TO: The Gustavus Community
FROM: COVID–19 Response Leadership Team
SUBJECT: COVID–19 Weekly Update
DATE: February 9, 2021
Please see below for the COVID–19 weekly tip and on-campus case update. As a reminder, these emails are now being sent to the community on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the spring.
WEEKLY TIP
This week’s dashboard numbers below indicate a significant increase in cases from last Friday. Of the increase in cases, the majority fall under the “discordant result” criteria outlined below.
Athletic practices and competitions have begun under strict NCAA and MIAC COVID protocols. For the 25% of our students involved in athletics, being able to practice and compete is an important aspect of their college experience. Since it is not possible for most sports to hold competition while also maintaining physical distance, athletes are now following stricter COVID protocols. These protocols include athletes still needing to wear masks and remain physically distant when possible, daily screening by an Athletic Trainer for symptoms, and regular testing. Athletes are expected to follow all campus COVID protocols at all other times outside of approved sport-specific situations.
Each week, Gustavus athletes are tested at least once and many are tested more than once. We have learned that some tests of athletes that are returned as positive cannot be verified as positive via another test. This is known as a discordant test result. The Minnesota Department of Health has developed a protocol for what happens when we receive a discordant positive test result.
For the safety of our student athletes and campus and with the approval of the Minnesota Department of Health, we will treat all positive tests as positive cases and initiate our isolation and close contact protocols. The Athletic Training staff, Health Service staff, and case management team work closely with student athletes and coaches who may be affected by such a situation to determine if they meet criteria to be released early.
We are working closely with the Minnesota Department of Health and will continue to assess these athletics COVID protocols.
COVID–19 DASHBOARD UPDATE
As of February 8, 2021
Total Positive Cases (since August 15): 247
Current Positive Student Cases: 32
Current Positive Employee Cases: 3
Total Students in Isolation/Quarantine: 112
Students in Isolation/Quarantine On Campus: 40
Employees in Isolation/Quarantine: 10
This data set is meant to encompass the on-campus impact of COVID–19 by counting cases where a person may have been on campus while infectious. For example, students who are living at home or employees who are working remotely and not visiting campus will not be counted in these on-campus numbers. This information is also available for viewing on the College’s COVID–19 Dashboard.
As always, if you have any questions, please consult the College’s COVID–19 website and email g-covidresponse@gustavus.edu.
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