Chancellor Rebecca Blank released the following statement:
County Executive Parisi and I both share similar concern for the health and well-being of UW–Madison students and the residents of Dane County. That is the primary reason we have instituted a robust testing regime – to ensure we knew about and could take action related to the spread of COVID-19.
It’s the university’s goal to be a partner with the city and county and not unduly strain limited resources. To be clear, we have created significant testing capacity on our campus, which has had available slots every day for members of the campus community. It is also why we have hired, and continue to hire dozens of contact tracers, and have set aside more than 1,000 spaces for students in need of isolation or quarantine.
The university recently entered a two-week period of reduced activity for undergraduates, but recognizes that cases will continue to rise among students in the short term. We will continue to evaluate our operations in light of this changing situation.
