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Since reopening, 3,000 NC college students got coronavirus

Roughly four in five cases across the state have come from UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and East Carolina University.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, a student works outside Ehrighaus dormitory on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. As more and more schools and businesses around the country get the OK to reopen, some college towns are moving in the opposite direction because of too much partying and too many COVID-19 infections among students. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

RALEIGH, N.C. — At least 3,000 college students across North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since schools reopened in early August.

Roughly four in five cases across the state have come from UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and East Carolina University.

The spike in coronavirus cases prompted the three campuses to halt undergraduate in-person classes and move students out of their dorms as classes go fully online.

Dozens of private and public colleges in the state have wildly different standards for reporting coronavirus information and the state public health department cannot force the universities to turn over much of their data.