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Syracuse University has confirmed an emerging cluster of coronavirus cases related to two unrelated off-campus gatherings last weekend, a university official announced Thursday.

SU has confirmed 21 COVID-19 cases among students in the past 24 hours, the majority of which are likely related to the cluster, Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie said in a campus-wide email. As with the university’s first cluster in early October, SU anticipates finding more cases in the coming days, he said.

“As we did in response to the COVID-19 spike on our campus earlier this month, we are taking aggressive action to prevent this situation from expanding beyond our ability to control,” Haynie said.

The university is instructing any students who were at Orange Crate Brewing Company on Saturday evening or at an unrecognized Greek organization’s off-campus party last weekend to shelter in place and not attend class. Students who were at either events should also immediately contact SU’s COVID-19 Program Management Office.

Under New York state guidelines, if SU confirms 100 positive COVID-19 tests in a two-week period ending Nov. 6, it will have to suspend in-person classes and limit on-campus activities for at least two weeks. The university has confirmed 27 positive tests in the current period and would need to confirm 73 more before Nov. 6 to reach the state’s threshold.

“We will continue to update our community as we receive additional information related to this emerging cluster of positive COVID-19 cases within our campus community,” Haynie said. “We will be communicating further on additional action we will be taking this Halloween weekend to prevent further spread.”

The university announced its first cluster of COVID-19 cases on Oct. 6. The cluster was related to at least one party at an apartment complex on Walnut Avenue and resulted in 99 active cases among students and employees in central New York at its peak. The cases brought the university closer than it ever has been this semester to transition to online-only classes.

University officials have said an individual who traveled to Binghamton, a state-designated COVID-19 hotspot at the time, brought the virus back to campus and spread it at the gathering. SU responded by temporarily closing and canceling in-person student activities, with the exception of academics and intercollegiate athletics.

This post will be updated with additional reporting.

Published on October 29, 2020 at 5:07 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu