In fall 2020, when college students across the nation returned to their campuses after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown the previous spring, many worried that the influx of people would put the surrounding communities at risk. But new research, conducted in Centre County, Pa., home to the Penn State University Park campus, and in the surrounding communities, reveals that despite a rise in cases among returning students, the use of behavioral interventions protected the local non-student population from experiencing a similar spike in cases.
Behavior limits COVID-19 spread between university and community, research finds
In fall 2020, when college students across the nation returned to their campuses after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown the previous spring, many worried that the influx of people would put the surrounding communities at risk. But new research, conducted in Centre County, Pa., home to the Penn State University Park campus, and in the surrounding communities, reveals that despite a rise in cases among returning students, the use of behavioral interventions protected the local non-student population from experiencing a similar spike in cases.