Boston College reported three new undergraduate cases of COVID-19 out of 1,437 undergraduate tests since the Sunday update of its COVID-19 dashboard, a positivity rate of .21 percent.
The updated numbers bring last week’s undergraduate positivity rate to .19 percent, with 13 undergraduates testing positive out of 6,773 tests. This week’s undergraduate positivity rate as of Tuesday’s update is .30 percent, with two undergraduates testing positive out of 673 undergraduate tests.
In an email to students selected for asymptomatic surveillance testing this week, Director of University Health Services Douglas Comeau asked that students report for testing one to three days before their scheduled travel date and minimize their activities until they receive their test results.
According to the Commonwealth’s weekly dashboard as of Thursday, Newton and Boston remain in the moderate-risk category for COVID-19 transmission.
Newton reported an average of 23.6 daily cases per 100,000 residents between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5—up from 20.2 in the previous two-week period. Boston reported 46.06 daily cases per 100,000 residents during the same period, a jump from the prior two-week incidence rate of 31.7.
Massachusetts, which only officially recommends that people get tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms, have come into contact with someone who tested positive, or live in a high-transmission risk community, reported a seven-day average positivity rate of 5.71 percent on Monday. Boston reported a positivity rate of 7.2 percent between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6.
There are currently 17 undergraduate students in isolation as of Tuesday, with five in isolation housing and 12 recovering at home.
With about a week remaining in the semester, any student who is contact traced or tests positive for COVID-19 risks being placed into quarantine or isolation housing past BC’s official closing date of Dec. 21, Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Formation Tom Mogan wrote in an email to the BC community on Dec. 4.
BC has performed 135,119 total tests this year, with 472 positives. These numbers include 99,974 undergraduate tests and 431 undergraduate cases of COVID-19.
Featured Image by Ikram Ali / Heights Editor
