UW-Madison and Milwaukee urging students not to return after Thanksgiving break

MADISON/MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS58) -- Universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Milwaukee school officials are asking students that if they go home for Thanksgiving break to stay home until spring semester. They want them to finish what's left of the fall term fully virtual.

"We expected that not only would we still be dealing with a pandemic, we also know this is when Flu cases begin to pick up," Meredith McGlone said. She is the Director of News & Media Relations at UW-Madison.

Over at the UW-Milwaukee campus, their original plan was to continue their in-person classes after break. However, they moved to plan B. Due to the surge in coronavirus cases, now they’re going the same route as Madison.

"We want to play it safe, and the health of our students and employees are the highest priority," Johannes Britz said. He is the Provost at UW-Milwaukee.

The President of the University of Wisconsin System sent a letter to all of chancellors this week. Students should be tested if they plan to leave for Thanksgiving Break. Upon returning, they must test negative two more times before heading back into a classroom.

“I think it’s pretty preventative, I’m actually glad we have the opportunity and such easy access to the test," McKenna Tucker said. She is Freshman at UW-Milwaukee.

A few students on the UW-Milwaukee campus say they’re going home.

“Probably going to be like 10 people maximum maybe, that’s about it, just like really close family," Sophomore Jonathan Perez said.

“I think I'll stay with family and not be around a lot amount of people," Greta Carbone said.

The UW-Madison campus is working on a new testing procedure for spring semester, testing everyone who comes on campus on a regular basis including students and employees.