Over 3,000 University of Idaho students have been tested for COVID-19 this week, according to an email sent to students, staff and faculty today. The campus-wide retest will continue into next week until all Moscow-based students attending in-person classes have been tested.
An Oct. 4 report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommended University of Idaho and other Idaho universities transition online due to increased COVID-19 positivity rates in 18- to 24-year-olds. UI Director of Communications Jodi Walker said the cited data is incorrect and UI will not be using the report to make decisions.
Positive cases of COVID-19 are still being identified and isolated in the on-campus Greek Life community, but results from other areas are returning fewer positive results, the email stated. Due to continued isolation and quarantine, instructors are still allowed to choose between delivering classes online or in-person.
“Our preliminary results for this week show progress resulting from the actions taken over the past two weeks,” the email stated. “This data is confirmed by our latest wastewater sampling.”
According to the email, Public Health – Idaho North Central District has not traced any positive cases to classroom spread and “believes the infection rate is manageable.” UI’s data reflects the same conclusions, the email stated.
This week’s retesting initiative focused on students. General surveillance testing among employees will increase next week as student testing winds back down. Instructors should expect to return to original teaching methods on Oct. 19 while staff should continue working with supervisors on work arrangements.
UI will next post updated COVID-19 data on Oct. 12.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]