Members of a third Greek chapter at Mississippi State University left their chapter house to self-quarantine due to exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus, MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter has confirmed.
Salter declined to provide the name of the chapter, but students with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed it to be the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Salter also declined to provide the number of students who lived in the Pi Kappa Alpha house at the start of the semester.
The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, known as Fiji, and the Phi Mu sorority saw COVID-19 outbreaks within the first week of classes, and about 80 students evacuated the two houses. MSU rented the Comfort Suites on Russell Street and the Hampton Inn on Blackjack Road, with a total of 155 rooms, for the semester for students to use as quarantine facilities if they test positive for COVID-19 or have been exposed to it.
MSU has staffed the hotels with employees from the departments of Housing and Residence Life and custodial services, and employees of the Longest Student Health Center will monitor quarantined students’ health on site.
As of Monday, 98 students are staying in the two hotels. and 40 more are in isolation, according to the COVID-19 data updated daily on the MSU website.
Within the first two weeks of classes, 206 students tested positive for COVID-19, according to the website.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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