Active COVID-19 Cases In Amherst Surge to 78. Public School Reopening Stalls For At Least Two Weeks

Parents Organize, Urge College Students To Change Their Behavior

The growing surge in COVID-19 cases among off-campus UMass students has led to concerns about the pandemic’s status in the area, and will delay the return of Amherst pupils to public school buildings by at least two weeks. 

The Town of Amherst reported 78 active COVID-19 cases as of Friday, October 2, up from 15 active cases on September 25, when a 13-person cluster at UMass was first identified. Amherst’s running total since the pandemic began, which had previously grown slowly, is now at 228. 

The recent surge is tied to off-campus UMass students, including groups that socialized together. The UMass Covid 19 Dashboard, which has been posting new batches of positive tests daily for several days, showed 17 new cases on Friday. 

The Amherst Regional Public Schools, which are now operating remotely, were supposed to have opened on Thursday, October 1, for a total of 300 students. The group included preschool, kindergarten and first-grade pupils, those with special needs, homeless children, and English language learners. 

“The District had been eagerly planning for Phase 1 in-person schooling to start this week for many months,” Schools Superintendent Michael Morris wrote in a Friday, 4:30 p.m. email to the community. “Unfortunately, the significant uptick in COVID-19 cases in our area, which are now up to 72 active cases, moved us well beyond the metrics for postponement agreed to by the District and the APEA (Amherst Pelham Education Association),” Morris stated. 

The district’s metrics are based on a formula which combines regional COVID-19 case data for Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties, but weighs Hampshire more heavily. The standard requires that there be fewer than 28 cases per 100,000 people for ARPS to hold in-person classes. As a result of the recent Amherst surge, that metric is now at 37 cases per 100,000.

A new possible date for the Phase 1 return to the public schools was set for October 15, while Phase 2 would start on November 2, and Phase 3 on November 30, if the COVID-19 case rate, and percentage of positive tests fall within accepted ranges. 

There is growing annoyance among public school families over the delay, and reported group socializing and parties by the college students.

A group called “Amherst for Responsible COVID Practices” shared an event on Facebook, which asked families to assemble at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Kendrick Park. Listed organizers Zac Early, Greg Sengle and Rebecca Dingo said the plan was to “ march/walk/stroll/just be heard and seen in and around campus.”

In an email shared with the Amherst Indy, their goal was to give college students “the message that as part of this community, they have a responsibility to practice COVID safety protocols.”

Rebecca Dingo wrote that the delay in school reopening had a significant impact on public school children, including her son.

“When my child heard the news that in person school was delayed due to the recent uptick in Covid cases, he cried. He hates remote learning, he misses his friends and the challenge  of school,” Dingo stated. “As I began talking to other parents, it was the same story— kids were angry that in-person school was delayed again due to a party. So we decided that it was important for the UMass students to know that their irresponsible actions has ripple effects, impacting the youngest members of their community.”

Dingo added that many parents involved work for UMass, and are struggling to keep up with their full-time jobs “because we have to help our very young kids through remote learning each day, and we worry about how this will impact UMass down the road.”

UMass indefinitely furloughed 850 employees in late August, including those in direct student services such as dining halls and dormitories. Last month, the UMass Professional Staff Union (PSU) and University Staff Association (USA) reached an agreement with UMass to avert layoffs. That agreement placed 140 employees on indefinite furlough, and reduced the hours of another 60 employees. All other PSU and USA employees will take ten days furlough between October and December, along with non-unit employees.

It is unknown exactly how many UMass students are living off-campus in the area. However, in August, WBUR reported that UMass expected about 2,400 off-campus, and 740 on campus. 

Town Manager Paul Bockelman, in an email to the Town Council on September 30, cited an increase of 32 new cases at that point, which he described as “significant for the town,” with “broader implications.”

Bockelman said he and the town’s Acting Health Director, Jennifer Brown, would be meeting with UMass officials and the “Reopening Committee” on Thursday, to “seek a better understanding of this cluster and how it is being managed.”  He added that Amherst is working with Northampton to establish a testing site in the immediate area.

The Amherst Town Council and Edward F. Blaguszewski, UMass executive director of communications, have not yet responded to an email sent by the Amherst Indy on Sept. 30. That email asks if the town, UMass and property managers might consider curfews, or local limits on indoor gathering sizes, and inquires about the legal considerations involved. The letter also asked how many “COVID-19 Ambassadors” have been hired by Amherst, and if they have been deployed to student housing sites.

In a press release dated October 1,  UMass said that case investigation is ongoing and close contacts of those who are infected are being  notified to get tested and quarantine themselves.  

“The university is working closely with Town of Amherst public health officials to monitor the matter and do continued outreach to students to deter spread of the coronavirus,” UMass said.  “This includes a comprehensive educational program as well as neighborhood ‘Knock and Talks’ in which UMass and town representatives follow up on complaints to emphasize appropriate behavior and share information on safe gatherings.”

University officials stated that “emphasizing a confrontational approach can be counter-productive and deter participation in contact tracing efforts,” but that if students repeatedly violate the UMass Amherst Community Agreement, their information will be forwarded to the Dean of Students for review and potential sanction under the Code of Student Conduct.

A 17-member working group, including officials from UMass and the Town, was launched in late July to provide a coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That group includes Bockelman, Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone, State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, Amherst Town Council Chair Lynn Griesemer, and UMass Deputy Chancellor Steve Goodwin, among others. 

Currently, COVID-19 testing is not mandatory for students living off-campus. 

Students who reside on campus are required to undergo testing twice a week, as are off-campus students who come to campus to attend in-person classes or research labs, or to work. 

Undergraduates who live in the area, defined on the UMass testing site as Amherst, Hadley, Sunderland, Belchertown, Pelham, Shutesbury or Leverett,  and do not come to campus for classes are “strongly encouraged” to get tested twice a week, while weekly tests are urged for area graduate students who do not attend classes on campus.  

The free asymptomatic testing program for COVID-19, conducted at the Public Health Promotion Center (PHPC) at the Mullins Center, is designed to mitigate community spread through the early detection of infection.

The UMass COVID-19 Dashboard, shows that of 17 students who tested positive on September 30, 11 who were asymptomatic. Nine tested positive on September 29, including five who were considered part of a 33-person cluster which socialized together. “The students are self-isolated, on and off campus,” the site states. 

The Dashboard shows a total of 98 positive COVID-19 tests at UMass since August 6, including 91 among off-campus students, and one on-campus student. Four faculty and two staff members, all off-campus, have also tested positive. 

UMass has thus far conducted 64,630 COVID-19 tests. This week, 2.8% of tests conducted were positive, compared to just .15% of all tests cumulatively. 

The UMass Dashboard logs show a total of 25 cases on September 28, a single case each on September 26 and 27, while two groups of three students tested positive on September 25, along with one staff member. Entries for September 23 show a total of ten cases. 

Morris apologized to public school families this week for the abrupt change in plans. 

“We understand that this change presents challenges for our ARPS families and share in their disappointment at this delay. However, as always, the health and safety of our students and staff are our top priority,” he wrote. 

When Morris announced the Phase 1 delay earlier this week, case numbers were still below the threshold that would trigger school closure. APEA President Danielle Seltzer praised the move. “Our district officials have done the right thing and looked holistically at the sharply rising case count among Amherst residents and we are grateful for their prudence and for erring on the side of community health and safety,” she wrote.

Seltzer added that there are many more things that the district needs to do to prepare the school buildings for in-person learning, and that the APEA is  “grateful that this time can be used to make sure our buildings are as safe as possible for students’ eventual return.”

Editor’s note: This post was updated with additional comments and background information on Saturday, October 3 at about 2:20 p.m.