UNC-Chapel Hill reports new COVID-19 cluster on campus — the first in a week
UNC-Chapel Hill reported eight new COVID-19 cases and an outbreak in campus housing Thursday — the first new cluster on the campus in a week.
The cluster of seven cases was found in Rams Village Building #5, and the individuals identified are isolating and receiving medical monitoring, the university reported. The residence hall is an apartment complex for undergraduate students, with private rooms and shared bathrooms. The other new case reported on UNC’s COVID-19 dashboard Thursday was an employee.
The university made the cluster announcement in an email, on social media and on the Carolina Together website, instead of in a campus-wide emergency alert as they previously had done. UNC also notified the Orange County Health Department, and they are working together to identify additional potential exposure.
This is UNC’s 13th reported cluster of COVID-19 cases. About 320 cases have been reported in nine residence halls, the dashboard shows.
UNC moved classes online and most students were asked to move out of dorms and off campus by Aug 30. About 950 students — out of 971 requests — were approved to stay living in campus residence halls and Granville Towers for various hardships. That includes student athletes and international students.
Another 224 student workers will also remain on campus.
As of Monday, there were 1,142 students still living on UNC’s campus, but that number is not final, according to the university.
On its COVID-19 dashboard, the school reports 5,192 tests among students, with 1,075 positive results since February. Nearly 950 cases have been reported among students and employees since classes began in August.
As of Thursday, the state Health and Human Services Department reports 16% of the state’s total coronavirus caseload among people ages 18 to 24. Nearly half of the COVID-19 cases in Orange County are in that age group.
New cases at N.C. State
On Thursday, N.C. State reported 22 new cases from Aug. 31, the most recent numbers available. That brings N.C. State’s total count to 907 since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
It’s now been a week since N.C. State has reported a cluster. Since students returned to campus in early August, the school has reported 31 cluster on and off-campus.
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 12:57 PM.