The number of coronavirus cases, or COVID-19, on campus continue to rise. Unfortunately, after the explosion of COVID-19 in some of the fraternities and sororities, the cases only continued to expand into welcome weekend. According to the UND Coronavirus Dashboard as of 5pm on Friday, August 28, 2020, there were over 300 cases of the coronavirus on campus and most of those were student cases (UND Coronavirus Dashboard). Only two faculty and twelve staff have been reported as positive, while over 300 students have been confirmed to have the virus. Almost 675 people are in isolation or quarantine, and unfortunately for the campus, the cases continue to rise. The testing that took place on August 27, with the National Guard’s assistance, the number of new cases will most likely continue to rise as new infections are brought to light. If the university and its students wish to remain open with in-person classes, students must make an effort and follow the guidelines to keep the spread to as much of a minimum as possible.  

Within greater Grand Forks area where there are over 450 active coronavirus cases, there should be a collective effort to follow the guidelines put in by the CDC. Wear a mask, stay six feet apart and wash your hands regularly. Grand Forks county has the highest number of active coronavirus cases in the state, followed closely behind by the Bismarck/Mandan area, which has 454 active cases as of 5pm on Friday, August 28. Overall, the state of North Dakota has over 2,200 active cases of the coronavirus, and 310 new cases were identified on Friday August 28 alone. Those numbers are higher than they have been since the end of April, and the hospitalizations are worsening as well. There are seventy people currently hospitalized with COVID alone, seventeen of which are in the intensive care unit. The number of hospitalizations in the state is the highest it has been since the pandemic started and will only continue to rise if measures are not followed as the CDC recommends– wear a mask, wash your hands, stay six feet apart, and keep things as clean as possible. For more information, go to https://veoci.com/veoci/p/dashboard/jr2p5p3tmp?preview=true.