USC rolls out new system to gauge COVID 19 threat level on campus

As students continue to move into dorms, the University of South Carolina is introducing a new system to respond to coronavirus cases on campus, the school said Monday.

Going forward, USC will be under one of four status alert levels: “new normal” (green), Level 1/Low (yellow), Level 2/moderate (orange) and Level 3/high (red).

At the lowest level, “new normal,” classes and activities will proceed as usual, but with the addition of face masks, social distancing and hand-washing, according to USC’s website. At Level 1/Low, classes remain open but group gatherings are limited and surfaces are sanitized more often. At Level 2/Moderate, campus remains partially open with limitations on everyday activities. Certain areas of campus where there is an outbreak may have more restrictive rules. At Level 3/High, campus is all but closed. Classes could switch to completely online, and USC will “take strong measures to limit all contact,” according to the website.

Unlike many colleges throughout the country and throughout the state, USC will begin the semester on Thursday, Aug. 20, offering students on all campuses the option for in-person classes or online classes. In contrast, USC’s cross-state rival, Clemson University, opted to begin the first four weeks of school online after initially planning to start classes in-person.

USC is neither the first nor the only public S.C. college that will open in-person classes, but it is by far the largest. Both Lander University and The Citadel will begin in-person classes a few days before USC, said Rusty Monhollon, the president and executive director of the S.C. Commission on Higher Education. The Medical University of South Carolina and some private schools will also offer in-person classes, Monhollon said.

The status levels —which will be determined by case count, USC’s capacity to test, isolate and quarantine, the results of contact tracing and more— will be updated weekly, according to USC’s website.