College towns growing alarmed over outbreaks among students

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As more and more schools and businesses around the country get the OK to reopen, some college towns are moving in the opposite direction because of too much partying and too many COVID-19 infections among students.

Iowa’s governor ordered all bars closed this week in the counties that are home to Iowa University and Iowa State, while the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, did the same in the town where the state’s flagship university is situated.

The outbreaks since students began returning to campus in the past few weeks have heightened town-gown tensions and led to recriminations between local politicians and university officials.

Meanwhile, California prepared to announce plans Friday for reopening many businesses that were shuttered in July as coronavirus cases soared. In Arizona, another deadly hot spot this summer, a drop in transmission numbers allowed the Phoenix and Tucson areas to reopen gyms and some bars on Thursday. Ohio let theater groups this week resume performances with strict audience caps.

The virus has been blamed for over 180,000 deaths and 5.9 million confirmed infections in the U.S. Worldwide, the death toll is put at more than 830,000, with at least 24.5 million cases.

Surging infection numbers in Iowa and other places around the U.S. have been attributed in part to young people ignoring mask and social distancing requirements.

In Story County, where Iowa State is situated, 74% of new cases over the past seven days were among people ages 19 to 24, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday. In the same time period, 69% of new cases in Johnson County, the home of the University of Iowa, were in that age group.

“It is increasing the virus activity in the community and it’s spilling over to other segments of the population,”...