80 students, 12 workers at OSU infected
Eighty students and 12 faculty and staff members at Ohio State University have tested positive for COVID-19, according to newly released testing data.
The positive tests amount to 1.2% of tested students and 1.4% of tested faculty and staff members, Ohio State announced Tuesday as it released a university coronavirus-data dashboard.
The student data comes from testing conducted from Aug. 14 though Saturday, while the faculty and staff data comes from testing conducted from Aug. 1 through Saturday.
From those testing time frames, the university has test results from more than 7,700 members of the university community. The data includes results from mandatory and voluntary testing of asymptomatic students and from students who sought tests due to symptoms or other reasons.
Incoming Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson announced the test results and data dashboard for the campus community on Tuesday. The data is intended to “help inform university decision-making related to on-campus operations (and) health and safety measures,” and for “general public awareness,” Ohio State said in a news release.
“Information is a powerful tool in stopping the spread of the virus, and we want you to have as much information as possible,” Johnson wrote to the university community. “I know you join me in offering our love and support to the members of our Buckeye family who have tested positive and are in isolation.”
The release of the data came at the end of Ohio State’s first day of classes Tuesday and it is the first testing data that the school has released. Earlier this summer, the university wouldn’t disclose testing data for the football team when athletes returned to workouts in June, citing privacy concerns. University officials said then that sharing cumulative testing data for a small number of athletes could lead to identification of individuals.
As students returned to campus and Ohio State ramped up mandatory testing for on-campus students and voluntary testing for others, the university promised to share aggregate testing information “in a way that protects individuals’ medical and educational privacy.”
Increasing numbers of positive cases have led other large universities around the country to return to online classes. The University of North Carolina-chapel Hill switched back to online learning a week into its semester after dozens of students tested positive. The University of Notre Dame temporarily shifted back to online classes for two weeks after the Indiana school reported more than 200 coronavirus cases last week.
In addition to positive tests, the Ohio State data dashboard also includes the numbers of students in on-campus isolation or quarantine housing; the availability of personal protective equipment on campus; the status of enhanced cleaning measures on campus; Ohio’s statewide coronavirus case count, for reference; the state’s transmission rate; and statewide hospital capacity.
“It’s imperative for the Ohio State community and the broader Columbus community to have access to a timely snapshot of testing and continuous monitoring activities,” Amy Fairchild, dean of the College of Public Health, said in a written statement.
“Collecting and sharing the aggregated results of our testing program, and of other measures related to the pandemic, is an important part of keeping our students, faculty and staff informed as well as being good partners with communities throughout the state,” said Fairchild, who leads a comprehensive monitoring team that is evaluating the data.
The data also comes as Ohio State tries to tamp down student parties. The university issued 228 interim suspensions over the weekend after warning students of repercussions for not following health and safety guidance. Students under interim suspension are not allowed on campus as their cases move through the student-conduct process, and they could later be kept from taking classes on campus or returning to the campus in any way. jsmola@dispatch.com @jennsmola