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136 More University Park Students Test Positive For Coronavirus

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

Two employees also tested positive.

The university administered 801 student random surveillance tests between October 23 and 25, resulting in four positives, 631 negatives, and 166 pending tests. Meanwhile, Penn State performed 370 on-demand tests in that span, which yielded 37 positives, 207 negatives, and 126 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 500 students were awaiting results.

According to the dashboard’s update, 37 students are currently in on-campus quarantine, while 63 are in on-campus isolation.

Since testing began on August 7, Penn State has found 3,782 student coronavirus cases at University Park out of 52,364 administered tests. Additionally, 13 employees have tested positive so far.

According to the dashboard, 276 student cases remain active at University Park, while 3,506 are inactive. Three employee cases are active, while 10 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.

Tuesday’s update continued Penn State’s recent uptick in reported coronavirus cases. The university added just 90 cases to the dashboard on Tuesday, October 20 but reported 108 cases on Friday, October 23, and 136 Tuesday.

“We are seeing the number of positive results increase slightly and we are watching this carefully,” Penn State President Eric Barron said. “Now is the time to double down on our efforts in masking, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings. Every single Penn Stater needs to act responsibly and take these simple measures over the next few weeks so that we can keep our local communities safe, minimize this increase and send our students home healthy on Nov. 20.”

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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