State Revokes Laredo Quarantine Orders For Texas A&M International University
A quarantine order for Texas A&M International University has tested the limits of local health authorities as Texas universities begin to see rising COVID-19 cases.
Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Treviño announced on Wednesday afternoon that he was ordering certain buildings on the university’s campus to be quarantined due to 11 reported COVID-19 cases among employees and students. But the Texas Department of State Health Services revoked the orders hours later when the university pushed back.
TAMIU President Pablo Arenaz said in a statement that they requested the action from the state and would remain open “because the actions taken today by the Laredo Health Authority (LHA) are over-reaching, unlawful and, frankly, unnecessary given the University’s incredibly low positivity rate.”
In his Wednesday statement, Arenaz said the university’s positivity rate of 1.76% remains lower than Laredo’s rate of about 30%. He said the university had tested 681 individuals and identified 12 positive tests, including 10 among students. But three students later retested negative, and only one infected student had attended in-person classes. The positive students and employees are now isolating, according to the university.
Read more: https://www.tpr.org/post/state-revokes-laredo-quarantine-orders-texas-am-international-university
