A member of the Theta Chi fraternity at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has tested positive for COVID-19 after a party at the group’s house, alarming university and local public health officials.
The fraternity held the party at their off-campus residence last Thursday night. Reports state that there were 10 to 20 people in the gathering, a violation of Yolo County Public Health and Safety Guidelines.
In an official press release, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May stated that the university is “deeply disappointed and troubled” by the fraternity’s behavior since a majority of the students and campus community have taken the Yolo County Public Health guidelines “very seriously.”
Local health officials sent the infected student home and ordered the 10 remaining residents of the house to undergo quarantine. They moved into nine quarantine apartments on campus while one was left in the Theta Chi house to take care of pets.
The chancellor revealed that UC Davis still has to conduct contact tracing with other attendees of the November 12 party. Health officials have been screening and testing fraternity and sorority members since the start of the fall semester. Greek Life students have been a cause of concern since they live off-campus and their houses, like that of Theta Chi, are not managed by the university.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that there were 13 people who tested positive in two clusters of fraternity and sorority houses last month in the Isla Vista neighborhood of UC Santa Barbara.