There's been a huge influx of students at Miami University in Ohio testing positive for the coronavirus since August, and one group held a huge house party over Labor Day weekend despite just recently testing positive.
CBS Newsreports that body camera footage from the Oxford Police Department showed an officer approach a group of students living near the campus to tell them to disperse after they were caught on camera hosting a party. "I'm assuming you probably know why I want to talk to you, right?" asks the officer in the clip. One student there tells the officer that eight people live in the house, but at this time there were closer to 20 people inside. In Oxford, Ohio, indoor and outdoor mass gatherings are limited to ten people maximum.
Upon telling one of the students to disperse the crowd at the home, he asked to see his ID. When he scanned it, he was informed the student had tested positive for COVID-19. "Yes, this was, um, a week ago," he told the officer. When the police asked if they should be in quarantine or not, the student replied that was why he was home. "Do you have other people here and you're positive for COVID? You see the problem?" he asked the student. Shortly after, he was informed that other people at the house had tested positive.
Six people have since been issued a citation, with fines starting at $500.
"This particular case is egregious, but I think for the most part, by in large, the students have been very well behaved," Lt. Lara Fening of the Oxford Police Department told WKRC. "Some residents came over from across the street that were reportedly COVID-positive as well. We do not know if anybody else at that party was aware of the COVID-positive residents because some of them left while the officer was there."
As of right now, Miami University in Ohio is set to resume in-person and hybrid classes from Sept. 21. "We take these matters most seriously, and students can face suspension or dismissal for these types of violations," said a school spokesperson.
