WILMINGTON — The University of North Carolina has identified the third Covid-19 cluster in a student dorm this week.
According to UNCW, the latest cluster was located Sandpiper Hall on Sunday. On Thursday evening, the University announced two clusters, located in Pelican Hall and Graham-Hewlett Hall. The University stated “individuals involved in these clusters are isolating and receiving medical monitoring and/or treatment as needed. To protect individuals’ private health information, UNCW will not publicly identify students or employees diagnosed with COVID-19.”
According to UNCW’s ‘data dashboard,’ there have been 74 Covid-19 cases (4 faculty and 70 students) since July. That’s more than double the numbers from Thursday, when the University dashboard showed 33 Covid-19 cases, with 30 students and 3 faculty or staff infected. The University is currently using about 16% of its quarantine bed spaces, up from 7% last week.
Related: UNCW hoping Saffo’s clout, exemption to federal privacy laws will help curb outbreaks
Last week UNC-Chapel Hill closed its campus and yesterday NC State closed dorms, calling the Covid-19 situation “untenable.”
UNC-Chapel Hill made the decision to cancel all in-person classes after over a hundred students and faculty tested positive for Covid-19. The university was one of the largest in the nation planning a return to in-class instruction during the pandemic, a decision that was widely criticized, including a searing editorial by the Daily Tarheel which called the plan to reopen a ‘clusterfuck.’
Below: The complete release from UNCW
UNCW has identified one cluster of five (5) COVID-19 cases in Sandpiper Hall.
A “cluster” is defined by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as five or more cases that are deemed in close proximity by location and that occur within a 14-day period.
The individuals involved in this cluster are isolating and receiving medical monitoring and/or treatment as needed. To protect individuals’ private health information, UNCW will not publicly identify students or employees diagnosed with COVID-19. The university publicly shares general information about confirmed cases on its data dashboard, which is updated by 12 p.m. daily.
The university has informed the New Hanover County Health Department, and contact tracing has been initiated with direct communication to anyone determined to have been in close contact with a positive individual. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes. Those identified as a close contact will be notified directly and provided with further guidance.
We are notifying the campus of this cluster per guidance under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act, which establishes requirements regarding health and safety information that universities must share with their campuses. Future notifications will be sent via email, posted on the UNCW website and shared via the university’s social media.
Students with COVID-19 symptoms (i.e., fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches, a cough, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) should notify the UNCW Student Health Center at 910.962.3280 or [email protected]. Employees should contact your healthcare provider (let them know you have symptoms when making an appointment), notify your supervisor that you will miss work and then notify the UNCW Student Health Center at 910.962.0587 or [email protected].
As outlined in our Best for the Nest guidelines, UNCW is committed to a culture of personal responsibility for community health and safety. Every member of our community must do their part. This means adhering to national, state, local and campus health guidelines and requirements for the 3Ws (face coverings, physical distancing, hand washing) and gatherings and events.
