No decision made on remote instruction, as Penn State’s COVID-19 cases nearly double since last update

Penn State’s total number of COVID-19 cases at University Park nearly doubled since the last dashboard update, boosting the total number of infected Tuesday to 416, while the university president continues to weigh a potential move to remote instruction.

According to data from the dashboard, 42 students tested positive between Friday and Sunday while another 163 students tested positive from past pending results — mostly from last week — that were updated by Tuesday.

“We continue to be concerned with the numbers, and we will continue to assess our status this week as the results from tests administered later in the weekend are returned,” President Eric Barron said in a written statement. “We know our community is anxious, but these data are just some of the many variables we consider every day in determining our next steps.”

For comparison’s sake, at the start of August, Centre County had 354 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic’s start. That means it has been far outpaced by the university, which began limited testing Aug. 7 and started class Aug. 24.

Two faculty-based groups had already called — twice last week — for at least a two-week move to online-only learning. Now, Coalition for a Just University is wondering aloud whether a temporary move might be enough.

“At this point, we’re more than two weeks into the semester, so CJU is increasingly skeptical of Penn State’s ability to salvage this semester,” said Sarah Townsend, an organizer for CJU/PSU. “We think the university needs to consider suspending in-person classes for the rest of the fall semester and focus its efforts on creating a responsible plan for the spring.”

Based on the dashboard, from Friday to Sunday, 36 students tested positive out of 330 on-demand tests that have results while another six were positive out of 670 random-screened tests. There are still results pending for 745 on-demand tests since Aug. 28 and 89 total random-screened tests.

Some 149 University Park students are now in on-campus isolation, while another 76 are in quarantine — an increase from 58 and 28, respectively, on Friday. No Penn State employees have tested positive, per the dashboard.

“I don’t think anyone around here feels good about the numbers coming out of Penn State,” said State College borough spokesperson Douglas Shontz, who was quick to add hospital numbers remained low and Tuesday’s new county cases remained manageable. “But we really need everyone to pitch in and help out. ... This isn’t over. It’s concerning, and we need to continue focusing on the local response.”

According to the state’s early warning monitoring system, Centre County does have some cause for concern. Based on the data, which is updated every Friday, the county has the second-highest incidence rate in the state with 105 cases per 100,000 residents from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3. Its testing positivity rate is also 5% — the state Department of Health would like to see under 5% — which is the ninth-highest rate in the commonwealth.

However, because college-aged students so far appear to be the most impacted in the county, and they normally experience mild to moderate symptoms, Mount Nittany Medical Center remains OK. According to a spokesperson, there was just a single hospitalized COVID-19 patient as of Tuesday morning — a decrease from Friday’s two.

“As we have since the beginning of the pandemic, we are carefully monitoring COVID activity in our community and within the health system,” said Dr. Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer of Mount Nittany Health. “To date, we have not seen an increase in hospitalizations due to the virus.”

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.

However, in ZIP codes outside the immediate area of the university, the spread of the coronavirus has been nowhere near that of State College or University Park, based on confirmed cases:

Cases around Penn State’s other campuses have been relatively minimal, at least when compared to University Park. Six nursing undergraduate students in Hershey tested positive last week, leading to the entire 144-nurse cohort there being put under mandatory 10-day quarantine as a precautionary measure. Commonwealth campuses with cases include Behrend (6), Abington (1), Brandywine (1), Harrisburg (1), Schuylkill (1) and Shenango (1)

It’s not known what specifically might move University Park to temporary or permanent remote learning because the university has declined to publicly release its closing plans. However, it clarified in a written statement last week 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.

Penn State’s next update to its COVID-19 dashboard will occur sometime Friday.

“It is essential that we continue to work together as a community to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by frequently washing hands, following social distancing protocols and masking,” Joshi said Tuesday. “Our actions in the coming months will be the single biggest determinant of how we fare against the virus.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 2:19 PM.

Josh Moyer

Centre Daily Times

Josh Moyer earned his B.A. in journalism from Penn State and his M.S. from Columbia. He’s been involved in sports and news writing for more than 20 years. He counts the best athlete he’s ever seen as Tecmo Super Bowl’s Bo Jackson.