As New York hits a one-month milestone of positive COVID-19 tests remaining under 1%, an expert says the reopening of colleges and universities could end the streak.

There have been reports across the country of campus outbreaks, students throwing reckless parties and colleges having to close and go remote - including at SUNY Oneonta.

According to SUNY's COVID-tracker, over 1,000 cases stem from the state's 64 colleges and universities.

Dr. Sandra Kesh, an infectious disease expert with the WestMed Medical Group, says many fear infected students will bring the virus back to their hometowns and start outbreaks there if campuses close.

"Ideally you know, you would test the students to make sure that they're negative before they go home but remember that testing is not 100% either. So, I think regardless of whether they have a test or not, the students should be quarantining when they return home for a full two weeks," says Kesh.

Mercy College, which kicked off fall classes Wednesday, is planning ahead - starting with testing students who live on campus.

"We begin that - actually - today. It will continue through this weekend and we will have ongoing surveillance testing for our community of students in the residence halls," says Kevin Joyce, vice president of student affairs at Mercy College.

Joyce says students were required to sign and agree with campus rules and will be held accountable.

"We have a very detailed, very comprehensive ability to track individual cases of students. The privilege to be on campus could absolutely be revoked," he says.