COVID-19 Testing Update, Aug. 29-Sept. 4
Six students test positive for COVID-19. No faculty or staff test positive this week.
Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing program administered 6,840 tests to students, faculty and staff from August 29 - September 4 with six positive results.
Summary:
6,251 tests were administered to asymptomatic students via the surveillance testing program; there were two positive results, one student on-campus and one student off-campus. Both individuals are now in isolation.
Four students who live off-campus reported symptoms and were tested; all were positive and are now in isolation.
Eight students who had previously tested positive were cleared to return to campus.
289 tests were administered to faculty/staff; there were no positive results. Five staff/faculty who had been in isolation were cleared to return to normal activities.
Duke has administered 23,880 tests to students, faculty and staff since August 2 and has recorded 52 positive results; 44 of those individuals have been cleared to return to normal activity.
Gateway/Baseline testing concluded on Tuesday with students who are enrolled in on-campus academic programs that commenced this week.
Duke continues to expand its pooled surveillance testing program, with dynamic modeling identifying each day’s participants. This week, 6,434 tests were administered through the pooled surveillance program; that number is expected to increase to 10,000 tests per week.
Three types of tests were administered in this period:
- Gateway/Baseline testing, which is an individual test required for all students upon arrival to campus and before they can move into Duke housing or take classes on campus
- Pooled surveillance testing for asymptomatic students, faculty, and staff who are on campus regularly and interact with others on campus
- Clinical testing for individuals who report symptoms
Student testing results from this period:
- 6,551 tests were administered to students
- 296 incoming graduate and professional students completed gateway/baseline testing
- 6,251 current students were selected for the university’s pooled surveillance testing program
- 4 students who reported symptoms were tested
- Six students tested positive during this period, four symptomatic and two asymptomatic; all are in isolation and being monitored by Duke Student Health and continuing their coursework remotely
- Surveillance testing included students living on- and off-campus
- Duke has more than 300 individual beds for students who need to be moved to a secure and supportive isolation or quarantine facility
Students cleared to return to activities during this period:
- 6 students who previously tested positive were cleared to return to campus after being in isolation
- 38 students who had been in precautionary quarantine due to contact tracing were released
Contact tracing and precautionary quarantine for students during this period:
- 83 students were placed in precautionary quarantine because they were found to have been potentially exposed to an individual who tested positive; these students are being monitored by Duke Student Health and continuing their coursework remotely
Faculty & staff testing results from this period:
- 289 tests were administered to faculty and staff, including 183 through the surveillance program and 106 to individuals who reported symptoms.
- There were no positive test results among faculty/staff during this period
- Five faculty/staff members who had previously tested positive have recovered and were cleared to return to normal activities
- Four faculty/staff members were asked to quarantine as a result of contact tracing and eleven faculty/staff members were released from quarantine and cleared to return to work.
More information on Duke’s COVID-19 testing program can be found at https://coronavirus.duke.edu/covid-testing/. Results are updated every Monday.