University of Notre Dame jumps to more than 400 positive COVID-19 cases as students, faculty weigh fall options

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WLS) -- The number of new cases at The University of Notre Dame continues to climb. The school reported there have been 408 cases confirmed since August 3rd.

Last week, the university announced it would go remote for two weeks.

Students published on op-ed on the front page of the student newspaper Friday pleading "Don't Make Us Write Obituaries".

In the op-ed, editors said it's not just on administrators, it's on students too.

"We believe that the blame for the situation cannot just lie on one party. whether it be students, administrators, faculty, staff , anyone. This situation is happening because of how our community has responded," Editor-in-chief of the school's newspaper, Maria Leontaras said.

The university said the rate of tests coming back positive among its student body "remained well above the World Health Organization's suggested threshold of 5% positive for a state to reopen." The positivity rate last week jumped to 8.3%, then was 44% over last the weekend, the university said in a statement.

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The total positivity rate for the semester is more than 11%, according to university officials.

Notre Dame administrators said if their efforts to contain the virus don't work, they'll switch to remote learning for the entire semester.

Indiana health officials reported 618 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths Sunday as the state surpassed 85,000 positive tests.