Nearly a dozen Liberty University students report COVID-19 symptoms after returning to campus
As of Friday, at least 11 students at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, have reported symptoms suggesting they have the COVID-19 coronavirus, Dr. Thomas Eppes Jr., the physician in charge of student health services, told The New York Times on Sunday.
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. came under fire last week when he reopened the campus to students at the end of their spring break, despite public health officials warning against it and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) banning gatherings of more than 100 people in the state. Falwell said 1,900 students returned to campus last week, and more than 800 have since left. Eppes on Sunday said of the students who have COVID-19 symptoms, three have been referred to hospitals to get tested and eight have been told to self-quarantine.
Falwell told The News & Advance last week that the school had to reopen because Liberty has "a responsibility to our students — who paid to be here, who want to be here, who love it here — to give them the ability to be with their friends, to continue their studies, enjoy the room and board they've already paid for, and to not interrupt their college life."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Referring to the coronavirus, Eppes told the Times that Liberty has since "lost the ability to corral this thing," but he didn't tell Falwell to shut the school down because "I just am not going to be so presumptuous as to say, 'This is what you should do and this is what you shouldn't do.'" Falwell is a staunch ally of President Trump, and has said Liberty is being unfairly targeted for being "Christian" and "conservative." Michael Gillette, a former mayor of Lynchburg and a bioethicist, told the Times "to argue that criticism of Liberty is based on political bias is unfounded and unreasonable. Liberty just did not take this threat as seriously as others have."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?
In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in music
under the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.
The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published
-
An increasing number of dog owners are 'vaccine hesitant' about rabies
Speed Read A new survey points to canine vaccine hesitancy
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published