ATLANTA — There are a growing number of cases of COVID-19 across Georgia college campuses despite the fact that COVID-19 vaccines are available to everyone over age 12.
According to students, the social environment is helping drive up the number of coronavirus cases on many campuses.
“I’m not surprised at all. A lot of people are waiting to get out of quarantine specifically,” said Georgia State University student Ashley Anderson.
Anderson, a sophomore Georgia State University student, told Channel 2 Action News’ Ashli Lincoln she takes all precautions to not become the latest statistic of newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases.
“I social distance, keep a mask on, keep sanitizing and limit my movements when it comes to interacting with people,” Anderson said.
Annie Lin, a Georgia Tech student, said hearing about new confirmed COVID-19 cases is becoming commonplace on campus.
“In a lot of my classes, my professors have mentioned how they had students in their other classes test positive. There have been, like, COVID cases around and about the school,” Lin said.
Both Anderson and Lin said the cause for the increase on college campuses is simple. Busy football seasons, drawing thousands of fans, college parties and in-person classes are contributing to the increase in the volume of new cases.
“Most of my classes — about half of the students don’t wear mask, so I can’t say I’m surprised about these numbers,” Lin said.
Most up-to-date numbers from the Georgia Department of Health revealed the number of new coronavirus cases among college students continues to increase.
Georgia Tech reported 343 new cases since the start of the school year. Georgia State University reported 7.7% of the students tested were positive for the coronavirus.
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And the University of Georgia saw cases jumping to more than 500 in one week. UGA reported 505 cases the week of Aug. 6, up from 474 the week before.
Numbers from the Georgia Department of Health showed caseloads among those ages 18 to 29 as the group most infected, totaling more than 250,000 statewide.
All three universities are encouraging students to wear face masks while on campuses. They said they’re working closely with the state while tracking these cases and are prepared to implement stricter guidelines if cases continue to climb.
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