ASU proving mitigation efforts working as COVID-19 cases decline
Sep 24, 2020, 9:44 PM | Updated: 9:47 pm
(Facebook Photo/ Arizona State Biodesign Institute)
(Facebook Photo/ Arizona State Biodesign Institute)
PHOENIX — Active coronavirus cases at Arizona State University continue to decrease, according to an update provided Thursday.
ASU reported 255 active coronavirus infections among students and 2 active cases among faculty. In the update provided Monday, the school had 260 active coronavirus cases among students and 3 active infections among faculty members.
Of the cases, 73 are in isolation on the Tempe campus where 9,129 students live, according to the university.
There are an additional 171 positive cases in isolation off campus in the metro Phoenix area. All remaining cases are in isolation on either the downtown Phoenix, west or polytechnic campuses.
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Since the start of August, ASU has reported a total of 1,784 cases among students and faculty.
During a press conference Thursday, ASU President Michael Crow touted the university’s efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
“This is a permanent introduction of a new virus to the human ecosystem and we will have to be managing it for a long time and we have taken that approach,” Crow said.
As part of the university’s mitigation efforts, they’ve implemented random testing for students and faculty. Since the start of August, the university has conducted approximately 65,412 tests, resulting in a 2.7% positivity rate.
On Thursday, Arizona awarded $14 million to the state’s three universities to continue coronavirus testing and research. $8 million will go to ASU, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University for additional testing measures while $6 million will go toward the development of ASU’s groundbreaking point-of-need testing.
The testing is expected to allow first responders, health care workers and those in congregate care settings to get COVID-19 test results within minutes.
The University of Arizona also continues to see a decline in coronavirus cases. The school reported 21 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the school’s total to 2,245 infections, according to UArizona’s dashboard.
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The university has continued to see a decline in the seven-day average for cases, which was 95 on Thursday. The seven-day average peaked on Sept. 16 at 181.
According to NAU’s dashboard, the school is managing 273 coronavirus cases between students on and off campus.
On Thursday, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported 566 new coronavirus cases and 34 additional deaths, bringing the state’s documented totals to 215,852 COVID-19 infections and 5,559 deaths.
