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Coronavirus outbreak tied to fraternity parties imperils fall semester at UC Berkeley

Sather Tower on the UC Berkeley campus.(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

An outbreak of coronavirus infections tied to parties connected to fraternities at UC Berkeley is imperiling the prospect of in-person fall semester classes, university officials warned.

In just one week, there have been 47 COVID-19 cases confirmed by the campus’ University Health Services system, the university said in a letter to the campus community.

Most of the 47 new cases “stem from a series of recent parties connected to the CalGreek system, which included students both within the CalGreek community and others, and led to some secondary spread within households and within other smaller gatherings,” said a letter written by Anna Harte, medical director of the campus’ health clinic, and Guy Nicolette, an assistant vice chancellor.

“Generally, these infections are directly related to social events where students have not followed basic safety measures such as physical distancing, wearing face coverings, limiting event size, and gathering outside,” the letter said.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.