SU confirms 91 active self-reported COVID-19 cases
Megan Thompson | Digital Design Director
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The Barnes Center at the Arch reported 91 active COVID-19 cases on Syracuse University’s campus as of Sept. 9, a university spokesperson told The Daily Orange. All of the cases were self-reported to the Barnes Center.
SU also had 37 students in campus isolation housing as of Friday, wrote Sarah Scalese, SU’s senior vice president for communications, in an email to The D.O.
“Syracuse University continues to align its public health policies with current guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the New York State Department of Health and the Onondaga County Health Department, which includes no longer mandating testing or requiring masks,” Scalese wrote in the email.
Scalese added that the university is still conducting wastewater surveillance to monitor COVID-19 across campus. The university is also continuing to test symptomatic students by request at the Barnes Center.
SU is also asking students, faculty and staff who test positive using at-home testing to report their test results to the university and follow isolation protocols, Scalese wrote. The university has been dispersing free COVID-19 at-home test kits in vending machines throughout campus.
The last time SU reported 91 or more cases of COVID-19 on campus was April 29. At the time, the university was under a “BLUE” COVID-19 alert level, under which the university strongly recommended masks while indoors and when in the presence of others. People who were not fully vaccinated were required to wear a mask at all times.
Before the fall semester, SU suspended its color-coded masking system and made masks optional.
As of Friday, Onondaga County had a 9.5% positivity rate and reported 86 new COVID-19 cases. New York state’s Department of Health reported 4,294 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
“We will continue to monitor the prevalence of the virus on our campus and in our surrounding communities and take additional public health action should it become necessary,” Scalese concluded.
Published on September 12, 2022 at 12:05 am
Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard