In a letter sent to students on Saturday, officials at the Durham, North Carolina, university said that more than 180 students have tested positive for Covid-19 and are in isolation, while another 200 are under in quarantine based on contact tracing.
The spike in cases is “principally driven by students attending recruitment parties for selective living groups,” the letter said. This is the largest one-week total of positive cases and quarantines since the pandemic began, officials said.
All courses will shift to remote learning and students living on campus must stay in their room or apartment at all times outside of essential activities, such as getting food or for health or safety reasons. Off-campus students are not permitted on campus other than to participate in surveillance testing, seek medical care or to pick up food orders.
The Duke outbreak is a fresh example of the…

