Penn State extends COVID-19 testing recommendation to students in 2 more dorms, as cases increase
Two days after Penn State urged COVID-19 testing for all students living in two East Halls dorms, the university has extended that recommendation for two more dorms there.
After a notable uptick in cases, students living in Earle Hall and Martin Hall — both of which were built after 2016 — were urged Friday to either get tested that day or Saturday at nearby Pegula Ice Arena, which is open for walk-up testing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
In a news release, the university explained the recommendation comes “out of an abundance of caution” after “several students” there recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Although the university did not specify the exact number of the dorms’ infected students that prompted the announcement, cases and testing positivity have continued to climb at University Park.
From last Friday through Thursday, per the COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 199 COVID-19 cases and a 2.9% testing positivity rate — compared to 92 cases and a 1.7% testing positivity rate the week before. That’s still a far cry from the spring when, for more than a month, there were 200-plus new cases about every four days.
Still, it’s an increase officials are following.
“Similar to earlier in the week at Hastings and Stone Halls, we have had a few students from Earle Hall and Martin Hall test positive for COVID-19,” Kelly Wolgast, director of the COVID-19 Operations Control Center, said in a written statement. “We are asking all students living in Earle and Martin to get tested for COVID-19, unless they have tested positive in the previous 90 days.
“This will help us understand if the virus has spread further and catch and isolate any additional positive cases.”
Any asymptomatic student who wants to be tested can walk-up to the Pegula Ice Arena or the Hintz Family Alumni Center for a rapid test, where results will be available in about 15 minutes. (Those who test positive will undergo a second test, a PCR test, and will be isolated if again positive.) Students with symptoms should schedule a testing appointment with University Health Services via myUHS.
Countywide, Centre’s testing positivity rate between last Friday and Thursday reached 7% — a significant increase from the previous week’s 4.4%. Centre County’s incidence rate, which is the number of cases per 100,000 people, also increased to 218.6 from the previous week’s 127.5.
The county’s incidence rate is now the third-highest in Pennsylvania, behind only Monroe County (237.9) and Northampton County (232.6), per the commonwealth’s early warning monitoring system.
“The virus is still prevalent nearly everywhere, so we must keep masking, physically distancing from others and avoiding large gatherings,” Wolgast added. “Stay with your small pod of friends this spring. Answer your phone when our contact tracers call you. The next few weeks are critical to continuing our on-campus activities through the end of the semester.”
