During the first week of classes, officials at James Madison University watched warily as the numbers of Covid-19 cases on campus ticked up and the number of beds set aside to isolate infected or exposed students dwindled.
Knowing that each infected student could potentially spread the virus that causes Covid-19 to dozens more, the university decided on September 1, after consulting with the Virginia Department of Health, that the safest bet would be to send students home for at least four weeks. That would give JMU time to work with local health officials to build up its capacity to contain the spread.
