As of Saturday, more than 1,200 students and 166 employees and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at the University of Alabama.

 

截至上周六，美国亚拉巴马大学已有超过1200名学生和166名教职员工确诊感染新冠病毒。

 

Positive tests among students have more than doubled since the university unveiled its COVID-19 tracking dashboard last week. The dashboard, which includes case counts, positivity rates, isolation¹ and space occupancy, is similar to what many state health departments use to report coronavirus data to the public.

 

"The rise we've seen in recent days is unacceptable, and if unchecked, threatens our ability to complete the rest of the semester on campus," University of Alabama president Stuart Bell said at a press conference last week. "Now is the time for action."

 

In recent days, students have shared photos on social media of crowds and lines outside of bars in Tuscaloosa, where the university is located. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox responded by issuing an executive² order to close bars for 14 days, from Aug. 24 to Sept. 8.

 

"Based on my discussions with the University over the past 48 hours, the ever-increasing number of coronavirus cases on campus will create major disruptions for Tuscaloosa if left unabated," Maddox said at the Monday news conference.

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