The University’s COVID-19 tracker reported 252 new cases Thursday through Sunday, bringing the total number of active cases at the University to 840. This more than doubles the 108 new cases reported over the same four-day period last week.
The update comes after the tracker posted two record-breaking caseloads last week on both Monday and Tuesday, which saw 121 and 229 cases, respectively. Following the increase in caseloads, University leadership implemented additional restrictions, banning all in-person gatherings and urging students to remain inside their residences unless absolutely necessary. University leadership will consider lifting the restrictions Friday.
The University also confirmed the presence of the B.1.1.7 U.K. variant in the community on Feb. 12, but has declined to disclose the number of cases related to the variant due to “concern for the privacy of the individuals involved,” according to University Spokesperson Brian Coy.
Despite speculation on social media that in-person elements of Greek life recruitment were the primary reason for the rise in caseloads, University leadership has maintained that the Greek community is not the main contributor to the increase, most recently reinforcing this at its town hall Friday.
At the town hall, Department of Medicine Mitch Rosner also confirmed that the University community experienced an over 300 percent increase in COVID-19 cases last week. Rosner characterized the increase as “widespread,” with approximately 75 percent of cases reported off Grounds.
123 new cases were reported Thursday, 90 on Friday, 34 on Saturday and five on Sunday. The current seven-day new case average is 110.9 new cases daily.
The seven-day average percent positivity rate has also increased greatly over the last week, from just 1.70 percent Feb. 15 to 4.07 percent Sunday. The percent positivity rate is 4.37 percent for students and 1.14 percent for faculty and staff.
50 percent of quarantine space is currently occupied — an all-time high — while 18 percent of isolation space is currently occupied, an increase of one percent in quarantine spaces and a decrease of one percent in isolation spaces.
U.Va. Health hospitalized 15 new COVID-19 patients Thursday through Sunday for a total of 33 positive in-house patients. This is consistent with a relatively downward trend in hospitalizations after they increased following the winter holiday season. Rosner said at the town hall Friday that no students have been hospitalized as a result of contracting the virus.
The New York Times currently lists Charlottesville as a COVID-19 hotspot, meaning that it posts a large number of cases per resident — according to its database, the daily average of cases within the last seven days in Charlottesville is 64. The Times categorizes the City as at “an extremely high risk level for COVID-19 infections.”
The Blue Ridge Health District, which encompasses Charlottesville and Albemarle County, reported 31 new cases Monday. 11 of these cases were reported in Albemarle County and 11 were reported in Charlottesville.
The BRHD’s COVID-19 tracker updates at 10 a.m. daily while the University’s COVID-19 tracker updates at 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
The Commonwealth reported 1,155 cases Monday. The Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 tracker updates daily and enters data by 5 p.m. the previous day.
All residents of Virginia can now pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine through the state’s centralized pre-registration website, which launched Feb. 16. Those uncomfortable with pre-registering online can dial the hotline 877-VAX-IN-VA, which is staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
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