Thirty-six positive COVID-19 tests were reported last week by the University of St. Thomas’ Center For Well-Being Monday, a decrease of 15 from last week.
All cases came from the St. Paul campus, two of which came from employees.
“There remains no evidence of transmission in classroom or lab environments,” the message on the COVID-19 Dashboard said. “Nevertheless, the Center for Well-Being is strongly encouraging university community members to follow all health and safety guidelines in the Campus Preparedness Plan amid the backdrop of rising cases across Minnesota and continuing transmission in the St. Thomas community.”
Most transmission continues to stem from groups of students living together on and off campus, and students gathering in small groups without social distancing or wearing masks, according to the dashboard.
Known active cases in the community remain “within a manageable range based on key variables outlined in the Key Considerations to Guide Decisions on Campus Operations,” the dashboard said.
Quarantine and isolation spaces on campus remain at more than 50% availability, campus contact tracers are able to interview 90-100% of cases within 24 hours and personal protective equipment on campus “remain at good levels,” according to the dashboard.
These numbers come from tests conducted at the Center for Well-Being and self-reported tests.
According to the university’s COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 “are expected to stay home until they have been fever-free for 72 hours (without use of medicine that reduces fever) and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared and other symptoms have improved.”
The plan also requires 14 days of quarantine for community members who have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
COVID-19 data is released by St. Thomas weekly on Mondays and can be found on the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.
Joey Swanson can be reached at swan5350@stthomas.edu.
Maggie Stout can be reached at maggie.stout@stthomas.edu.