Three COVID clusters identified in University of Tennessee’s greek houses

University of Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman reported three new COVID-19 clusters on the Knoxville campus, all discovered in greek housing.

“In these cases, they have been identified as clusters simply because of the living arrangements in sorority and fraternity houses, which lead to a lot of close contacts,” Plowman said.

Two clusters were linked to frats and sororities last month including cases that derived from an off-campus gathering, according to the official.

The data presented Friday shows 64 percent of UT’s student body is participating in weekly saliva testing for the virus—a task that Plowman says is helping keep the campus safe.

“Student participation in our community saliva testing program helped us catch (these cases) early and worked to prevent further spread,” she said.

87 people are currently being treated for the virus at UT while more than 200 students are either quarantine and self-isolation.

(IMAGE: The University of Tennessee Knoxville)