University health officials on Friday advised Penn State students living in Earle Hall and Martin Hall to get tested for COVID-19, the second time this week that residents of East Halls area dorms have been told to do so.
As with Hastings and Stone Halls earlier in the week, the advisory was issued “out of an abundance of caution,” after “several” students living in the two residence halls tested positive.
“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,” Kelly Wolgast, director of Penn State’s COVID-19 Operations Control Center, said in a statement. This will help us understand if the virus has spread further and catch and isolate any additional positive cases.
The university did not specify how many students in any of the four residence halls tested positive.
Over the past week the University Park campus has seen an uptick in student cases, with 126 positives and a 2.4% positivity rate from March 10-16, according to the most recent update of Penn State’s COVID-19 dashboard. For the previous seven days, there were 74 student cases and 1.5% positivity rate.
On Monday, 41 new student positives were reported, the highest single day total since students returned to campus in February.
That increase has been reflected in Centre County’s case totals this week. New positives reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday (78), Thursday (102) and Friday (84) were the county’s highest daily increases since early February.
Earle Hall and Martin Hall students were encouraged to go for walk-up testing on Friday and Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena, where rapid tests are administered to provide immediate results. If a rapid test indicates a positive result, students will take a PCR test to confirm and be directed to isolation. The university also will initiate contact tracing.
“So, even if you are asymptomatic – and this goes for all students, not only those in Hastings and Stone – walk-up testing provides convenient reassurance that you are not potentially putting others at risk,” Wolgast said. “It’s a judgment-free zone – you’re not asked where you’ve been or what you’ve been doing – you’re just taking the responsible step of getting tested.”
Students who receive a negative on the PCR will be given information about leaving isolation, while those who test positive will complete a 10-day isolation period that includes university support services.
As of the most recent update on Tuesday, 80 students were in isolation and 42 in quarantine.
“The virus is still prevalent almost everywhere, so we all must continue following public health guidelines to help reduce the spread on our campuses,” Wolgast said.. “It’s imperative that we keep masking, physically distancing from others and avoiding large gatherings. Please, just 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.”
