With drop in new COVID cases, WSU reopens

091020.N.RPB.WINONASTATE.038.jpg — Students walk on campus on Thursday, September 10, 2020, at Winona State University. Winona State University is under a two-week quarantine as of Tuesday through Sept. 22 due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. All non-essential campus activities are canceled through Sept. 22. (Traci Westcott / twestcott@postbulletin.com)

By John Molseed

September 23, 2020 at 6:45 PM

Winona State University is beginning to reopen campus following a 14-day quarantine after a surge in new COVID-19 cases .

Through Sunday, the rate of new cases among students and staff slowed, with 36 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported from Sept. 14 through Sept. 20, and a total of 76 active positive cases as of Sunday.

That’s a smaller rise in cases than the previous week, when the university reported 46 new positive cases, and 125 active positive cases at that time, as of Sept. 13.

RELATED: “It’s really tough”: A look inside Winona State's quarantine Freshman Tori Cassen takes us inside Winona State to see the life of a student during the campus-wide quarantine.
“We are encouraged by this latest report,” WSU President Scott Olson wrote in a statement late last week about gradually opening the campus. “The numbers seem to indicate that the mitigation strategies we put in place last week are working, but we know that one week does not make a trend and we will continue to move ahead with caution.”

The 14-day quarantine imposed by the university expired Tuesday. It was imposed after 112 new cases were reported at the university in the first week of September.

With that expiration comes a travel advisory from Winona County Emergency Management cautioning local residents traveling to La Crosse County, Wis., because of a surge in COVID-19 cases there . The announcement discouraged people from traveling to the county for nonessential activities or services.

La Crosse County has averaged 110 new COVID-19 cases per day over the past week, with a 33.1% positivity rate. Another 87 new cases were reported there Wednesday.

By John Molseed

John Molseed joined the Post Bulletin in 2018. He covers arts, culture, entertainment, nature and other fun stories he's surprised he gets paid to cover. When he's not writing articles about Southeast Minnesota artists and musicians, he's either picking banjo, brewing beer, biking or looking for other hobbies that begin with the letter "b." Readers can reach John at 507-285-7713 or jmolseed@postbulletin.com.

With drop in new COVID cases, WSU reopens

A decline in new cases at Winona State University comes as new cases surge across the river, prompting a travel advisory.