Penn State sees small increase in active COVID-19 cases; numbers remain low compared to past weeks
Penn State’s number of active COVID-19 cases saw a small increase Friday with the return of some off-campus students from Thanksgiving break, but the numbers still remain significantly lower in comparison to past weeks.
According to the university’s COVID-19 dashboard, which is updated biweekly, 63 coronavirus cases are currently active at University Park — compared to 44 on Tuesday. It’s the first time since Penn State started listing active cases in September that back-to-back dashboard updates have seen fewer than 100 such cases.
The overall decline was expected — there were 354 active cases Nov. 24 — as Penn State shifted to remote learning during Thanksgiving break and most students left Happy Valley. The current infections come from students who returned to the community after the holiday or never left in the first place.
According to the dashboard, from Friday to Thursday, there were 37 new student cases out of 369 on-demand tests with results (with one test result still pending) and three new student cases out of the 211 random tests with results (with no results pending).
Five University Park employees were also infected during that same time frame, out of 142 on-demand tests with results.
That means there were 47 new COVID-19 cases since Tuesday’s dashboard update. The current total of Penn State cases since August now stands at 4,965.
Still, Penn State’s reduced number of cases hasn’t lessened the concern in Centre County. COVID-19 has already spread to the community: There have been 49 county deaths confirmed by the coroner since Nov. 1 (compared to the 18 total deaths prior), 143 total COVID-19 hospitalizations in November at Mount Nittany Medical Center (compared to the 58 in October) and nearly 90% of residents at Centre Crest Nursing and Rehabilitation with active cases of COVID-19 earlier this week.
According to the state Department of Health’s early early warning monitoring system, the county’s positivity rate rose to 12.6% Friday — anything over 10% is considered severe — to go along with an incidence rate of 306.5 infections per 100,000 residents over the last seven days. Those numbers are concerning but are still among the lowest in a state facing a multitude of challenges: Centre County ranks 53rd out of 67 counties in positivity rate and 50th in incidence rate.
At Penn State, the main question now shifts to what the university’s pre-arrival testing plan and overall testing plan is for the spring semester and whether the university will move forward with reopening if local hospitalizations continue climbing.
A university spokesperson told the Centre Daily Times on Monday it would release more spring testing details around mid-December. The university also declined to give a specific number for how many hospitalizations might prevent reopening, saying it takes various factors into account when making such a decision.
Walk-up testing remains available for Penn State 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.
The fall semester will officially end Dec. 18, the last day of final exams and a day before commencement. Spring classes begin Jan. 19.
At other Penn State campuses, the numbers have varied. Among those with at least one case include Altoona (294), Erie (129), Harrisburg (65), Hershey (35), Abington (29), Berks (20), Scranton (18), Schuylkill (17), Mont Alto (12), Brandywine (10), DuBois (8), Lehigh Valley (8), New Kensington (8), Beaver (6), Fayette (6), Hazleton (6), Greater Allegheny (3), Dickinson Law (2), Wilkes-Barre (2), York (2) and Shenango (1).
The number of employee infections at campuses is now up to 86, with cases at University Park (46), Altoona (8), Erie (6), Hershey (4), Abington (3), Mont Alto (3), Berks (2), Fayette (2), Harrisburg (2), Hazleton (2), Beaver (1), Dickinson Law (1), DuBois (1), Lehigh Valley (1), New Kensington (1), Shenango (1), Wilkes-Barre (1) and York (1).
The university will continue to update its COVID-19 dashboard throughout the semester, with the next update to come Tuesday.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 2:09 PM.
