Boston College reported 17 new non-undergraduate cases and one new undergraduate case of COVID-19 out of 947 tests since the Tuesday update of its COVID-19 dashboard, a community positivity rate of 1.8 percent. The undergraduate positivity rate since the last update is .22 percent.
As of Thursday’s update, the University had conducted over 100,000 undergraduate tests since it began COVID-19 testing on Aug. 16.
The updated numbers bring this week’s undergraduate positivity rate down to .27 percent, with three positives out of 1,126 tests. The non-undergraduate positivity rate spiked to 4.86 percent with the Thursday update, up from 1.35 percent on Tuesday.
In an email sent to undergraduate students on Thursday, the Office of Residential Life released the testing and check-in sign-up form for the spring semester. The move-in procedures will be similar to those of the fall semester, the email said.
Once students report for testing and move in, they must quarantine in their rooms until they receive a negative test result, according to the email.
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 24.9 daily cases per 100,000 residents between Nov. 29 and Dec. 12—slightly up from 23.6 in the previous two-week period. Boston reported 61.9 daily cases per 100,000 residents during the same period, a jump from the prior two-week incidence rate of 46.06.
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 6.02 percent on Monday. Boston reported a positivity rate of 7.9 percent between Dec. 4 and Dec. 10.
There are currently 17 undergraduate students in isolation as of Wednesday, with five in isolation housing and 12 recovering at home.
With less than 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 136,066 total tests this year, with 489 positives. These numbers include 100,427 undergraduate tests and 432 undergraduate cases of COVID-19.
Featured Image by Vikrum Singh / Heights Editor
