Orange County took a strong stance on UNC reopening. What do Wake and Durham think?
While Orange County public health officials have made clear that they would rather not see thousands of students return to dorms and begin some in-person classes at UNC-Chapel Hill next week, other Triangle counties aren’t taking such a strong stance with their own college campuses reopening.
Wake County health officials have spoken with representatives from area colleges and universities and provided guidance about testing, cleaning and how to respond to positive cases of COVID-19 on campus. But there were no requests for input on how to structure the start of the school year, spokesperson John Hamlin said in a statement.
“We have communicated regularly with local colleges and universities, as well as the public school system and our municipalities, to share important health and safety messages to help limit the spread of the virus,” Hamlin said.
N.C. State is the largest Triangle university, with more than 36,000 students. It is nearing the end of its move-in process, with classes set to begin Monday.
In Durham County, Health Director Rodney Jenkins has been working with Duke University, N.C. Central University and Durham Technical Community College. But the health department did not send universities specific recommendations for their fall plans regarding housing or in-person classes, according to spokesperson Alecia Smith.
She said the health department is encouraging institutions to educate students and to modify operations to allow students, faculty and staff to maintain social distancing.
“While DCoDPH has not sent a memo to these higher education institutions to provide a fall reopening recommendation, we continue to be available to help provide guidance when needed as these institutions determine reopening decisions,” she said in a statement.
Warning about reopening campuses
Last week, Orange County Health Director Quintana Stewart sent a memo to UNC-CH leaders expressing her concerns about UNC’s fall plans. She asked the university to go fully online for the fall semester or to at least delay in-person classes and offer online-only classes for the first five weeks of school. She also asked UNC to limit campus housing to only at-risk students and those who need it.
Campus leaders said the memo was surprising, because they’ve been working closely with the health department throughout the summer.
Stewart and other local officials, including Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger, fear that the virus will continue to spread as students go out to bars and restaurants with friends, walk around town without face masks and attend fraternity and sorority parties, ignoring social distancing guidelines.
There will be increased police patrols downtown and in student neighborhoods in Chapel Hill this weekend to encourage safe behaviors and compliance with state and local health orders, the town announced Friday. Violations of state or local restrictions could be punishable by a fine or a jail sentence.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, area law enforcement agencies have chosen to approach violations with education and encouragement, not with citations,” Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said in a statement Friday. “That remains our preferred response. But repeated violations or egregious violations cannot be tolerated — it is not fair to the permanent residents of this county.”
Blackwood said he’s confident that all students arriving in Chapel Hill for the first time or returning to campus know what the community expects of them.
“If students fail to meet those expectations,” Blackwood said, “we will obviously need to approach the problem with a different strategy.”
University students, employees ask for direct guidance
A group of UNC System faculty, workers, staff and students sent a letter to the health directors of the home counties of each of the 17 UNC System institutions asking them to “do the responsible thing” and order universities to close given the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today, we implore each of you, as the experts and stewards of public health in your respective communities that include UNC System campuses, to communicate your own concerns, guidance, mandates, directives and recommendations in explicit terms, directly to university leadership at the campus in your county,” the letter says.
That includes sending guidance for “how, when, and whether to safely re-open campus” to the chancellor and other university leadership.
The group — made up of the NC Public Service Workers Union, the UNC-Chapel Hill American Association of University Professors, members of the North Carolina Conference of AAUP and the Workers of UNC Coalition — also sent the letter to county commissioners in the counties with a UNC System school in them.
In response to the letter, Smith said the Durham County Health Department will continue to monitor state and national recommendations and work with state officials and university leadership on next steps and guidance. Hamlin said Wake County Public Health did not have a response to the letter.
What can local health departments do?
After receiving emails from concerned community members about UNC-CH reopening, Stewart sent out a statement Thursday to clarify who makes the final decision.
“Many have suggested that I close campus and declare an imminent hazard,” Stewart said. “While it is true the local health director can determine an imminent hazard exists, there is a high legal bar for this to survive a judicial challenge and there is also cost associated with shutting down the UNC campus.”
Orange County could issue a stay-at-home order, which would force UNC to halt campus operations and move all classes online this fall. But that order would extend to local business, churches and other organizations, too.
The UNC System has said chancellors should comply with any order to delay or shut down in-person learning that comes from the institution’s county health department, The N&O previously reported. But a UNC System spokesperson clarified this week that this doesn’t apply to recommendations. Without a direct order, any decision about changing campus operations is in the hands of the university, the UNC System president and the Board of Governors.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Orange County took a strong stance on UNC reopening. What do Wake and Durham think?."
