Reports of positive cases of COVID-19 at the University of Georgia have dropped to a new low, with 47 individuals reporting positive tests for March 1-7. That number is down 85 percent from the first week of the Spring Semester and is the lowest number reported since UGA began surveillance testing in August.
Of those who reported positive tests through the DawgCheck system, 36 were students, 10 were staff, and one was a faculty member.
Surveillance tests were administered to 1,791 individuals at the Legion Field surveillance site and in a satellite location. Of those tested, 14 yielded positive results for a positivity rate of .78 percent.
“I remain encouraged by the steep drop in the number of cases and our positivity rate remaining below 1 percent,” said Dr. Garth Russo, executive director of the University Health Center and chair of UGA’s Medical Oversight Task Force. “However, I also want to make sure that our community does not become complacent. We can conduct many more surveillance tests each day, and I want to encourage our faculty, staff and students to keep taking advantage of this free service, in addition to wearing their masks, maintaining social distance and washing their hands.”
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, 1 percent of the housing stock is in use.
The University of Georgia community consists of nearly 50,000 students, faculty and staff.
