Twenty-four students living on campus and 32 students living off campus tested positive for COVID-19 since Thursday, Nov. 5, according to the university’s coronavirus dashboard updated Friday afternoon, Nov. 6. Today’s increase of COVID-19 cases is the highest this quarter, with 56 students in total testing positive.
San Luis Obispo County reported 72 new COVID-19 cases on Friday afternoon, Nov. 6, according to County Public Health. It is unknown if the 56 students who tested positive were included in the county’s daily report, as the university reported its new cases online after the county.
An additional 128 new students living on-campus are quarantined-in-place following potential COVID-19 exposure in University Housing, raising the total number of students quarantined-in-place to 563.
According to today’s coronavirus dashboard update, no new University Housing residents are quarantined, despite the increase of COVID-19 cases. University Housing residents are ordered to quarantine following exposure to someone with COVID-19, and 33 students living on-campus are quarantined. The quarantine period lasts for 14 days.
After testing positive for COVID-19, 66 University Housing residents are isolated in on-campus apartments. According to the dashboard, there are 103 remaining isolation and quarantine beds available.
However, this number was recorded yesterday as the amount of remaining beds available, and today 25 new University Housing residents entered isolation. Therefore, there should be only 78 remaining beds available. The university did not explain this discrepancy.
“I don’t have any additional details on those numbers,” University Spokesperson Matt Lazier wrote in an email to Mustang News.
The Emergency Operations Center manages the university’s COVID-19 response and is planning how to add quarantine and isolation beds, according to Lazier.
“There is contingency planning underway to identify additional beds on or off campus for isolation, if they are needed,” Lazier wrote.
A person who tests positive for the virus may be released from isolation ten days after they first had symptoms, if the symptoms have improved and they have not had a fever in 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medication.
In San Luis Obispo County, five COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, three patients are in intensive care and 306 people are recovering from the virus at home. Thirty-three people have died from COVID-19 in the county.
In a campus-wide email sent on Friday Nov. 6, Campus Health & Wellbeing asked students to begin preparing for safe travel home for winter break.
Campus Health & Wellbeing instructed students to continue following health guidelines leading up to leaving for winter break, and advised students to avoid gatherings and maintain physical distancing prior to leaving for winter break in order to prevent bringing COVID-19 home.
During travel, students should avoid ride-sharing, wear masks, maintain at least a six foot distance from other travelers and avoid touching their face while traveling, the email read.
Student should not travel home if they are currently positive for COVID-19, have recently come into contact with someone with the virus or are currently quarantined by county health officials, the email read.
While at home for break, students Campus Health and Wellbeing said that students should avoid gathering with people outside of their households. Students should follow the same travel guidelines as they return back to campus after the break, according to the email.