Reports of positive cases of COVID-19 among faculty, staff and students at the University of Georgia held steady last week, both in terms of total cases and the positivity rate.
Overall, 181 individuals reported positive tests through the DawgCheck system for January 25 – 31—slightly down from last week’s total of 190. Of those, 133 were students, 45 were staff, and three were faculty members.
Surveillance tests were administered to 2,492 individuals at the Legion Field surveillance site and in pop-up locations that included high-traffic areas on campus. Of those tested, 64 yielded positive results for a positivity rate of 2.57 percent—once again, consistent with results from the previous week.
“While I am pleased that our case numbers are holding steady, we must avoid viewing this trendline as a sign to begin relaxing our practices,” said Dr. Garth Russo, executive director of the University Health Center and chair of UGA’s Medical Oversight Task Force. “In fact, these numbers demonstrate that what we are doing as a university community is working to mitigate spread on campus, so let’s keep it up.”
The University Health Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories continue to offer up to 1,500 tests per day through UGA’s surveillance testing program. These tests are 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.
“I am somewhat encouraged by this week’s report,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “But this pandemic is far from over, and we must continue to make safe choices on and off campus. I want to thank our faculty, staff and students who are following best practices to protect our campus community from the virus.”
The University is maintaining a stock of nearly 500 rooms to accommodate isolation and quarantine housing, as needed. At present, 8.8% percent of the housing stock is in use.
The University of Georgia community consists of nearly 50,000 students, faculty and staff.