Skip to main content

11 Students, 14 Faculty/Staff at Duke Test Positive for COVID, Feb 15-21

graphic for Duke COVID Testing Results

Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program administered 18,977 tests to 9,577 students and 2,712 tests to 1,436 faculty/staff for the period Feb. 15-21 with a total of 25 positive results.

Among students there were 11 positive results, identified through surveillance testing for asymptomatic students as well as tests for those exhibiting symptoms. The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation, while those identified as potential contacts have been placed in precautionary quarantine. The total positivity rate was 0.12 percent.

Summary of results from this period:

  • 18,883 surveillance tests were administered to asymptomatic undergraduate and graduate students who are living on and off campus with six positive results
  • 94 tests were administered to students who reported symptoms or were identified through contact tracing with five positive results
  • There was one cluster of six off-campus graduate students reported this week
  • 2,586 surveillance tests were administered to asymptomatic faculty/staff who are working on campus this semester and are voluntarily participating in the testing program with two positive results
  • 126 tests were administered to faculty/staff who reported symptoms or were identified through contact tracing with 12 positive results
  • All individuals who test positive are required to observe an isolation period until they are cleared to return to normal activities; contact tracing is underway to identify those who may have been exposed and ask them to quarantine
  • Twenty-one students who had been in isolation and 94 who had been in precautionary quarantine were cleared to return to normal activities

Notes:

  • All students who are placed in precautionary quarantine or isolation are monitored by Duke Student Health and have the ability to continue their coursework remotely
  • Duke has more than 300 individual beds for students who live in Duke-provided housing and are identified for isolation or quarantine
  • Students who live in Duke-provided housing will be isolated or quarantined in campus facilities; students who live off campus must isolate or quarantine in their residence.
  • Tests administered to student-athletes are included in these results
  • Weekly totals from testing are slightly down due to the weather interruption on Thursday.

Types of tests administered in this period:

  1. Surveillance testing for asymptomatic students (on and off campus) and faculty/staff
  2. Clinical testing for individuals who report symptoms or who are identified through contact tracing

More information on Duke’s COVID-19 testing program can be found at https://coronavirus.duke.edu/covid-testing/. Results are updated every Tuesday morning.