Brown University has closed its dining halls and placed new restrictions on social gathering after an increase in positive, asymptomatic COVID-19 cases among its overwhelmingly vaccinated student population. As of Sept. 16, Brown has performed 12,216 “routine asymptomatic tests” on 10,624 individuals over the past seven days, which returned 80 positive results, according to a COVID-19 dashboard on the Ivy League school’s website. With a vaccine mandate in place, nearly 98 percent of students and 96 percent of faculty and staff have been vaccinated. In an interview with The Brown Daily Herald, Brown’s Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey told the student newspaper that there has not been “any evidence of any serious illness” among those tested positive. He added that neither anyone has been hospitalized due to COVID-19 nor there is any sign of a widespread outbreak on campus. Despite all that, Brown officials announced a …