"It sounds like a lot," Gonzalez said "There were some gatherings, there were some parties, but nothing like we've seen in the past."

Gonzalez said the largest parties ELPD responded to had 40 to 50 attendees.

"We did not see any parties where there's 100, 200, 300 people even, at one location like we normally see in years past," Gonzalez said.

According to Gonzalez, this lack of activity could be attributed to fewer students in the area due to fully remote learning this fall, as well as the city's efforts to encourage COVID-19 preventative measures.

This theme carried over to campus, according to Michigan State University Police Department, or MSUPD, Capt. Chris Rozman who said MSUPD had virtually no activity on campus.

Recently, the city of East Lansing issued a health order limiting outdoor gatherings to 25 people. Since the order was released on Aug. 18, ELPD has responded to 11 violations, according to Gonzalez.

Of the 11 violations of the order, Gonzalez said none are repeat offenders.

"All of those first-time offenses have been handled with warnings and direction to break up the gathering, which people have been cooperative in doing so," Gonzalez said. "So, no one's been cited. No one's been referred for prosecution on the health order violations."

First time offenses are met with warnings; however, the city has advised ELPD will be tracking repeat offenses.

Additionally, the city has warned students that off-campus violations of local and statewide gathering limits will be reported to the university. Consequences for these incidents could include expulsion.

MSUPD will also take an education-first approach when handling gatherings on campus, according to Rozman.

Rozman also said students should refer to the MSU Community Compact, which details guidelines they have to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think the big thing is ... an individual could contract this disease and have very little to minor symptoms, maybe not even develop a fever, but they can pass this disease to another individual, which then reacts very poorly," Gonzalez said. "Out of respect for your friends, out of respect for your family, we want people to obviously follow those social distancing guidelines and masking guidelines."