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

Four employees also tested positive.

Tuesday’s update reflected Penn State’s highest number of added cases in a dashboard update since October 13.

The university administered 841 student random surveillance tests between November 6 and 8, resulting in two positives, 603 negatives, and 236 pending tests. Meanwhile, Penn State performed 397 on-demand tests in that span, which yielded 62 positives, 334 negatives, and one pending test.

A large number of Tuesday’s added positives appear to be from tests that were previously pending before the update. Last Friday, more than 600 students were awaiting results.

According to the dashboard’s update, 42 students are currently in on-campus quarantine, while 48 are in on-campus isolation.

Since testing began on August 7, Penn State has found 4,221 student coronavirus cases at University Park out of 62,471 administered tests. Additionally, 19 employees have tested positive so far.

According to the dashboard, 275 student cases remain active at University Park, while 3,946 are inactive. Six employee cases are active, while 13 are not.

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.

Penn State President Eric Barron said the university is carefully monitoring University Park’s recent uptick in cases as students prepare to return home in less than two weeks.

“We believe that some of the increases are tied to gatherings over Halloween weekend, and we are working closely with students on contact tracing to limit further spread of the virus,” Barron said. “This serves as a reminder to us all that the virus is still very much present, and we must work together and follow all public health guidelines — at all times — in order to protect one another.”   

The university also advised students to sign up for pre-departure coronavirus testing over the next two weeks.

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.