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90 More University Park Students Test Positive For Coronavirus

Ninety more University Park students have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the latest update to Penn State’s COVID-19 Dashboard Tuesday.

The university administered 818 student random surveillance tests between October 16 and 18, resulting in zero positives, 615 negatives, and 203 pending tests. Meanwhile, Penn State performed 351 on-demand tests in that span, which yielded 33 positives, 231 negatives, and 87 pending tests.

A large number of Tuesday’s added positives appear to be from tests that were previously pending before the update. Last Friday, more than 730 students were awaiting results.

According to the dashboard’s update, 48 students are currently in on-campus quarantine, while 52 are in on-campus isolation.

Tuesday’s added cases reflect the fewest added positives in the dashboard’s last 13 updates, which occur twice a week. Penn State added 93 cases on Friday.

Since testing began on August 7, Penn State has found 3,538 student coronavirus cases at University Park out of 47,423 administered tests. Additionally, 10 employees have tested positive so far.

According to the dashboard, 193 student cases remain active at University Park, while 3,345 are inactive. Two employee cases are active, while eight are inactive.

It’s worth noting Penn State defines “inactive” as any case that’s more than 10 days old. At this time, it’s unclear how many inactive cases, if any, have actually tested negative and are truly dormant.

Kelly Wolgast, director of Penn State’s COVID-19 Operations Control Center, urged students to remain cautious and vigilant despite declining cases.

“We are seeing the number of positive test results continuing to decline among our students at University Park, but the next month is critical as we are seeing the number of cases of COVID-19 increase in Pennsylvania and across the country,” Wolgast said. “As temperatures grow colder and we enter flu season, we need to do all we can to prevent us from facing both COVID-19 and influenza. I strongly encourage everyone in our community to get the flu vaccine and we must continue taking health precautions, including wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings.”

Penn State plans to update the dashboard with new testing statistics twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. The tool incorporates data random surveillance testing, symptomatic testing, and self-reported testing through University Health Services or Occupational Medicine.

Penn State’s data and Pennsylvania’s Department of Health data may vary due to lag between test collection and test results from various labs.

Throughout the semester, the university plans to randomly test at least 1% of its population each day at designated locations around campus, including the Bryce Jordan Center and Eisenhower Auditorium. Students can also receive free walk-up testing at Pegula Ice Arena from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

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About the Author

Matt DiSanto

Matt proudly served as Onward State’s managing editor for two years until graduating from Penn State in May 2022. Now, he’s off in the real world doing real things. Send him an email ([email protected]) or follow him on Twitter (@mattdisanto_) to stay in touch.

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