Kappa Kappa Gamma's sorority house has been put under mandated quarantine as of September 17. Houses with required quarantine guidelines are marked with a yellow paper on the front door. Shot on September 17, 2020.
Eleven more large houses in East Lansing with known exposure to COVID-19 have been issued a mandatory quarantine for the next two weeks, according to a release from the Ingham County Health Department (ICHD) on Thursday.
A total of 39 properties are now under quarantine. An emergency order issued on Monday placed 30 large properties under quarantine. Two properties listed under the previous quarantine restrictions (Sorority Alpha Chi Omega and Sorority Chi Omega) have since been removed from the list.
The quarantined properties include 25 fraternities and sororities, and 14 large rental houses. The quarantine period has been extended by three days for one fraternity and four sororities due to new cases/exposures, the release said.
“The current situation deeply concerns me for the MSU and East Lansing communities,” Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said in the release. “Beyond that, our inability to contain this extremely high level of transmission will adversely impact other communities, services and businesses in the county. Ingham County has the highest COVID-19 risk in the entire state of Michigan. We are truly in a crisis situation, especially in East Lansing. We must do all we can to contain the outbreak.”
Residents of the quarantined properties should remain home for the next two weeks. Those who do not reside in the residence are prohibited from entering unless they are providing a service deemed necessary for the immediate health and safety of the residents.
Since Sept. 1, East Lansing has experienced a 315% increase in total case count. The reported increase is driven almost entirely by an outbreak among MSU students directly accounting for 80% of all new cases, the release said.
According to the release, there are currently 252 cases of COVID-19 per million people in Ingham County. This rate exceeds the threshold for “very high risk” on the MI Safe Start Map at 70 cases per million by 360%.
A willful violation of the order may result in a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $200 or up to six months imprisonment, the release said. An individual may be arrested if a violation occurs in the presence of a police officer or if the police officer has reasonable cause to believe he/she has violated a rule or order.
