A dramatic spike in coronavirus infections led to an ongoing lockdown at the Air Force Academy, where cadets have been isolated in their dorm rooms as leaders wait for the epidemic to subside.

Leaders say the exponential spread of the virus coincided with October’s “third wave” of the pandemic arriving in Colorado. In the close confines of the school, where 4,000 cadets were attending classes on the campus and almost all of them lived in the dormitories, every cadet infected with the virus passed it to an estimated three other people.

“We are currently on the back end of a surge, but it is a surge for which we had preplanned response options,” Col. Douglas Wickert told the school’s Board of Visitors in an online meeting Wednesday.

Lamborn takes leap on Armed Services panel | Tom Roeder

Before the surge hit, the academy was functioning much as it had for years, with cadets gathering for communal meals, attending military drills and even cheering its football team in an otherwise-empty Falcon Stadium.

The school kept monitoring coronavirus infections, with 800 cadets and staff members per week undergoing testing.

That surveillance program made the school’s skyrocketing infection rate apparent in early November, Wickert said. The academy then tested its entire staff and student body over the course of three days.

“We think we identified 90% to 95% of infections,” at the school, Wickert said.

The Air Force does not release specific numbers on coronavirus infections at its bases, but a graph shown to the board showed a nearly vertical increase in the number of cases at the school.

Biden’s front-runner for top Pentagon post could face budget cuts

To clamp down on the virus, the academy took steps civilian leaders in Colorado have been reluctant to take: a full lockdown.

“We have gone to 100% remote classes, 100% remote learning, and we have asked our cadets to limit their interactions to only their roommates,” Wickert said.

Cadets are being kept on the campus in their dormitories, with takeout food delivered to them. The academy has been closed to visitors since March, and with cadets restricted to the campus, the school is virtually quarantined from its neighbors in Colorado Springs.

The academy’s superintendent, Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, said about 300 cadets at any given time are in an isolation squadron. That unit, which Clark said processes about 25 cadets in or out per day, is housed in floors of a dormitory that were cleared out by moving some cadets into northern Colorado Springs hotels. The extra space allowed for cadets infected or exposed to COVID-19 to be kept away from the rest of the student body.

NORAD’s Canadian troops in Colorado Springs plan for a different holiday season

Wickert said the lockdown stopped the spread of the virus cold.

“We think we have this surge under control,” Wickert said.

Clark said almost all of the infected cadets showed no symptoms. He said a “handful” of cadets were hospitalized for respiratory issues.

“Overall, no really serious cases, but we did have some that had to go to the hospital,” he said.

There’s more austerity ahead for cadets. Their usual Thanksgiving break has been canceled, which Clark called “a blow” for morale.

“We will take the day off on Thanksgiving, but they won’t be able to go downtown to Colorado Springs,” Clark said.

The isolation is expected to continue through Dec. 11, when cadets head home for a three-week winter break.

The academy’s goal is to have its cadets clear of quarantine so they can safely head home.

“We will not only be able to finish the semester, but bring our cadets back in the spring with confidence,” Wickert said.

Raymond building culture of urgency into new Space Force

The academy’s handling of coronavirus this fall is a radical departure from how it was handled there in the spring.

As the virus hit Colorado, the academy sent most of its cadets home, keeping only the school’s seniors on the campus.

That senior class became the first in academy history to graduate the school early. The class of 2020 got their lieutenant’s bars in April in a ceremony that featured a speech from Vice President Mike Pence, but without a crowd of family and well-wishers to cheer them on.

Graduation for the class of 2021 is set for May 26, with details on the ceremony pending.

The school has canceled spring break, instead giving cadets days off through the semester with extra three-day weekends.

The report to the board comes after weeks of silence from the academy about the pandemic.

The civilian oversight panel, which reports on the academy to the Pentagon and White House, had not met since February and had its gathering driven online by virus concerns.

Clark told the panel that planning is underway for bringing back cadets in early January, with more coronavirus testing and a quarantine period upon their return so the spike doesn’t repeat.

“We are in the throes of that right now,” he said.

Another issue for Clark is determining when a vaccine can be obtained and how the school will inoculate cadets.

Clark admitted efforts to contain the virus have been difficult for cadets.

“Going through a service academy is tough, but going through it during a global pandemic is extraordinary,” he said.

But the school’s battle with the virus is far from over, Clark warned.

“People are tired, I’m not going to kid you,” Clark said. “But people are driving through and accomplishing the mission.”