Eighty positive COVID-19 cases were reported last week by the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Well-Being Monday, the highest total recorded all year and a 58-case increase from the previous week. Two positive cases came from employees and 78 came from students; two of the 80 cases were from the Minneapolis campus.
With this increase in positive cases and Thanksgiving break coming up, Student Affairs announced that the university will be implementing a “quiet period” effective immediately for the next two weeks in an email to the St. Thomas community Monday.
“St. Thomas’ contact tracing team advises that off-campus gatherings related to the university’s recent Fall Break, as well as Halloween parties, drove several of last week’s positive cases,” the COVID-19 Dashboard message said.
During the “quiet period,” campus will remain open but some restrictions will be in place: all clubs and organizations are advised to conduct virtual meetings through Thanksgiving break and in-person gatherings must be limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. Students should also limit their interaction where possible to people they live with, as well as minimizing non-essential activities.
Students are also advised to “double down” on health and safety protocols, including masking up and practicing social distancing.
“We strongly urge students to not host or attend gatherings or parties, including going to bars,” Student Affairs wrote. “Please be responsible and think of your families, friends and community members; limiting your exposure between now and Thanksgiving will greatly reduce the risk of you bringing this virus back home over the holidays.”
Statewide cases have been on the rise as well, and the Center for Well-Being advised that the increase in cases “is in line with statewide increases in Minnesota.”
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 3,930 new cases Monday, for a total of 184,788 positive tests administered. Around 3.1 million tests have been administered statewide thus far.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Monday that he will convene a special legislative session later this week to extend his peacetime emergency powers as the state sees a surge in COVID-19 cases, and he is also planning to announce some targeted restrictions to help control the spread of the virus.
Walz plans to unveil at least some of his restrictions on Tuesday afternoon, hinting that bars and restaurants might be among places seeing some tighter restrictions.
St. Thomas continues to see no evidence of transmission within classrooms or labs, according to the dashboard.
Active cases within the community “are at the upper level of a manageable range” based on the Key Considerations to Guide Decisions on Campus Operations. The contact tracing team is also not seeing any evidence of transmission between faculty or staff.
“Despite the increase, St. Thomas is currently reporting more than 50% availability of its quarantine and isolation space on campus,” and on-site COVID-19 testing is “nearing capacity,” the dashboard message said.
Testing supplies and personal protective equipment on campus remain at sufficient levels and contact tracers remain available to interview between 90 and 100% of positive cases reported within 24 hours of test results over a 7-day average.
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.
COVID-19 data is released by St. Thomas weekly on Mondays and can be found on the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.
Joey Swanson can be reached at swan5350@stthomas.edu.
Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.
Maggie Stout can be reached at maggie.stout@stthomas.edu.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.