USC ramps up coronavirus testing among students, resulting in 20 new cases
The University of South Carolina ramped up COVID-19 testing significantly this week, reporting Friday it had conducted more than 2,500 tests that resulted in identifying 20 new cases on campus.
That puts the total number of active cases on campus at 46 with 36 among students and 10 among staff. Of the 2,507 tests run from Tuesday to Thursday, 1,873 returned negative, while 614 are still pending results. That puts the percentage positive at 1.06%
The testing more than doubles the number USC conducted from last Friday through Monday and nearly matches all the tests the university ran in the past week.
University president Bob Caslen said in a virtual town hall Tuesday that the administration was planning an increase in surveillance testing, especially among under-tested populations such as male and minority students, to identify asymptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus.
Testing at USC has gone through several phases already this fall semester. In August, the school’s College of Medicine became one of the few in the country to be approved by a state government to process tests, and officials said the saliva-based testing method the university had developed would allow for steady testing up to even once a week for students.
But when a key lab employee became sick, South Carolina had to pause saliva testing for several days early in September, re-increasing capacity over time.
Friday’s updated case numbers represent a small increase from the 33 active cases reported this past Tuesday. The percentage of positive tests has been below 2% for more than a week.
During Tuesday’s town hall, Caslen said officials expected to see a larger increase in new cases following the Labor Day holiday weekend. Instead, the numbers have stayed relatively low.
“To the students, I want to say thank you,” Caslen said, citing their compliance with protocols, including social distancing and mask wearing, as key in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
During that town hall, Caslen set a goal of at least 3,750 students being tested every week to monitor the spread of the virus.
