At least 1,400 Kansas college students, staff have gotten COVID-19. It’s still early

Across Kansas, more than 1,400 university students and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus so far as schools push further into the semester with a blend of classroom and online instruction.

The number – a compilation of publicly-released figures – is almost certainly an undercount because testing strategies have varied widely.

The total underscores the scale of the challenge confronting higher education. The cases come as universities are less than a month into the semester.

Some of the cases were reported from testing designed to identify infected individuals before the start of class. Others are the result of the spread of the virus through campuses and college towns, raising questions about how many students will ultimately be infected by the end of the year.

“We think campus is a particularly safe place,” Kansas State University President Richard Myers said Thursday.

K-State has reported 479 cases of the virus and has tested 3,322 people.

“Where it breaks down, if it breaks down, is in the communities where a lot of our students lease apartments and so forth,” Myers said.

Leaders from the state’s universities, including the University of Kansas and Wichita State University, briefed lawmakers Thursday on how the semester is going amid the pandemic. For the most part, they painted a cautiously optimistic portrait while warning that the situation remains fluid.

KU Chancellor Doug Girod said it was “unlikely” campus would close in the future. The university has reported 546 cases after testing 22,563 people – the result of a decision to test all students, faculty and staff ahead of the start of the semester.

“We have a lot of students who are taking mostly, if not exclusively, online and they’re still here and taking advantage of our other services and co-curricular activities, rec center, etcetera,” Girod said. “The students are here whether we’re open or not, so I expect that we will be open even if we have to shift to totally online in the process of that.”

KU in particular has scrambled to fight the spread of COVID-19 within its greek community. Greek life students have tested positive at a rate of 8.38 percent, as opposed to 2.98 percent for the student body overall.

The university has issued public health bans to two fraternities. The local health department has also placed nine fraternity and sorority houses under quarantine. Girod said it’s difficult for individual students to quarantine within the houses, which sometimes have shared sleeping porches.

According to information provided by KU, just six students are currently in quarantine or isolation housing (the quarantined greek students are living in their houses). KU has rented space at a private residence hall near campus with the capacity to house 250, Girod said.

KU’s on-campus quarantine and isolation number is well below what some smaller universities reported. Washburn University President Jerry Farley said his institution has 85 students in quarantine. Pittsburg State University is currently isolating 130 students, and 47 have been released so far. Those school leaders didn’t say whether their figures include students living off campus.

Pittsburg State University stands out for its high rate of positive tests. Of the 956 students who have been tested, 177 have been positive, a rate of 18.5 percent.

Still, the rate is only a little bit higher than the state’s overall positive rate. As a whole, Kansas has a 7-day rolling average positive rate of 16.6 percent, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“Testing is the key,” Wichita State University President Jay Golden said. “If we are to stay open and if our economy is to stay sustained, we need to be able to do that testing.”

WSU has reported 35 cases so far and 1,555 tests.

The Kansas university leaders on Thursday delivered a mix of in-person and video testimony, receiving a friendly reception from lawmakers.

“Dr. Girod, are you going to cancel football?” Rep. Kyle Hoffman, a Coldwater Republican, asked.

Girod answered that KU football, which invariably manages to hold a losing record most years, is proceeding.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, you took that way too serious,” Hoffman said.

Girod, getting the joke, grinned.