The University of Oregon and Lane County Public Health are preparing for a possible increase in COVID-19 cases when students return from spring break. Experts across the country are expecting a spike in early April due to a spring break travel and the spread of new variants, Lane County spokesperson Jason Davis said. 

“We are bracing for that possibility, while reminding our community we have the power, through masking, distancing and avoiding unnecessary gatherings, to avoid a spike here locally.” he said. 

On Mar. 26, Lane County dropped into the low risk category, meaning that there were fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 people. Restaurants and bars can remain at 50% capacity and can now stay open until midnight. Outdoor gathering capacity was expanded to 300 people. 

On Mar. 22 Group 6 in phase 1B became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, significantly expanding the number of people able to become vaccinated. Frontline workers will become eligible on Apr. 5, and a lot of working students may fall under this category, so cases and testing rates may fall throughout spring term. Mass vaccination clinics are being held at Autzen Stadium, Lane County Events Center and in Florence, where around 2,400 people can get vaccinated over the course of a weekend.

Lane County residents and UO students who chose to travel during the break are encouraged to get tested within three to five days of returning, and self-isolate until they get their results back. LCPH’s biggest concern is identifying positive cases and making sure they stay isolated, Davis said. 

“Our first message would be to avoid travel as much as possible this spring break,” he said. “But we can’t expect everyone to refrain from traveling, so if you do, do so as safely as you can.” 

UO’s MAP testing program remained in operation during the break to all Lane County residents, and LCPH is requesting that residents take advantage of this service if they have traveled. During week one of spring term, MAP has 2,500 open slots for testing. 
UO students were urged to stay local during the break to minimize the spike as much as possible. Residence halls stayed open at no cost, and the EMU and some dining halls were open during the break. Some on-campus organizations even planned events to occupy students who decided to stay in Eugene.

The Tutoring and Academic Engagement Center held a socially distant scavenger hunt throughout the week, giving students safe activities to help them relax and recharge. The UO Outdoor Program hosted self-guided tours of local landmarks and hikes. Students can download guides off the Outdoor Program’s website, showing them hiking routes, fun facts and points of interest. 
At the end of week ten, UO had 17 new cases, the lowest since the start of the calendar year, UO Director of Public Affairs Kay Jarvis said. 

Some UO students traveled during break, while some opted to stay in Eugene. Jordan Zirbes, a UO junior, went home to the Bay Area for spring break. She feels that there are a lot of ways to stay safe while traveling, but expects there to be quite a few students who chose not to follow precautions. 

“I’m pretty confident in my ability to stay safe during break, because I’m mainly going down to see my family, and they’ve been really cautious for the entire pandemic,” she said. “But there’s definitely going to be some people who go places like Florida or Texas where there’s a higher risk of getting sick.”

Peyton Ritchie, a sophomore at Bushnell University in Eugene said that even though she didn’t travel, the break from classes is much appreciated. She feels that having a spring break rather than wellness days throughout the year is a much better model. 

“This mental break from school is going to be really good for everyone’s well being,” she said. “Stress is at an all time high so I think we all need some time to relax.”

Testing rates at UO have reached an all time low in the past few weeks, mainly because cases have gone down. LCPH hopes to see an increase in tests performed in the coming weeks, Davis said.

LCPH is predicting that many Lane County residents will have traveled during this time, and is making testing one of their top priorities. While a spike in cases is expected, Davis said that he hopes the community does their part in getting tested and staying isolated. 

“We’ve beat the national trend before, we can do it again,” he said.