There’s a new scare in Halloween this year – the possibility of a spike in coronavirus cases.
That was the message Ben Batey, Bowling Green State University’s chief health officer, delivered in his weekly COVID-19 update.
He had good news with cases associated with BGSU at a steady low level. But he cautioned, Wood County has seen spikes following holidays. This week is “critical” as the university approaches the end of the semester, he said.
Batey said celebrations were possible – after all, it’s a great time to wear a mask. He just urged students to celebrate within their smaller social circle.
That way students will be ready to head home to celebrate Thanksgiving in four weeks with their families.
This week on its COVID-19 dashboard, the university reported 21 new cases, 20 students and one staff member. That’s down from 25 last week. This week 55 percent of the cases were in those living off-campus, while last week that number was 77 percent.
There are 20 active cases, 18 students and two staff members. Those are cases being monitored by their local health departments.
Two residential students with COVID are being isolated on campus, and another 12 residential students who have been exposed are in quarantine in residential halls.
Since Aug. 20, 529 campus cases have been reported – 516 students, two faculty, and 11 staff.
Between Oct. 19 and Oct 23, 240 random tests of asymptomatic individuals have been conducted yielding no positive tests. In that same period 581 tests were administered to the target population with no positive results.
Since the beginning of the semester, 3042 randomized surveillance tests have been conducted with 27 positive results, a 0.9 percent positivity rate.
