Over 100 MBA students at U. of C. quarantined after possible COVID-19 exposure at gathering

The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business moved its classes online this week after more than 100 students are quarantining after possible coronavirus exposure from attending an off-campus party.

In an email to students, faculty and staff, school administrators on Wednesday said Booth’s downtown and Hyde Park campuses are closed for at least two weeks as the potentially infected students quarantine.

The outbreak was traced to a large, off-campus gathering among full-time MBA students last week that included some students who tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple reports. The school is asking anyone who attended the event to get tested for the contagious respiratory virus.

It appears no other university courses outside of Booth are being switched to full remote learning at this time.

The university’s COVID-19 dashboard is updated on a weekly basis and doesn’t yet show the new cluster of cases. The most recent update was Oct. 9. Thirty-three cases have been confirmed among the 12,932 tests processed since Sept. 20, the dashboard shows.