Duke University has tested more than 3,100 students for COVID-19. 4 cases were found.
Duke University has results back from the first 3,116 tests conducted for COVID-19 among incoming students, and four positive cases have been found, the school announced Wednesday.
As students arrive at school, which continues through the end of the month, all are being tested.
Any student who tests positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus is required to isolate until medically cleared to use campus facilities. Duke has set aside 300 beds for on-campus students to isolate if necessary.
Duke announced earlier that this fall that only first-year, sophomore and special-circumstance students would be allowed to live on campus, reducing housing occupancy by about a third. All Duke students can take online classes, and some in-person instruction is allowed.
The school has said that juniors and seniors living off campus are able to use certain facilities, such as labs and libraries, for approved purposes, but that they are not allowed into residence or dining halls or social gathering places. Before coming to campus each day, students, faculty and staff have to complete a symptom-tracking survey.
A group of student-athletes who came back to campus in July have been tested regularly, the school said Wednesday, as well as their coaches and staff. Those tests found 26 positive cases of COVID-19, and the students were isolated. They have now been cleared to return to their routines.
“This semester will only be successful if everyone acknowledges the risks we face as a community and does everything in their power to limit the spread of this disease,” Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an associate professor of medicine at Duke who helped develop the testing plan, said in a Duke Today story. “What is being asked of us is simple but lifesaving.
“Through the Duke Compact and other channels of communication, the university has made clear everyone on campus must wear masks and distance where we can; be prepared to listen to contact tracing experts; and be a part of our rigorous testing platform that will roll out across campus. As we have seen across the country, we will only be as successful as the least compliant among us.”
Duke has said it will post additional information about COVID-19 on its website.
Like other universities in the state, Duke also is requiring appointments over a week-long period for moving into dorms, to reduce the likelihood of crowding; the wearing of face coverings and the restriction of campus visitors.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 1:55 PM.
