Boston University surpassed Boston College in total reported cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. BU had reported 35 more total cases than BC as of Saturday and has now reported a total of 296 positive COVID-19 cases since it began testing in July. BC had led the Commonwealth in total cases for weeks—largely due to a spike in the second week of the semester, during which cases more than doubled.
Boston University conducted 32,411 total tests on faculty, staff, and students from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7. BU tests all undergraduates studying on campus twice weekly, graduate students either once or twice weekly, and on-campus faculty weekly.
BC reported conducting 8,635 community tests from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6 in the Friday update of its COVID-19 dashboard. BC calls students, faculty, and staff in for random asymptomatic surveillance testing on a weekly basis, and also tests students who report having symptoms.
BC reported 10 community cases of COVID-19 from Monday through Thursday, while BU reported 31 cases across the same period of time.
As of Saturday, BU had performed 346,825 total tests since July 27, while BC had performed 87,864 tests since Aug. 16, according to the universities’ dashboards.
BC reported 10 cases of COVID-19 this week out of 8,635 tests in the Friday update of its COVID-19 dashboard, an positivity rate of .12 percent.
Cases have recently been rising in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which reported a total of 2,200 new cases on Saturday—the highest daily total since spring—and a seven-day average positivity rate of 2.27 percent as of Saturday.
The City of Boston is still in the state’s high-risk category for COVID-19, which includes cities and towns that report an average of more than eight daily cases per 100,000 residents over two weeks. Newton remains in the moderate-risk category, with between four and eight cases per 100,000 residents over this time.
Boston reported an average of 18.4 daily cases per 100,000 residents between Oct. 18 and Oct. 31, while Newton reported 5.6 cases per 100,000 residents during this time period.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently announced a new round of COVID-19 restrictions across the Commonwealth, including an advisory instructing residents to remain home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., which went into effect this past Friday.
Baker signed an executive order requiring restaurants to close in-person dining by 9:30 p.m., and liquor stores and other retail businesses must cease alcohol sales by 9:30 p.m. Select other businesses, including movie theaters and gyms, must close by 9:30 p.m.
Baker also signed a revised order requiring residents to wear face coverings at all times while they’re in public, though children under the age of 5 and people with a medical condition or disability are exempt from this order.
BC reported that 18 undergraduates were in isolation as of Friday—with 13 in University isolation housing and five isolating at home—and that 230 undergraduates had recovered.
The University reported that it had conducted 87,864 total tests, with 261 total positive cases, through Thursday. These numbers include 64,326 undergraduate tests, with 248 undergraduate cases.
Featured Image by Ikram Ali / Heights Editor
