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President Donald Trump’s newest Covid-19 adviser on Monday traveled to the swing state of Florida, where he said there is no need to test healthy people for infection and urged the state not to fear the virus, which has killed more than 182,000 people nationwide and infected more than 6 million. Scott Atlas, who Trump named to the White House coronavirus task force this month, said people who are asymptomatic don’t require testing for Covid-19. Backing the Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis at a briefing in Tallahassee, Atlas said schools should be open to classroom instruction and college athletes should take the field. (Sarkissian and Atterbury, 8/31)

It was back to school for thousands of Florida students Monday while President Donald Trump's new pandemic adviser dismissed teachers' and parents' COVID-19 concerns as "hysterical" amid reports of a big jump in the number of kids who have tested positive in districts that resumed in-person instruction. "We are the only country of our peer nations in the Western world who are this hysterical about opening schools," the adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas, said as he pressed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his advisers to reopen schools as quickly as possible. (Siemaszko, 8/31)

An elementary school in southeast Louisiana will cease in-person instruction for two weeks in response to what’s being called a “potential” coronavirus exposure. WDSU-TV reports parents at Wesley Ray Elementary School in Angie were notified by Washington Parish officials that the shutdown was “out of an abundance of caution” in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Health. (8/31)

Missouri schools ranging from universities to a kindergarten continue to grapple with an increase in COVID-19 cases as classes resume. The University of Missouri reported Monday that it had 415 active cases of COVID-19 on campus, an increase from the 306 reported Friday after the first week of on-campus classes. (8/31)

In COVID news from higher education —

Tyrel Henry would rather be at home. Instead, the junior at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho spends his days mostly alone in his room or working out at a local gym. There isn’t much to do in Lewiston, and he is losing money by being there. If he had stayed home in Kamiah, Idaho, he could be living with his grandmother and saving money. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The university had told him his courses would be offered in a “hybrid” format, one where students take both in-person and virtual classes. Days into his semester, he realized his classes were mostly online. (Quintana, 9/1)

As the fall semester gets underway, college students are reuniting with their friends, getting (re)acquainted with campus and doing what college students often do: partying. But in the time of the coronavirus, as more parties surface university administrators have been quick to condemn — and even berate — the behavior of students. "Be better. Be adults. Think of someone other than yourself," pleaded a letter to students at Syracuse University following a large gathering on campus. (Nadworny, 8/31)

The University of Arkansas on Monday reported 151 more confirmed cases of coronavirus at its campus in Fayetteville and a White House report said the state continued to have one of the highest rates of positive tests in the country. The new infections reported at the university over the weekend brings its total number of active cases to 222 and comes days after the state’s top health official expressed concerns about outbreaks at Arkansas’ college campuses. (DeMillo, 8/31)

The fall is weeks away and Covid-19 is surging. The Chronicle is tracking developments across higher ed here. (9/1)