Reopening updates: Centre County adds 3 COVID-19 cases, and other updates for Aug. 2

We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date coronavirus news as Penn State and local schools prepare to reopen. Check back for updates.

Centre County adds 3 COVID-19 cases

Centre County added three COVID-19 cases Sunday, according to the state Department of Health, bringing its overall total to 357 since March 20.

On Thursday, 24 cases were removed from the county’s total after a July 26 spike in positives led to retesting. Three more cases were removed Saturday, and DOH spokesman Nate Wardle said in an email Sunday that the reason for most recent decrease is unclear.

“At this point, it is quite possible that the decrease may have been from continued work to eliminate those tests that were invalidated,” he wrote. “It is also possible that the cases may have been misidentified in the reporting process, and the actual county of residence was not Centre County.”

Of Centre County’s cases, 318 are confirmed and 39 are probable. There have been 8,804 negative tests.

Statewide, there were 654 new positive cases, raising the total to 113,590 in all 67 counties. There are 1,130,979 patients who have tested negative to date. Of the patients who have tested positive to date the age breakdown is as follows:

• 1% are ages 0-4;
• 1% are ages 5-12;
• 3% are ages 13-18;
• 9% are ages 19-24;
• 37% are ages 25-49;
• Nearly 23% are ages 50-64; and
• 24% are ages 65 or older.

The state reported five new deaths to bring the total to 7,209. The state counts 10 deaths in Centre County, though only seven have been confirmed by the county coroner’s office. Cases and deaths are reported by county of residence.

The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code is as follows, according to the DOH:

• 16801 (State College): 74
• 16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 62
• 16803 (State College): 49
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 19
• 16841 (Howard): 16
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 15
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 16

• 16870 (Port Matilda): 12

• 16822 (Beech Creek): 12
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 9
• 16686 (Tyrone): 9
• 16853 (Milesburg): 6
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 5
• 16666, 16802, 16820, 16829, 16832, 16844, 16845, 16851, 16852, 16854, 16860, 16868, 16872, 16874, 16877, 16882: 1-4 cases each.

The state does not give specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy and does not identify exactly where a case occurred in a ZIP code that spans multiple counties.

-by Jessica McAllister

What happens after a Penn State student, faculty or staff member tests positive for COVID-19?

Penn State revealed Thursday its plans for quarantining or isolating students, faculty and staff who test positive for the new coronavirus, contact tracing, and how the university will publicly report the information.

The university’s multipronged approach to mitigating the potential spread of COVID-19 in Happy Valley starts with contact tracing, which health experts have said is a key strategy to containing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

- by Bret Pallotto

Penn State student move-in will look different this year. Here’s what to expect

A traditionally crowded weekend in Happy Valley will look drastically different this year as Penn State students are set to return to campus in less than a month to move in and start the fall semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a virtual town hall Thursday, university officials outlined COVID-19 mitigation efforts and procedures students and families must follow when returning for in-person classes. First-year students are set to arrive between Aug. 17-20, and returning students will move into residence halls from Aug. 21-23.

- by Marley Parish

Here’s how Penn State plans to test students, faculty and staff for COVID-19, before and after classes start

Penn State will test about 30,000 individuals — across all campuses — for COVID-19 before the official move-in, as part of a multi-pronged coronavirus testing plan the university unveiled Thursday during a virtual town hall.

Although Penn State doesn’t yet have all the specifics — plans are still being finalized for on-campus testing, for instance — Thursday’s public announcement offered the most detailed look yet at the school’s testing plans, which are widely regarded as among the most important in fighting the pandemic.

- by Josh Moyer

New Penn State group to hold virtual rally centered on university’s COVID-19 response

A new Penn State group, whose organizers wrote an open letter last month expressing serious concern about the university’s fall reopening, announced Wednesday it will hold a virtual rally next week, open to the public.

The group, organized by faculty and recently dubbed the Coalition for a Just University (CJU/PSU), will host an online Zoom meeting at noon Aug. 5 “to promote public health, job security, transparency and democratic decision making at the university in the face of the pandemic.” Those interested can register online at bit.ly/cjurally.

- by Josh Moyer

Pennsylvania news

• Gov. Tom Wolf responded on social media Friday to rumors of a that he would soon announce a statewide school closure. “I want to be clear: I am not closing school buildings or cancelling classes,” Wolf tweeted. In a subsequent tweet, he said decisions about school openings and the status of in-person classes will be left to local school boards and administrators.

Community outreach/appreciation

Reopenings

Things to do

Campus check-in

• As August arrives, Michigan has forged ahead as if its season would begin at some point in the late summer or early fall. Players went through their steps in walkthroughs even though it’s not quite certain who they’ll face in their first game or where they’ll play. One Wolverines staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, admitted he was as clueless as anybody about his team’s order of opponents, unsure if U-M will still match up against Wisconsin in its Sept. 26 opener or some other team on another date. Not long thereafter, the Big Ten sent a letter Thursday to athletic directors at its member schools that did little to clarify the situation.
• The Pac-12 on Friday set Sept. 26 as the start of its 10-game, conference-only football schedule, joining the Southeastern Conference in pushing back its season by nearly a month because of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Indiana University’s football team has resumed voluntary workouts after a two-week pause following six positive COVID-19 tests.
• George Washington is discontinuing seven sports programs, three that compete at the NCAA level and four non-NCAA sports, as part of the university’s attempt to address an expected $200 million budget shortfall because of the coronavirus pandemic.
• The sideline area college football teams use to congregate will be extended by 20 yards this season and only one captain from each team will be permitted to participate in the pregame or overtime coin toss.
• There has been a spike in the number of Rutgers’ football players who have tested positive for COVID-19. New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said the number is now 15 and noted that even smaller gatherings can lead to positive tests.
• Georgia Tech has moved this season’s home game against Notre Dame to its campus stadium, citing uncertainty over scheduling because of the coronavirus pandemic.

• The Southeastern Conference reconfigured its schedule Thursday to include only league games in 2020, a pandemic-forced decision that pushes major college football closer to a siloed regular season in which none of the power conferences cross paths.

Free food options

This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 8:08 AM.