A COVID-19 outbreak on UW’s Greek Row hints at how hard it may be to open colleges this fall

This week’s outbreak at several University of Washington fraternities has hinted at just how hard it’s going to be to keep COVID-19 from spreading when college students return to campus this fall — especially since those students are eager to be around other young people after months of lockdowns and living at home.

As of Friday, 117 students living in 15 fraternity houses this summer have reported testing positive for the virus. The university has confirmed 89 of those cases, along with an additional four students who visited fraternities but didn’t live in them. The numbers are likely to tick upward, since about 1,000 have been tested, including other students who visited the fraternities but didn’t live there.