Forty-seven positive COVID-19 cases were reported last week by St. Thomas’ Center for Well-Being Monday, a decrease of ten from the previous week.
Forty-two students and five employees tested positive, with three of those cases coming from the Minneapolis campus. This report does not include all test results from mass testing conducted at the St. John Vianney College Seminary after a COVID-19 outbreak at the residence.
“Additional positive results received over the weekend and beyond will be included in next week’s report,” the COVID-19 Dashboard message said.
Free campus-wide COVID-19 saliva polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing will be offered again Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those interested can sign up for a time slot here.
Another mass testing opportunity will also take place on Dec. 17 before the end of the semester, Vice President for Student Affairs Karen Lange told TommieMedia.
Statewide, the Minnesota Department of Health is reporting 356,152 total COVID-19 cases, with 5,296 new cases and 21 deaths reported Monday.
On campus, the dashboard continues to report no evidence of transmission in classrooms or labs, more than 50% availability of quarantine and isolation spaces on campus and the contact tracing team’s ability to interview 90-100% of reported positive cases within 24 hours over a seven day average.
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.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.
Maggie Stout can be reached at maggie.stout@stthomas.edu.