COVID-19 campus updates: Sept. 3 edition

Through the fall semester, campus officials are providing weekly updates, including dashboard stats and items of note on positive cases, isolation, contact tracing, mitigation measures and more.

Campus e-memo from Dan Jones

Associate Vice Chancellor for Integrity, Safety and Compliance Dan Jones sent a campuswide e-memo alerting students, faculty and staff to an expected increase in positive COVID-19 cases on campus based on CU Boulder’s ongoing testing, contact tracing and Boulder County Public Health collaborations. This was partially based on wastewater monitoring that uncovered possible COVID-19 presence in four residence halls.

Potentially affected students, faculty and staff members have been directly contacted to make an appointment to get tested at one of the campus monitoring test sites.

Dashboard

The revised CU Boulder COVID-19-ready dashboard went live Tuesday, Sept. 1.

• The dashboard’s daily summary includes the number of monitoring (screening, non-diagnostic) tests completed, the number of PCR diagnostic tests completed through CU Boulder Medical Services, the number of positive results from the diagnostic testing and the utilization of on-campus isolation spaces.
• The new version of the dashboard will be updated Monday-Friday, excluding holidays when university offices are closed. The updates will be added in the morning with data from the previous day.
• The weekly graphs will populate as data becomes available for each day. Visitors to the site can also view the graphs from the previous week.
• The dashboard includes a summary of the testing that was conducted during move-in week.
• The cumulative totals for diagnostic tests and positive diagnostic test results begin from the start of the fall semester, Aug. 24, 2020.

Latest stats

• This morning’s dashboard update lists 21 positive diagnostic PCR test results for Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Testing and monitoring

• Testing
  • Students with symptoms should contact the Public Health Clinic to schedule an appointment for diagnostic testing. Same-day testing is available.
  • Staff, faculty and students contacted through the campus contact tracing team due to possible exposure to COVID-19 will be offered testing for free through the Public Health Clinic. 
• Monitoring
  • Monitoring allows CU Boulder to identify potential cases of COVID-19 and inform control measures to help prevent outbreaks. Students living in a residence hall or an on-campus apartment are required to be screened once each week at a testing site near their residence hall. The appointment takes about two minutes and students are contacted via email if a diagnostic test is recommended. The university is piloting the expansion of this testing capability beyond on-campus residents.
  • There are six locations in operation across campus where students living in residence halls and on-campus apartments go once a week to complete their screening.
  • If students are experiencing symptoms, they are asked to not go to their weekly screening and contact CU Boulder Medical Services.
  • For questions or more information, contact studentcovid19monitoring@colorado.edu. 
• Wastewater monitoring
  • Researchers at CU Boulder have set up an anonymous observational network to monitor the wastewater leaving residence halls on campus as part of an effort to detect and intercept community spread of COVID-19.
  • Read more about the wastewater monitoring program.

Student conduct

• On Thursday, Aug. 27, a message was sent to all students with the following information regarding following public health orders on and off campus:
  • If a student is found to have hosted or attended a party or large gathering on or off campus that violates a public health order, the student will be:
    • Excluded from campus for two weeks.
    • Placed on probation.
    • Required to participate in educational sanctions.
  • Multiple or severe violations will result in suspension from CU Boulder for a minimum of one semester.
  • If a student is in a leadership position of an off-campus organization that hosts a party, they may be charged with aiding and abetting in other individuals’ violations of public health orders in addition to facing the above sanctions.
  • If a student is excluded from campus and found to violate the exclusion, the CU Police Department can issue a criminal trespass ticket and the student will likely be suspended.
• Through the university’s partnership with landlords, the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution identified tenants and met with about 35 students at eight properties that received warnings from Boulder Police Department. Four more properties have been identified that received warnings from Boulder Police and the university will work with landlords to get student contact information.
• The Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution is adjudicating about 30 students for nuisance parties, or noise violations.