The state's university system is feeling the effects of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
At the University of New Hampshire, some students are leaving campus early as the school reports record numbers of new COVID-19 cases.
39 students have voluntarily left the campus in the past week, and another 27 were evicted from housing, according to an email from Senior Vice President for Student Life Kenneth Holmes.
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UNH now has 108 active cases of COVID-19, and says its quarantine and isolation housing is reaching capacity. Officials are investigating allegations of large gatherings over Halloween weekend.
UNH President Jim Dean says that students leaving campus this weekend and early next week could help keep cases lower as the university enters its final week of classes.
"If the majority of students decide to stay, and the numbers go up, we're going to have to pull additional volunteers to help us with contact tracing," he said.
UNH will return to remote learning after November 20 for the remainder of the semester.
Cases on the rise at PSU
Plymouth State University has 11 active COVID-19 cases as of Thursday.
Donald Birx is PSU's president. He says the number of cases the university saw increased during leaf peeping season, with a peak of 17 cases.
“Most of the students and staff that have gotten anything seem to have gotten it from restaurants. Many of the students work in restaurants,” he said.
Fifteen people are currently in quarantine on PSU's campus. There are currently 50 active cases in the town of Plymouth.
