remote learning getting underway Monday, then lasting two weeks. All students in Sellery and Witte Residence Halls have been ordered to quarantine in place.
Despite a request from Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, Blank decided the university has enough quarantine space to handle sick students without sending them home.
On Thursday, Public Health Madison and Dane County reported reported 456 new COVID-19 cases over the previous 24 hours. The previous largest increase, reported this past Sunday, was 195.
And, in an indication that the increase in cases is not solely occurring on the UW System’s largest campus, about half of all people who’ve tested positive for the coronavirus this month in Eau Claire County are tied to U-W Eau Claire, where in-person classes also began last week.
The Eau Claire City-County Health Department reported that 100 of the nearly 200 of the new coronavirus positives are either students or faculty, according to the Leader-Telegram.