Reports of COVID-19 at the University of Georgia held steady last week, with 33 individuals reporting positive tests for the week of March 22-28. This is UGA’s third consecutive week of having cases in the low 30s.
Of those who reported positive tests through the DawgCheck system, 30 were students and three were staff members. No faculty cases were reported.
Surveillance tests were administered to 1,005 individuals at the Legion Field surveillance site and in a satellite location. Of those tested, nine yielded positive results for a positivity rate of .896 percent, the sixth straight week that the rate has remained below 1 percent.
“It is clear that we have flattened the curve here at UGA, and that is very encouraging, particularly as we are ramping up our vaccination efforts,” said Dr. Garth Russo, executive director of the University Health Center and chair of UGA’s Medical Oversight Task Force. “However, I am disappointed to see how much interest in surveillance testing has waned.
“Regardless of your vaccine status, please continue to participate in surveillance testing at Legion Field,” Russo said. “The integrity of the vaccination program—including our ability to detect the influence of variants in the community—depends on broad participation that is representative of the community as a whole. We will be able to relax our efforts in the future, but now is not the time to do so.”
The University Health Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories are meeting daily demand for testing with saliva-based testing that is free to faculty, staff and students.
The University reports test results on a weekly basis each Wednesday on the University Health Center website: https://uhs.uga.edu/healthtopics/covid-19-health-and-exposure-updates. The data consist of tests from four sources: (1) tests conducted through UGA’s surveillance testing program; (2) tests conducted at the University Health Center; (3) reports from Athens-area medical providers; and (4) reports of positive tests from other sources.
The University is maintaining a stock of nearly 500 rooms to accommodate isolation and quarantine housing, as needed. At present, less than 1 percent of the housing stock is in use.
The University of Georgia community consists of nearly 50,000 students, faculty and staff.
