Franklin College moves to virtual classes, suspends sports after rise in virus cases

UPDATE: Franklin College announced Thursday its students will return to in-person classes beginning Monday, Oct. 12.

FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) — Franklin College suspended classes Friday afternoon and said it will move to virtual education and activities through Oct. 9 after a “concerning and unusual” increase in the positivity rate for COVID-19.

Weekly coronavirus testing of student-athletes began last week as sports practices started for the NCAA Division III school. Last week’s testing of 46 student-athletes revealed one positive COVID-19 case. That count rose to 15 positive results out of 73 student-athletes tested this week, said Kerry N. Prather, the college’s president, in a statement.

“This higher rate of positivity is concerning and unusual, especially compared with the sample of a week prior,” Prather said in the statement.

During the move to virtual classes and activities, the college south of Indianapolis in Johnson County will verify the accuracy of its testing, obtain more test results from a wider sample of students, and analyze that data.

“Students are welcome to remain on campus, but monitoring of appropriate mitigation strategies will be heightened in all settings,” Prather said in the statement.

The college has about 1,000 students.