Measles Outbreak Causes Hundreds Of Los Angeles College Students To Be Banned From Class

The city of Los Angeles is taking no chances when it comes to the measles outbreak. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed the rate of measles cases had hit its second-greatest number since it was declared eliminated in 2000, two popular universities on the West coast have banned college students, as well as faculty and staff, who can't prove that they've been vaccinated against the virus.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County health officials said almost 300 students, faculty, and staff from the University of California, Los Angeles, and California State University, Los Angeles, have to remain in a cleared-off space if they cannot "provide evidence of two doses of measles immunizations or lab verified immunity to measles," reports the DailyMail. There is no treatment for measles except for the preventative vaccine.

The LA County Department of Public Health said in a statement that up to 100 students at UCLA have been ordered to stay in their residence for 21 days. "Both universities are assisting with the implementation of quarantine orders and determining how best to support students who must be quarantined and who live on campus," officials said in the statement.

At Cal State LA, 127 staff members and 71 student employees who work in the university library were sent home after an infected person spent time there earlier this month.

As of April 19, there have been 626 confirmed cases across the U.S. of measles since the beginning of 2019 according to the CDC.