UW System offers guidelines for in-person instruction

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — University of Wisconsin System officials are offering campuses guidelines for reopening this fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the system released the guidelines on Sunday. They call for putting classes of more than 50 students online, having a plan that will be carried out if COVID-19 cases increase quickly, re-evaluating  how dorms and dining  halls are run, the use of masks and keeping students that share classes together in the dorms.

Rob Cramer, system vice president for administration, said the recommendations are broad so individual chancellors can decide how best to reopen their campuses.

Some UW schools say dorms will be open and be allowed to fill to capacity. Schools also are setting up isolation areas where sick students could be quarantined but still access their courses online and have food delivered to them. Mask requirements will vary from campus to campus. UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis Shields told the Journal Sentinel that students who won’t wear masks may not be allowed to attend his university.

UW-Madison has yet to announce any reopening plans. A UW-Madison spokesman told the Journal Sentinel that the school may release something by next week.

State health officials reported 275 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Sunday. The state has now seen 22,758 cases and 692 deaths. about 16,500 people, or 73% of those infected, have recovered.