One Student and Three Faculty/Staff at Duke Test Positive for Covid, April 26-May 2

Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program administered 17,128 tests to 9,363 students and 1,733 tests to 985 faculty/staff for the period April 26-May 2, 2021, with a total of four positive results. The total positivity rate was 0.02 percent.

For the second consecutive week the number of positive cases and positivity rate are at the lowest level of the academic year. This is also the final week of testing for the Spring semester.

Testing will continue during the summer and will be posted to Duke’s coronavirus website every Monday afternoon starting May 10.

Summary of results from this period:

• 17,090 surveillance tests were administered to asymptomatic undergraduate and graduate students who are living on and off campus with one positive result
• 38 tests were administered to students who reported symptoms or were identified through contact tracing with no positive results
• 1,674 surveillance tests were administered to asymptomatic faculty/staff who are working on campus this semester and are voluntarily participating in the testing program with no positive results
• 59 tests were administered to faculty/staff who reported symptoms or were identified through contact tracing with three positive results
• All individuals who test positive are required to observe an isolation period until they are cleared to return to normal activities; contact tracing is underway to identify those who may have been exposed and ask them to quarantine
• Seven students who had been in isolation and eight who had been in precautionary quarantine were cleared to return to normal activities

Notes:

• Positive cases were identified through those exhibiting symptoms or who had known exposure to a positive case. The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation, while those identified as potential contacts have been placed in precautionary quarantine.
• All students who are placed in precautionary quarantine or isolation are monitored by Duke Student Health and have the ability to continue their coursework remotely
• Duke has more than 300 individual beds for students who live in Duke-provided housing and are identified for isolation or quarantine
• Students who live in Duke-provided housing will be isolated or quarantined in campus facilities; students who live off campus must isolate or quarantine in their residence.
• Tests administered to student-athletes are included in these results

Types of tests administered in this period:

1. Surveillance testing for asymptomatic students (on and off campus) and faculty/staff
2. Clinical testing for individuals who report symptoms or who are identified through contact tracing

More information on Duke’s COVID-19 testing program can be found at https://coronavirus.duke.edu/covid-testing/.