A coronavirus outbreak has been reported at the University of Southern California's (USC) fraternity row after around 40 people have tested positive of the virus, school officials confirmed Thursday.

USC Student Health's chief Dr. Sarah Van Orman, told Los Angeles Times that the coronavirus outbreak took root at the 28th Street fraternity row.

CBS Los Angeles quoted Van Orman saying there was a "significant number of cases" linked to the fraternity row. New York Post reported around 150 USC students and workers who have been infected with the virus.

But the coronavirus outbreak can be curbed with the help of community members off-campus, USC officials said.

About 40 people living on a street near some of the school's frat houses have tested positive for COVID-19, said Van Orman.

Van Orman also said USC did not control the off-campus houses, and it was not clear if the outbreak just involved frat members who often leased out rooms during the summer break. This means it is not clear if all of those infected are only frat members.

She added that unless people know the right tools like social distancing and wearing masks, the virus's spread is likely to go on. There is a change of drastic effects on the economy, learning, academics, jobs, and people drying, said Van Orman.

 "Each of us has to decide what we stand for. Frats need to do that as well," she said.

According to school officials, the outbreak among USC frats is over, for the most part. Van Orman gave credit to continued testing and contact tracing. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also has a required quarantine order that USC adheres to.

The school first had 15 reported positive cases on fraternity row earlier this month. "We haven't seen any more cases for the last week or so," Van Orman said.

Virus Outbreaks in Colleges

USC is not the only U.S. university to have seen a virus outbreak. As of late July, the University of Texas (U.T.) is on the top of the list for universities with the most COVID-19 cases.

There are also about 6,300 cases tied to about 270 colleges since the start of the pandemic.

Since the pandemic began, U.T. has the highest number of cases at 449 cases, said a report from local news channel KVUE.

There were also outbreaks at universities in Washington, California, and Mississippi.

What do the outbreaks mean for U.S. colleges?

Experts say the outbreaks could be an example of what may happen to U.S. colleges and universities when in-person classes begin this fall.

University of Washington's chair for the Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases said the outbreaks serve as "lessons" for students to keep in mind when they return to campus.

In a Time report, Professor David Hamer of Boston University, who is also a specialist in infectious diseases, expressed concern over a "substantial risk" that the outbreaks pose. He noted that while universities are planning to have a multi-layered strategy to limit or prevent outbreaks, "whether they'll be successful is another story."

Some universities have changed their mind and are looking at an online approach to the coming fall semester. This is something that even the students are aware of since even their spring plans were cut short by the spread of the virus.

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