Bowling Green State University is reporting 130 new cases of COVID-19 during the period from Sept. 23 through Sept. 29.
That brings the number of cases since the beginning of the semester to 407, and marks a continued increase in university cases. Last week 116 new cases were reported.
The updated University COVID-19 Dashboard shows that 126 students and four staff members were among the new cases, and that 72 percent of the new cases were among students living off-campus. As of Sept. 29, 18 residential students who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 are in isolation, and 32 residential students who are awaiting tests after having been in contact with an infected person are in quarantine.
From Sept. 21 through Sept. 29, the university conducted 123 random surveillance tests on students without symptoms, and fund two students positive for COVID-19, 1.6 percent positivity rate. Since Aug. 20, the university has tested 720 students without symptoms, and found 18 cases, a 2.5 percent positivity rate.
In his weekly video update today (Sept. 30), Ben Batey, the university’s chief health officer, noted the uptick in the number of cases and said university officials will be monitoring it. “It would be nice to see it trend downwards.
Batey emphasized the need for people to keep their social circles small. More people within that circle, the higher the chance that someone will contract the disease and have to be isolated, and more people who would have to go into quarantine.
And even within small social circles, people should maintain six feet of distance. More intimate contacts should be limited only to family members and other close relations.
