Will Penn State move to remote learning? University Park adds 174 COVID-19 cases in week
Three days after a pair of faculty-based groups called for Penn State to temporarily move to remote instruction, the university has again experienced a significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases.
According to Penn State’s COVID-19 dashboard, which is now updated twice weekly, students at University Park accounted for 174 positive cases since Aug. 28 — boosting the total number of student cases to 211.
That means the university alone has experienced 208 COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks, a significant spike compared to Centre County’s July average, before Penn State’s fall reopening, when the county saw about 70 cases every two weeks.
The Penn State chapter of the American Association of University Professors reiterated their desire Friday to temporarily move to remote learning, saying they’re “gravely concerned” about the latest numbers. Coalition for a Just University, which comprises mainly faculty, repeated its call for a temporary move to remote instruction immediately after Friday’s results were publicly released.
“CJU is calling on Penn State to suspend in-person instruction for two weeks while it monitors the situation and increases testing to 10% of the population daily,” said group organizer Sarah Townsend, alluding to the university’s current 1% daily testing. “We also urge all restaurants and bars in State College to suspend indoor dining and alcohol service during this time.”
Penn State President Eric Barron acknowledged Friday that a potential move to remote learning — permanent or temporary — would be revisited after the Labor Day weekend, although in-person instruction currently remains unchanged.
“We know the virus is here, and I am of course concerned by the numbers and trends we are seeing,” Barron said in a written statement. “Our ability to manage transmission and rate of growth of positive cases is critically important. Next week, we will assess data following the holiday weekend, and determine whether we need to take mitigation steps at University Park including temporary or sustained remote learning.”
Based on the dashboard data, Penn State saw 115 “on-demand” positive cases out of 952 tests with results from Friday through Thursday and 59 positive “random screening” cases out of 2,672 tests. Some 140 on-demand tests since Aug. 28 are still pending results, and 430 total random tests still do not have results.
Penn State no longer differentiates between symptomatic and asymptomatic tests in the dashboard, for those who show symptoms vs. those who do not. Instead, “on-demand” tests include both symptomatic students and asymptomatic students who are concerned about possible exposure; “random screening” includes asymptomatic students through the surveillance testing program, student-athletes through the athletic department and targeted testing through pop-up facilities.
Fifty-eight students are currently in on-campus isolation, while another 29 are in on-campus quarantine.
“This is a very critical moment,” Penn State epidemiologist Matt Ferrari said in a news release. “It’s vital that students, especially, socialize closely only with roommates, if possible. This is not the time to have friends over, or visit other apartments. Don’t attend gatherings with folks outside your immediate household; wear a mask and maintain distance when you go out.”
It is unknown just how much the coronavirus has spilled over into nearby communities, as the state Department of Health’s numbers usually lag behind Penn State’s, or vice versa. A spokesperson from the state DOH also said its data does not differentiate between students and non-students, and it does not break down ZIP code infections by age group, making any potential comparisons between students and residents exceedingly difficult.
“The department remains significantly concerned about the potential for the spread of this virus, particularly among young people,” spokesperson Nate Wardle told the Centre Daily Times in an email. “We have seen the percentage of cases among young people increase across the state, from close to 5% in many regions in April to more than 15% in some regions now.”
Per information provided by the state DOH, the north-central region of Pennsylvania saw 19-24 year-olds account for 7% of April’s positive cases and 26% of August’s positive cases.
Centre County experienced 156 total COVID-19 cases in July, along with just 48 cases in June and 57 in May. So far in September, the county has 129 positive cases — a majority in the State College area — after recording the most, second-most and third-most single-day infections since the pandemic’s start.
“These rising numbers are very concerning and something we all feared,” State College Borough Council President Jesse Barlow said. “The borough is continuing to coordinate with the local health system, Pa. Department of Health, Centre County Government and Penn State University. My hope is that both the state and Penn State take actions to ensure our community and residents are safe.”
As concern has risen in the community, so have some red flags from the state’s own early warning monitoring system.
One key metric the state looks at is the testing positivity rate and whether it’s above 5% over the last seven days. Last week, Centre County stood at a solid 1.5% but, on Friday, that increased to exactly 5%. Only eight counties fared worse over that same time period, and it’s possible Centre County’s numbers could be artificially deflated because of the high number of asymptomatic tests, which generally come back negative. Centre County also has the second-highest incidence rate of COVID-19 in the state, with 105 cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days — second only to Columbia County’s 194.
According to Carnegie Mellon’s risk-based weekly report, released Thursday through the governor’s office, Centre County still largely remains in the moderate-risk category — although it’s in worse shape than it was one week ago. The biggest movement came in the 14-day COVID-19 case risk, which saw the county go from low risk to high risk. The county remains in the low- to moderate-risk categories of commute risk, population density risk and population age risk.
It borders on high risk for its ICU capacity, but so do nearly half of the counties in Pennsylvania. According to a spokesperson from Mount Nittany Health, two patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday morning — a decrease from Monday’s three. And, per University Health Services senior director Dr. Robin Oliver-Veronesi, most symptomatic cases on campus show mild to moderate symptoms.
It’s not known what specifically might move Penn State to temporary or permanent remote learning because — despite pleas from faculty, students and local officials — the university has declined to publicly release its closing plans. However, it clarified in a written statement that such decisions depend on numerous circumstances, such as disease prevalence, trend lines in case numbers, number of hospitalizations, isolation/hospital capacities and whether students would be required to vacate residence halls.
“The university is working to take into account these and other critical public health factors as well as other elements of well-being and needs expressed by faculty, staff and students,” the university told the CDT, pointing out that students have said they want PSU to remain open.
Based on precedent, however, other universities might seriously consider at least a temporary move online if facing Penn State’s situation.
At Syracuse, a “pause” — which moves instruction online — would be triggered if an outbreak occurs involving 100 students or more, which hasn’t yet happened. North Carolina (Chapel Hill) sent students home one week after classes started, when 177 students tested positive and 349 more were quarantined due to possible exposure. Similarly, East Carolina moved undergraduate classes entirely online when 108 students and 17 employees tested positive within a period of eight days. All three universities are smaller than Penn State, but all have enrollments of more than 20,000.
Outside of University Park, the impact at other PSU campuses has been minimal. There are three positive cases at Penn State Behrend, one at Penn State Schuylkill and none elsewhere. No employees have tested positive.
Since class started at Penn State’s flagship campus on Aug. 24, there have been at least 175 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the immediate vicinity of State College, meaning in ZIP codes 16801, 16802 and 16803.
State College borough passed a masking ordinance in early August to help limit outbreaks, and it announced Friday that it issued or filed 25 citations this past week. The fine is $300.
“We’re doing all we can to make sure that our community is safe,” State College Mayor Ron Filippelli said, before adding, “I want to let the public know that the borough of State College will continue to do everything we can to address these public health issues.”
Penn State will have class Monday on Labor Day and, as it stands, instruction will resume then.
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 1:22 PM.
