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UF's Positive Coronavirus Case Total Tops 300 As Students Return For Fall Classes

The Graham Hall Residence Area stands empty after the University of Florida recommended all students who were able move out of their dorms and leave Gainesville in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to UF Housing and Residence Education, 300 out of 8,000 students have chosen to remain in their undergraduate residence halls on campus. (Kyle Chambers/WUFT News)
The Graham Hall Residence Area stands empty after the University of Florida recommended all students who were able move out of their dorms and leave Gainesville in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to UF Housing and Residence Education, 300 out of 8,000 students have chosen to remain in their undergraduate residence halls on campus. (Kyle Chambers/WUFT News)

The University of Florida is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases.

According to UF spokesperson Steve Orlando, positive cases have been identified in on-campus housing, though he wouldn't say in which "because of the risk of identifying the individuals involved."

"But," he said, "they were in residence halls and Greek housing.”

Orlando says UF Health experts expect a surge in coronavirus cases because of the Labor Day holiday.

“That’s what we’re preparing for," he said. "We’re going to start ramping up testing. We have ample room — still plenty of capacity left in our isolation/quarantine spaces.”

When a student tests positive, they are quarantined in a separate location. Orlando says the university is currently working to fix a transportation issue to get students from their dorms to a quarantine or isolation location.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 300 UF students have tested positive for the coronavirus through the university's testing systems. Those who test positive at locations outside the university, like CVS, are not a part of that tally.

Taylor is a reporter for WUFT News who can be reached by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.