I heard on the radio this morning that there’s something like 150 cases of Covid19 amongst six or seven fraternity/sorority houses around the UW campus. Worried neighbors have provided evidence that there’s lots of late-night partying happening; the inference is no social-distancing, limited masks, etc etc, and the residents are putting the neighborhood, and thence the city, at risk.

The University has … sent a letter, and asked politely that residents get tested if they display symptoms and self-isolate. They say they have no authority to do anything more. The national fraternity/sorority organizations that run these houses have … done nothing, as far as I could determine from the article. The public health authority in Seattle has … done nothing.

Contrast this with the description of a small outbreak in Christchurch, described here.

My suggestion: lock the houses, post a cop at the door to stop anyone going in or out. Have groceries delivered and left on the porch. All residents are to remain inside the building(s) for two weeks; they can party as much as they like, but they can’t leave and infect anyone else. Anybody needing to get in (eg EMTs to take anyone who displays serious symptoms to hospital) are required to be in full-body PPE. All done under the authority of Seattle Public Health, with appropriate criminal punishment for violations.

Unclear on the concept, guys. Time for the adults to take control.

Update: searching on the web reveals that this started in June of this year, and case counts have only accelerated since then. Hello? Anyone out there?