Macon Co. EMA Director Worried about Auburn University Students Spreading COVID-19 to Tuskegee

Macon County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Lee says he has concerns about the behavior of Auburn University students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how that could affect his county.

In an email sent to Alabama News Network, he says his office has received calls from parents of Tuskegee University students, expressing concerns about the lack of adherence to CDC best practices at Auburn.

Tuskegee and Auburn are roughly 20 miles apart from each other. Lee says some Tuskegee students live in Auburn, which could lead to a spread of the virus from one city and campus to the other.

Lee says he decided to investigate the behavior of Auburn students.

This is what he says he did:

“First, I parked on the main street in downtown Auburn for an hour and a half. Second, I noticed out of several hundred students that passed my parked vehicle:

1. No mask or face coverings being worn.
2. No social distancing.
3. Large groups were assembled, walking with no indication of the spread of COVID-19.
4. Businesses were open and the flow of walking traffic was business as usual.
5. Local law enforcement was ignoring the obvious violations.”

Lee says he has contacted Tuskegee University officials to tell them of his concerns that Tuskegee students could be exposed.

Meanwhile, Auburn University said a number of students are quarantined after four COVID-19 cases were reported in a campus residence hall and a fraternity house. The school did not name the fraternity or dorm.

Auburn has about 30,000 students on its main campus. The university is requiring face coverings indoors and outdoors on campus.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)