By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Ben Batey, the university’s chief health officer, told the BGSU Faculty Senate Tuesday there is good news on the COVID-19 front.
When this week’s numbers are released they will see a drastic reduction in new cases, somewhere around 50, which would be a drop from 130 new cases reported last week. These will include no faculty or staff cases. “We’ve had a significant decrease in the number of cases,” he said. “Our protocols are working.”
This week’s numbers turned out to be at the low end with 49 new cases with 58 active cases. Currently there are 10 residential students who have tested positive are isolated on campus and 23 are quarantined in residential halls. Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2, 118 randomized surveillance. Four students tested positive, a 3.4 percent positivity rate. Since Aug. 20, 867 surveillance tests have been conducted with 23 positive tests, a 2.7 percent positivity rate.
Batey said that a spike in cases this fall was expected, and he is hoping that the increase in cases reported around Labor Day was that spike.
Students have a choice to congregate off campus, Batey said. “We did have issues with some of the bar establishments. We’ve addressed those in the last several weeks.” That’s made a difference.
Responding to a request from BG Independent News, BGSU Dean of Students Chris Bullins reported that three students have been suspended – one for an off-campus social gathering and two for violating quarantine and isolation housing protocol. Five other students have received Deferred Suspension for quarantine and isolation violations, and three others received conduct probations and two other received warnings.
Seven other students were disciplined for off-campus gatherings, four were placed on conduct probation and three were placed on warning status.
In addition, 473 students were disciplined for violations of the Residence Life Forward Falcon Community Commitment. Most received warning letters though three were placed on residential conduct probation and 48 received residential warnings.
Batey told Faculty Senate that the university must remain vigilant. Halloween is coming up. As a time when students like to party, it could cause another outbreak. Then he’ll turn his attention to the end of the semester.
Then the message to students will be to stay safe before going home for Thanksgiving. A couple weeks before the break would be a time, Batey said, that they may want “self-quarantine” by limiting their social circle.
His message is: “We want to send you home safely to your parents.”
The worst scenario would be for a student to test positive and have to go into isolation just days before the beginning of Thanksgiving break. “We want them to stay here” because that’s what’s safest. Still “we don’t want them to miss out on Thanksgiving … but want to keep their family safe.”
Beyond that, Batey said he needs to start planning for spring semester, which will begin Jan. 11.
Batey said that an apparent spike in Wood County’s numbers reported last Friday (Oct. 2) reflected updates and changes in reporting procedures.
The report showed five more deaths and 66 new cases, most related to BGSU. That would be the highest daily jump in cases since the pandemic began, he said.
The state, Batey said, has been reviewing death certificates, and has now attributed five previous deaths in the county to COVID-19.
The new cases, he said, were a result of BGSU cases that had been reported to other counties because students who gave their home addresses are now be counted in Wood County.
Batey allowed that there can be discrepancies in numbers. But the BGSU dashboard represents all the BGSU related cases reported to the university.
The state is also counting as positive the results of more rapid antigen tests. Some were not counted, now all those associated with an outbreak are included in the tally, and BGSU is considered an outbreak.
Batey said those have been included on BGSU’s COVID-19 dashboard all along.
Batey also said that the focus of the random asymptomatic testing will focus on high risk groups – those living in residence halls, athletes and other groups, such as marching band, who participate in activities that can’t adhere to the COVID-19 protocols.
In those settings where students spend a lot of time together, the university is finding a lot of its positive cases, he said.
In the meantime, work continues to set up a lab to do PCR testing at Wood County Hospital.
