Despite putting the campus under a temporary quarantine, Liberty University has seen its weekly infection rate increase into the hundreds.
Last week, Liberty placed their students into a temporary quarantine as their population grew in infections. While it had initially started with only 124 cases on campus, the number accelerated to around 488 in total. According to Liberty's dashboard, 430 of the infected students and 58 are staff or faculty. The campus also reports that 1056 of its 15,000 student population are quarantined, with at least 300 commuters and 154 employees in quarantine as of Wednesday.
Liberty does not require students to receive vaccinations or emphasize masking and social distancing.
When asked earlier about the rising cases on campus, Dr. Michael Elliot, Senior Vice President, and Chief Transformation Officer told local reporters that said numbers should be expected to rise considering the recent influx of students on campus and would be consistent across all campuses.
Liberty continued to host several outdoor events despite growing numbers, including the Sept. 4 football game against Campbell University. Local religious services have also been moved to Williams Stadium, which is open-air and not as enclosed as their prior space.
