KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — With COVD-19 case counts rising among University of Tennessee students, Chancellor Donde Plowman took direct aim Tuesday at fraternities, saying it appeared some were trying to dodge compliance and safety guidelines.
Plowman said the university was now looking at all options for next steps to control the spread of the highly contagious virus. Classes resumed Aug. 19, and UT counts now stand at 600 active cases, all but 8 of them among students.
"More drastic measures" are needed, she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, the university issued a statement saying it was "actively looking into allegations against individuals as well as organizations to determine next steps including possible interim suspensions."
The university will be releasing more information about next steps this week.
Most students are following guidelines that include wearing a mask, respecting social distancing and getting tested when necessary, she said.
Some, however, are not, and they're in danger of sabotaging UT's in-person, on-campus fall.
"The fact remains we are having a significant issue with a small number of students, and we have disturbing information stemming frankly from the fraternities in particular – fraternity leaders communicating to houses how to have parties and avoid being caught, avoid the police. Stories of a fraternity renting space off campus to have their party, crammed with lots of people in close quarters. Telling fraternity members not to get tested or how to get tested so the results are not shared with the university," she said in her 8-minute Tuesday live online briefing to the campus community."
Being in isolation if you get the virus is something no one wants to do, Plowman said.
"But actively working to avoid isolation and quarantine is reckless," she said.
Plowman reminded students and parents of strong steps taken at other universities to curtail the virus including curfews, visitor restrictions and going all online with classes.
"Let me be clear: Everything is on the table at this point," she said.
Positive case counts have risen sharply in the past seven days, both for students living on campus and off.
No clusters have been reported yet among fraternities at UT. However, multiple cases have turned up at seven sororities, and all the women in those houses face testing and likely isolation or quarantining for a period of time this month.
UT has secured another hotel at which it can put up students who must stay by themselves for 10-14 days. But that alone won't be enough, the chancellor said.
UT also is shuffling resources to ensure it has more people who can perform contact tracing -- the process of identifying everyone who has come in contact with a carrier.