Penn State reported on Friday that a total of 28 students — 27 at University Park — tested positive for COVID-19 between Aug. 21-27.
It brings the total number of student cases across the university since the beginning of August to 31, with 30 at University Park, according to the school’s COVID-19 dashboard, which is updated weekly. The prior week, three positives were reported, all at University Park, before Penn State began its daily surveillance testing program.
At University Park, 4,020 asymptomatic tests (individuals with no apparent COVID symptoms) in the past week yielded 13 positive cases and 2,812 negatives, with 1,195 still pending. There were 160 symptomatic tests with 14 positives, 111 negatives and 35 awaiting results.
The dashboard shows 25 University Park students are currently in isolation and 19 are in quarantine. However, a subsequent university news release said all 27 who tested positive were in isolation.
The other positive case reported this week was Penn State Behrend in Erie, resulting from asymptomatic testing.
Asymptomatic testing was performed on 30 University Park employees, with no positives and one pending. No employee positives were reported for other campuses either.
The dashboard’s asymptomatic testing data includes daily surveillance testing of about 1% of campus population, as well as testing of student-athletes conducted by Intercollegiate Athletics and results reported by private health care providers.
Across all campuses, 4,474 asymptomatic tests of students were conducted in the last week, with 1,357 still awaiting results. No symptomatic tests were reported outside of University Park.
Penn State also sent mandatory pre-arrival tests to about 23,500 students from areas of high-prevalence of the virus. According to Friday’s update, 153 positive results were reported from among about 21,000 completed tests. Those students were directed to undergo a period of isolation before they will be permitted to return to campus communities.
New Abbott testing equipment at University Park’s University Health Services has provided capacity for conducting an average of 100 symptomatic tests per day on site, with results typically available in about an hour, according to the news release. Additional symptomatic testing is provided by Quest Diagnostics with a 48-hour maximum turnaround time.
Vault Health is currently performing daily surveillance testing, with the university’s Testing and Surveillance Center expected to come online by Sept. 7.
Compliance with surveillance testing has been over 90% and the university says it has followed up with anyone who did not schedule or show up for a testing appointment.
‘f someone did not participate, it does not necessarily mean they refused,’ the release said. ‘Some students, for example, have changed their status to remote learning and are not on campus, but may have been selected for testing.’
Penn State also launched additional precautionary testing following a large gathering of students outside East Halls and a social gathering at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity last week. That testing ‘has not revealed concerning outcomes at this time,’ according to the university, but it is continuing to assess the data for any trends.
“It is very early, and we have to take care in interpreting the results,” Kelly Wolgast, director of the COVID-19 Operations Control Center, said in the release. “Of course, we’ll be looking closely at the surveillance testing data, which currently has a 48-hour or earlier turnaround time. It’s important to remain vigilant, and understand more data is coming and will continue to come in.”
It’s unclear how many of the student positives from the past week have so far appeared in the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s daily reports of case counts in Centre County. Over the same time period, DOH reported 27 total new cases in the county and it’s apparent not all were Penn State students. Some were well outside the State College/University Park area and at least one was a nursing home resident.
