Nine positive COVID-19 cases were reported last week by St. Thomas’ Center for Well-Being, marking the third week in a row with a case decline.

Five cases were reported from students and four came from employees. Of the total cases, seven came from the St. Paul campus and two came from the Minneapolis campus.

As of Saturday, 556,482 Minnesotans have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 158,763 more have completed the vaccine series, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

The MDH is reporting 468,682 cumulative positive cases and 564 newly reported cases.

On campus, the dashboard continues to report no evidence of transmission in classrooms or labs, with more than 50% availability of quarantine and isolation spaces on campus. The contact tracing team is still able to interview 90-100% of reported positive cases within 24 hours.

The number of positive cases remain in a manageable range based on those factors, the dashboard message said.

The positive COVID-19 test numbers come from tests conducted at the Center for Well-Being, self-reported tests and reports from the Minnesota Department of Health.

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.

St. Thomas releases weekly COVID-19 data on Mondays, which can be found on the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard.

Joey Swanson can be reached at swan5350@stthomas.edu.