STEVENS POINT (WAOW) -
Classes have resumed at UW-Stevens Point, and that means it's
back to dorm life for Natalea Wright, a freshman at the university.
"You're definitely in, like, close quarters. Plus, you're
constantly hanging out with friends, and you guys are all squished together in
one room," said Wright.
With about 270 other student in her dorm, those close
quarters can mean the spread of illness.
"Once one person gets sick, it kind of goes on from there,"
Wright added.
"I feel like it's almost kind of inevitable that you're
going to get some kind of bug, hopefully not the flu," said Mike Schrauth, a
junior at the university.
Student Health Service leaders said it's still too early to
tell whether there will be a large flu outbreak on campus.
"We're only seeing a few scattered cases, and we're hoping
it stays that way, but you know, the students have really only been back on
campus for a couple of days," said Jen Sorenson, UWSP Student Health Service
administrative director.
Health officials say there's still potential for the virus
to spread across campus.
"There's still a concern that we will see an increase in
cases over the next several weeks," said Sorenson.
University leaders are taking steps to keep students
healthy. They've made masks and hand sanitizer readily available and posted
signs reminding people to wash their hands.
Students are taking precautions, too.
"I mean, I got my flu shot. I try to wash my hands and use
hand sanitizer and drink orange juice and take my vitamins and all that
business," said Schrauth.
Student Health Service leaders said they've given about 50
flu vaccinations to students since classes have been back in session. They said
that's a big increase from this time last year.
