Coronavirus infections begin to decline among UC San Diego students

COVID-19 coronavirus infections among UC San Diego students have begun to decline, offering hope that the La Jolla campus might be able to return to in-person classes in late January.

The infection rate on Jan. 11 was 8.74 percent, down from a peak of 9.69 percent Jan. 6, according to university data.

By comparison, the rate of infection among people countywide who got tested for the virus was 24.46 percent as of Jan. 11, health officials said.

UCSD began the winter quarter Jan. 3 with most of its nearly 43,000 students taking classes online. That was supposed to last two weeks. But it was extended to four weeks to help the university cope with the surge of infections that also is occurring nationally.

Even with the temporary shift online, about 7,500 students are still living on campus. The figure was roughly 17,000 in September.

Meanwhile, scientists say they are seeing signals that the virus′s Omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the United States, at which point cases may start dropping dramatically.

The reason: The variant has proved so contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect, just a month and a half after it was first detected in South Africa.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report. ◆