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U.Va. reports 31 new COVID-19 cases, marking highest single-day caseload this fall

The Tuesday cases bring the total number of cases for the fall semester to 156

<p>This brings the total number of active cases to 118.</p>

This brings the total number of active cases to 118.

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Tuesday marked the highest single-day case count this fall with 31 new cases reported. The last time a single-day new case count was this high was Feb. 26, when 34 new cases were reported. 

The highest single-day case count the University has seen came eight days prior, with 229 cases reported on Feb. 16. 

U.Va. Health administered tests to 471 students and 377 faculty and staff members on Tuesday. In comparison, on Feb. 26, the University had tested a record 4,225 people.

All non-vaccinated students are required to report for testing on a weekly basis. Faculty and staff can also undergo voluntary asymptomatic testing during walk-in testing hours at the Student Activities Building Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

A student-led petition on Change.org demanding that the University reinstate mandatory prevalence testing for all University students has gathered 281 signatures since its inception last week, over 250 of which have been added in the last 24 hours.

Tuesday’s case count continues a general pattern of increase this fall, with a seven day average of 10.7 on Sunday, 11.3 Monday, and 13.4 Tuesday. 

This brings the total number of active cases to 118, according to the University’s COVID-19 tracker. Last Friday, of the active cases, 32 were students and 48 were faculty and staff. However, now students make up a majority of the positive cases with 72 active student cases and 46 active faculty and staff cases. 

Students additionally surpass faculty and staff in total fall semester cases with 156 student cases as opposed to 76 in faculty and staff. 

In order to return to residential learning this semester, all students had to either submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to HealthyHoos or provide documentation of an approved medical or religious exemption. Faculty and staff were not required, but were encouraged, to get vaccinated before returning to in-person teaching. 

Following the disenrollment of 238 students -- or about one percent of the student population -- from the University on Aug. 20, 96.6 percent of students were fully vaccinated. The remaining 2.4 percent of students have documented vaccination exemptions.

The weekly average of new cases per day steadily increased over the month of August, with an average of 5 cases between August 15 and August 21, 11 cases between August 22 and August 28, and 13 cases between Sunday and Wednesday.

Five patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 at U.Va. Health on Tuesday, bringing the current total of in-house COVID-19 patients to 44. COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked for the month of August at 7.57 on August 28 and declined slightly to 7.00 on Tuesday.

The University’s COVID-19 tracker is updated every weekday at 4 p.m.

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