Binghamton University & SUNY Broome Given High Marks for Pandemic Protocol

State University of New York schools in Broome County are being held up as shining examples of how to run a college during a pandemic.  

SUNY Chancellor James Malatras toured Broome Community College and Binghamton University yesterday where cases of COVID-19 have remained low since the start of the semester while some other schools around the country have been forced to close due to huge numbers of inspections.   

The local campuses have zero-tolerance policies for violating pandemic protocol and Malatras says it’s working. 

Around a half dozen Binghamton University students were kicked off campus during the move-in, some of those because their parents violated the move-in rules that said they were not allowed to go into their students’ dorm rooms. 

COVID outbreaks on other campuses, including SUNY Oneonta, which stopped all in-person instruction for the semester when hundreds of students tested positive, have been linked to parties and other gatherings on and off-campus. 

Binghamton University, according to the SUNY COVID tracker now has 51 positive tests for the coronavirus, 13 over the past seven days.  BU has conducted over 1,300 tests. SUNY Broome reports four positive cases. Both schools are conducting ongoing random testing.