How elite US university students brought coronavirus home from campus
- Despite warnings, many undergraduates went to parties or travelled abroad before returning to their families
- When universities cancelled classes, some students treated it as start of ‘spring break part two’
Like many American colleges, Vanderbilt University in Nashville announced last month it was closing its dormitories and putting classes online because of the growing threat of coronavirus. It said it was acting “out of an abundance of caution” after a local health care worker had tested positive for the disease.
The message was lost on many students.
Before leaving campus and returning to their homes and families throughout the United States and abroad, more than 100 Vanderbilt students attended parties, ignoring the school’s explicit instructions not to do so.
They crowded into apartment complexes and other locations, and posed for group pictures they posted on Instagram. Many celebrated St Patrick’s Day six days early – on the same day New York City announced it was cancelling its traditional annual parade.
One photo of a March 11 party, posted on Instagram, shows a student in a makeshift hazmat suit, a black mask and green bowler hat with shamrocks, as a large group of students party in the background.
“I dare you to give me corona,” reads the picture’s caption. The photo’s location jokingly claims to be “Wuhan, China” – the city where the disease was first reported.
