UConn reports 12 new on-campus cases
The University of Connecticut placed the residents of the Willard C. Eddy residence hall into quarantine Saturday, as it reported 12 new on-campus cases, including three within the dormitory.
In the school’s daily update on the pandemic, UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said that the school had 51 positive or suspected cases on campus, including 12 that were reported since Friday.
She said three of the new cases are in the Eddy residence hall, a standalone building in the Alumni Residence Hall Complex where 96 people reside.
In total, four cases have appeared there in the past week, Ellyssa Eror, medical director at UConn, said in a letter to students there.
“This rate is disproportionate to the positive cases we have seen among other residential locations and cause for concern,” Eror said in the letter. “We ask for your support in this important medical decision that is essential for us to effectively control spread of this virus. The university is committed to doing all that we can as we adjust to this status for Eddy Hall.”
Students in the hall will be tested twice each week until the university gets a handle on the trend, Eror said. The quarantine will continue until “a clear decrease in transmission can be documented through this testing effort,” she said.
In the meantime, students are barred from attending classes or having guests, she said.
In a separate email, Associate Dean of Students Maureen Armstrong Maureen said that staffers were available to help students adjust to remote classes.
“I am reaching out today to offer you support as you make the adjustments to begin the quarantine as a resident of Eddy Hall. I recognize that the quarantine status may create a certain amount of stress, particularly related to your classes. Please remember that the staff in the Dean of Students Office are here to help,” said Armstrong. “I am confident we can work together to help you navigate this challenging time.”
Reitz said 147 confirmed cases had occurred on campus this semester. A total of 57 cases had been found among off-campus students, including eight Friday. Three of the eight were reported in The Oaks on the Square apartments, which were previously placed into quarantine earlier this month.
The current on-campus positive rate among students is 1.02 percent, Reitz said. As of Sept. 11, that figure was at 0.72 percent.
“UConn continues to test hundreds of students on a regular day as part of ongoing surveillance efforts. This surveillance includes testing for randomly selected students, as well as asymptomatic on- or off-campus Storrs students who request a test as a precaution,” Reitz said.
The university has made statistics related to the COVID-19 pandemic publicly available on an online dashboard.
A total of 16 students, faculty and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus at Yale University since Aug. 1, according to that institution. That includes two cases among students in the week ending Sept. 16.
There are 69 active cases at Sacred Heart University — nine on campus and 60 off-campus. That includes 48 positive results in the last seven days, six of which occurred among on-campus students.
At Trinity College in Hartford, there were 15 active cases as of Sept. 16.
There are three cases at the University of New Haven; one at the University of Bridgeport and one at Quinnipiac University, according to those institutions.