August 12, 2020
With many Knights starting to return to campus for the fall semester, I want to share an update about positive cases of COVID-19 involving members of the UCF community.
On Saturday and Sunday, students began moving into UCF’s on-campus housing, and students were required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival. Out of 837 tests administered on those two days, 11 were positive for COVID-19, a positivity rate of 1.3 percent. Students have been receiving their test results within 48 hours.
We have enacted our plans for contact tracing and wraparound care services, and some of the students who tested positive have chosen to quarantine at home. These students have our full support, as will all Knights who test positive for COVID-19.
As a reminder, UCF tracks all positive cases reported to us that involve a student or faculty or staff member, including those who have not been on campus. We are updating the university’s coronavirus website weekly.
We are pleased to see a two-week downward trend in our case numbers, with a total of 22 cases reported the week ending Aug. 1 and 14 cases reported in the week ending Aug. 8. The latest available positive test counts from move-in testing will be part of next week’s update.
We have expanded the dashboard to separate cumulative positive cases into three categories:
- Students’ positive tests reported to Student Health Services directly through our testing partner, Aventus Biolabs, which total 355 positive cases as of Aug. 8
- Faculty and staff members’ self-reported cases, which total 110
- Students’ self-reported cases, which total 75
We continue to evaluate how best to collect and report this information to be transparent in how we communicate the pandemic’s impact while respecting privacy laws. We discovered this week that the cases self-reported by students mistakenly had not been included in our previous campus-wide totals. Although the majority of those cases were reported to us during or before June, they are reflected in this week’s update.
We want all students and employees to report any positive cases of COVID-19 to us, regardless of whether you have been to, or plan to go to, any of UCF’s campuses.
The UCF COVID Line, 407-823-2509, is the place to report positive tests, ask questions about symptoms, and request a telehealth visit to be screened for possible testing.
Especially as we return this fall, let’s please do all we can to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses. Wear a face covering, wash your hands frequently, practice physical distancing, and stay away from others if you begin to exhibit symptoms or have concerns about possible exposure.
We are all in this together, and it is going to take each of us doing our part to create a better, healthier UCF for all.
Armor Up, Knights!
Dr. Michael Deichen, MD, MPH
Associate Vice President of UCF Student Health Services