What Penn State’s plans for COVID-19 testing, dashboard updates are the rest of the fall
Penn State may have shifted to remote learning with no in-person classes set to be held the rest of the fall semester, but both the university’s COVID-19 testing and the biweekly updates will continue.
According to Penn State’s COVID-19 dashboard, which was updated Tuesday, 44 active cases remain at University Park — and the number of students in quarantine and isolation now sits at fewer than five apiece.
Walk-up testing remains available for students and employees through Jan. 18, from noon to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Hintz Family Alumni Center. Students showing symptoms are asked to schedule testing appointments via University Health Services either through myUHS or by calling 814-863-0774.
For the few remaining students in residence halls, weekly testing is mandatory and students will receive weekly emails as reminders. As a result, there will be no more random testing this semester — only on-demand testing.
From Nov. 20 to Nov. 26, according to the dashboard, 62 students and six employees tested positive for the coronavirus. From Friday to Sunday, no students and one employee tested positive. (Eighty-seven tests from Nov. 13-19 are still awaiting results, with just two tests since Nov. 20 pending results.)
To date, 4,876 students and 42 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at University Park.
The number of cases at other campuses have now increased to 671: Altoona (292), Erie (129), Harrisburg (61), Hershey (34), Abington (29), Berks (20), Scranton (18), Schuylkill (17), Mont Alto (11), Brandywine (10), DuBois (8), New Kensington (8), Lehigh Valley (7), Beaver (6), Fayette (6), Hazleton (6), Greater Allegheny (3), Wilkes-Barre (2), York (2), Dickinson Law (1) and Shenango (1).
Erie has seen the largest recent outbreak, with 46 cases in the week before Thanksgiving.
The number of employee infections at campuses is now up to 79, with cases at University Park (42), Altoona (7), Erie (6), Abington (3), Hershey (3), Berks (2), Fayette (2), Harrisburg (2), Hazleton (2), Mont Alto (2), Beaver (1), DuBois (1), Lehigh Valley (1), New Kensington (1), Shenango (1), Dickinson Law (1), Wilkes-Barre (1) and York (1).
The university transitioned to remote learning during the week of Thanksgiving break, as was originally planned for over the summer, and the fall semester will officially end Dec. 18, the last day of final exams and a day before commencement. Spring classes begin Jan. 19.
A Penn State spokesperson told the Centre Daily Times that the university will have more information on spring pre-arrival testing around mid-December.
