Furman University's Student Newspaper

The Paladin

Furman University's Student Newspaper

The Paladin

Furman University's Student Newspaper

The Paladin

COVID-19 Dashboard Update: Furman Succeeds, Greenville Continues to Struggle

Cases on campus remain low, but the Greenville community continues to struggle with the virus.
Of the 437 students that were tested last week, only 4 came back with positive results.
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Of the 437 students that were tested last week, only 4 came back with positive results.

The Oct. 19 COVID-19 Dashboard update revealed another week with a low caseload on campus. From Oct. 12-19, 437 tests were administered to symptomatic and randomly selected asymptomatic students, again resulting in only 4 positive cases. This represents a positivity rate of 0.92%, a decrease from the previous week’s 0.96% positivity rate.

Along with a decreased positivity rate, there was also a reduction in usage of on-campus quarantine and isolation spaces. The update indicated that 20 students are currently in quarantine, a decrease from the 51 students in quarantine last week. Only 9 of the 20 students are quarantined on campus, thus decreasing on-campus quarantine space utilization from 17% last week to 9% this week.

In addition to 437 student tests, three employee tests were administered, resulting in 2 positive cases. These tests were administered when an employee reported COVID-19 symptoms or exposure to an infected individual.

Beyond campus, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) released updated disease metrics, showing an increase in the two-week cumulative incidence rate from 198 to 235 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 individuals.

The two-week percent positive rate in Greenville County has also increased from 11.3% to 14.2%, which is classified as “high” by SC DHEC. The acute hospital bed occupancy in the Upstate has remained more or less the same, moving from 77% to 76%. 

In sum, after yet another week of random testing, Furman’s positivity rate is still declining. In the Greenville area more broadly, however, COVID-19 cases have increased again.

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