Staff and student COVID-19 cases rise to at least 37

The number of students testing positive for COVID-19 that University Health Services (UHS) is aware of has quintupled over the last six days.

According to an update from the University’s coronavirus website, UHS is now aware of 71 students and 25 employees who have been tested for COVID-19 as of 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27. A total of 25 students and 12 employees have tested positive, with 16 University community members awaiting results of pending tests.

At the time of the University’s March 22 update, five students and 10 employees had tested positive for COVID-19, an increase from March 18’s count of one student and five employees. The most recent numbers show an increase of 15 students and two employees with positive diagnoses in a five-day time span.

Twelve of the 71 students tested for COVID-19 were tested on campus, with two positive results, five negative results, and five pending results. Students waiting for their test results will remain in isolation. Out of the two positive cases, one student is receiving treatment and the other student had already “met the criteria for discontinuation of isolation” and has returned home.

Fifty-nine students have been tested for COVID-19 off campus. Of the off-campus tests, 23 students tested positive, 23 students tested negative, and 13 students are awaiting results. Amid national shortages, some symptomatic students off campus have struggled to meet the criteria for testing.

Twenty-five University employees have undergone testing for COVID-19. Twelve of these individuals have tested positive and are “in their respective homes in self-isolation and receiving appropriate treatment.” 10 employees have tested negative, and three tests are still pending.

The University has urged all students and employees to inform UHS if they have been tested for COVID-19, regardless of where they took the test.

“If you have been tested for COVID-19, in any jurisdiction, please contact UHS at communityhealth@princeton.edu — you do not need to wait for results to contact UHS, please do so as soon as possible,” the University update notes. “This will greatly assist contact tracing efforts, where needed.”

New Jersey now has the second-highest number of cases in the country, with 8,825 positive cases as of 2 p.m. on March 27. Mercer County contains 131 of those cases. For up-to-date county-by-county statistics, see The Daily Princetonian’s New Jersey COVID-19 Tracker.

The United States has experienced over 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than any other country, and over 1,700 people across the country have died from the virus.