Wastewater testing on the University of Idaho campus has shown an increase in the concentration of COVID-19 since Thanksgiving, according to an email sent to students, faculty and staff from President C. Scott Green Monday.
Green strongly encouraged those living on campus to get tested, especially students and employees who have been exposed and will be traveling to see friends and family over Winter Break.
These increases in the concentration of COVID-19 have been almost across the board in wastewater samples from the campus locations surveyed, Director of Communications Jodi Walker said. While there’s no direct link between viral wastewater concentrations and actual cases, the data can help researchers make estimates about how the virus is spreading on campus.
“It depends on how much viral load people are carrying and a variety of other things,” Walker said. “One case could totally skew it or there could be more.”
Researchers at UI partnered with the City of Moscow over the summer to begin testing wastewater for the presence of COVID-19. In September, wastewater sampling prompted follow-up testing of students in two residence halls, which helped university officials identify a handful of asymptomatic cases they may not have otherwise detected, according to a Sept. 14 memo from UI.
“The team hopes to develop an early warning system for spikes in local cases,” Alexiss Turner, a marketing and communications manager in the College of Engineering, stated in the memo. “Test results with higher concentrations of the virus, especially in areas with low case numbers, could foretell of future spikes in diagnosed patients.”
Last week, the university tested 296 people, yielding a positivity rate of 4.73%. Most of those people were tested because they were symptomatic or were in close contact with a person with COVID-19, according to Green’s email. COVID-19 testing will continue over Winter Break for those remaining on the Moscow campus and will ramp back up in January as students return for Spring 2021 classes.
“We know this virus moves fast, and we must be agile,” Green stated in the email. “Please continue to monitor your email during Winter Break to keep current on any changes or updates.”
UI will begin testing Moscow-based students on Jan. 6, in a way similar to the previous two required testing periods. Signup links will be available soon, the email stated. Students are encouraged to return to campus prior to the start of classes to allow adequate time for testing.
Residence halls will re-open Jan. 10 and classes will begin Jan. 13.
“Students registered for in-person classes will be expected to attend in person except where they have made arrangements with their instructors,” Green stated in the email. “Faculty will receive lists of students ineligible to attend in-person classes.”
As more information becomes available about a vaccine, UI will update the campus community on how it will be implemented. According to Green, the university is prepared to administer a vaccine as soon as it arrives.
“It is exciting and encouraging to think we may be getting closer to the end of the pandemic and returning to a more normal way of life,” Green stated.
Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermotweets.