Thursday COVID Testing Update – September 10, 2020

Dear FSU Community,

Starting today, we are going to be sending out weekly testing updates to keep the community informed about the latest data on COVID19 in our community. In addition, all of our data is available to the public on our online dashboard at: https://www.framingham.edu/about-fsu/news-and-events/fsu-covid-19-data.html

Our latest round of testing results saw an uptick in positive cases (10 positives from 429 tests). Our 7-day positive test rate is 1.07%. The good news is we have identified the cause of this increase.  We were notified by an outside health authority of a student who tested positive on Monday, and within 24 hours we had identified, tested and quarantined all 9 of the student's on-campus contacts.  We are now tracing the contacts of the contacts.

We knew heading into this semester that we would have positive tests.  At this moment, our 7-day positive test rate remains below that of our surrounding community, and slightly above the state as a whole. It remains critical that everyone continue to adhere to our safety guidelines on and off campus by wearing their face coverings, practicing good hygiene, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings.

Because COVID-19 presents in so many different ways, it is important for everyone in the FSU Community to do a self-symptom check every day.  If you have any of these symptoms:  fever, cough, shortness of breath, stuffy nose, nasal discharge, sore throat, body aches, HA, vomiting or diarrhea, please contact the Health Center at 508-626-4900 if you are a student or your health care provider if you are an employee.

It's also important to note that, although we do our a-symptomatic testing on Tuesdays, anyone presenting symptoms throughout the week should not wait to contact a healthcare provider. We can arrange for tests to be performed on other days during the week, either on or off campus.

Stay safe,

Javier